Experts urge firms to help workers turn salaries
into steady retirement income
When it comes to planning for retirement, the conversation often focuses on individuals: how much to save, when to start, and what financial tools to use.
During InLife’s “Retire Without Worries” client forum recently, two experts discussed how employers play a critical role in helping workers build financial security for the long term.
“If you’re pondering how to be successful in keeping your programming attention to business… many organizations can take the position of not having employees on a personal basis,” said Aristides “Jong” Merida Jr., a retirement readiness advocate.
“You need to retain talent to remain competitive in the marketplace. I think it’s a business decision that people have to make,” he added.
For Merida, retirement planning in the Philippines requires confronting deeper cultural challenges.
“Everything we do, all the actions we take, all the actions that inform our decision-making, is a function of mindset. And the Filipino, unfortunately, [is] somehow held back by many mindsets,” said Merida.
“Many of us consider financial success as having a good salary. Guys, that’s not the goal. That’s the initial step. How you translate salary to wealth is the real journey,” he continued.
Jose Eduardo O. Ang, chief product and innovation officer at InLife, on the other hand, explained that many employees lack the education and tools to properly plan for retirement.
“First of all, many employees are even unaware of this need to plan ahead. But if companies can somehow institutionalize financial planning, then I think there can be an alignment between the company’s goals and the employee’s goals,” Ang shared.
To address this, InLife developed “Retireasure,” a financial product that guarantees monthly retirement income rather than a one-time payout.
“What do you do with that thumbs-up and those extra payouts? We would deploy that so that you’re sure it’s properly budgeted for every month,” Ang continued, explaining that it was built for longevity. “We can make that guarantee with 100 percent certainty that InLife will not go out of the way, being able to provide guarantees, certainty, and peace of mind,” he added.
Merida then called on business leaders to lead by example.
“If you decide to champion this particular diplomacy and commit to somehow making the Filipino financially sustainable, you’re actually helping the country even if that’s not the real intention,” he stated.