Retirement is a significant part of our lives that people don't really talk much about. Since humans are bound to grow old and weak,retirement is inevitable and bound to happen but like death, not many people like to talk about it even though it is the reality. But I get it, people shy away from the topic,  "retirement ", because it is a word socially linked to weakness, inactivity, less productivity, liability and loss of value. But in truth, retirement really doesn't have to be all of the above unappealing words. 

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Quite alot of people become liabilities during retirement after having a prosperous career as valuable assets to their employers and the society.  As assets, their income was great, their connection and network was rich and and value was pretty high. Retirement came after decades of work and they become their own nightmare as they didn't have the same value they had years back, they aren't earning close to what they earned many years earlier and they've lost the connection and network they once had that got things done. This is when they become a liability, (when they spend more money than earned) and when they are no longer seen as assets (earning more than spent).

However, to remain an asset even in retirement is very possible although requires alot of work, calculations and strategy in our youthful days. The first step to becoming an asset is to have a high income in your youth. It of course doesn't guarantee a better life after retirement but earning a high income your youth goes a long way in securing your future and allowing you remain an asset than if you earned really low income. Having a high income also gives you the chance to save so much for retirement and creates the opportunity to invest in things that would keep fetching you an income even in retirement. This is why it's adviceable to strive to earn more either from our job or taking on side hustles in our youthful days . Every penny earned goes a long way in securing our future and making our retirement better and comfortable. 

Secondly,  investing both in assets and people could help us remain assets even in retirement. As mentioned earlier, when you have invested in things that fetch you passive income, you'd remain an asset and a person of value in retirement.  Also the people you've invested in over the years would help you remain valuable as the connections and network built could come in handy when needed. 

Finally, equipping ourselves with skills and experiences that would always remain valuable will make us a great asset even in retirement. This way, even those from a younger generation and still in the work force could want to meet for consultation and your expertise in a certain area of specialisation. Equipping ourselves with valuable skills that won't fade out easily in the society makes us a great asset and that could also fetch some income.

Retirement is a part of our lives that require planning to position us in a better place for ourselves. It really doesn't have to be a time of inactivity and liabilities.  
Thank you for reading. Please feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions.