RETIREMENT: A Serviceman's final waterloo?

By Capt A M Musabaila

An unfinished dream The rooms empty walls rose high to meet the rather than neat looking purling that supported the roof. Without a ceiling, the carpenters poor workmanship on the roof was perceptible from below. Dusty rafters housed a host of cobwebs at every turn. There was a smell of earth and fresh cement. I wondered if it was from the recent plaster on the inside walls or from the pot-holed concrete floor that had just been freshly sprinkled with water in anticipation of the arrival of the visitor myself. This part of the structure, I was later to learn, was supposed to be the dining room of the house had construction works been completed; a sunken dining room they called it. The house was designed to have four bedrooms and master en-suit, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, dining area (where we sat) and a study room. However, all rooms except the master bedroom and dining were yet unroofed. This meant the sunken dining room had to be converted into a multi-purpose junction that functioned rotationally as a kitchen, dining room, TV room and at night, a bedroom. Ensconced in an old rugged sofa with greasy armrests was a lean well-spoken man spotting a clean cut moustache. Despite his furrowed brow, his gleeful face gave off a pleasantness that belied his age. I quickly put it to him, hows retirement sir? Its a nightmare! he retorted. Imminent, yet unmastered Despite being imminent, retirement remains a battle that even the most distinguished and valiant among us have failed to master. In my ten years of service in the Zambia Air Force, I have seen and heard how so many of our officers, commissioned and none commissioned, of diverse ranks and appointments have routinely fallen on hard times in the immediate aftermath of their retirement with some resigning to an early grave. One of the most awkward moments for any serving officer is meeting an erstwhile senior officer looking disheveled and troubled soon after separation. Is this avoidable? I wondered. Determined to answer this question, I set out to hear from the horses mouth the retirees themselves. Pursuant to this interest, I picked up a pen and dairy and set out to interview and collect thoughts from many retired officers and men (soldiers) over a period of three weeks. This article is the outcome. I didnt lack speed, I started late An average person spends over twelve years of school and a minimum of three more years preparing for their post-school life. Quiet remarkably, however, most people only spend the last two or three years of their working lives preparing for the more vulnerable period of their lives retirement. From the discussions, many bemoaned the inexplicable sense of complacency that tended the most part of their service lives.

The years fly by so quickly said one retired warrant officer. You kind of imagine youll one day have a lot of money and that will be the right money to use to buy a plot or start building so you keep postponing. I always felt I had time on my hands, started another retired colonel. I quiet frankl y believed that even if I did not piece it all together while working, I had the lamp sum in the offing so clearly I was going to succeed. He continued, during our time we used to wait for two years or more before that money (lamp sum) comes. Well, by that time, all your well thought out plans would have been overtaken by events, bills, debts etc. By the time the money comes there is no original thought anymore. It is just haphazard and reactionary expenditure. And as you see your money beginning to run out, you get into a panic. That is how you sink. It is every retirees, let alone every persons desire to multiply their money or at the very least invest it for a sustainable return. I cant imagine how that is tenable without getting into some kind of business venture. This literally means that out of necessity, every retiree will have to get into business one way or the other. While the type of business might vary from real estate to transport, from farming to trading, etc. the substance of it remains that it is a business venture. The question therefore is that if were all going to end up in some kind of business after we retire, anyway, why not start now and horn the craft before-hand? Conversely, I have heard many people say Im not good at business. Im not just cut out for it. I find such words tainted with an insidious malaise that can only stem from the ephemeral safety granted by the comfort zone of a well-paying job. There is a price in having a great idea too late. It seems to me that some races are lost not because one did not run their best, but because they started running too late. A diminished network The military community is unique in many respects from that of civilians. A special camaraderie exists among servicemen and their spouses. Wives particularly integrate well into military life owing to the strong social bonds that are built among military families. This interaction is occasioned by traditional military functions such as Meet and Greet, Annual Ball, Dining In/ Dining Out, Happy hours etc that amply punctuate an officers service life. Central to enhancing these social traditions is the Mess. Patronizing the Mess is not only expected but highly encouraged. By the time a serviceman is nearing retirement, his net social network will predominantly and in certain cases exclusively comprise fellow military men and women. Obviously, theres nothing awfully wrong with that. However, nature, just like ideas is intolerant to in-breeding. It would appear that this wholesome interaction with those of like stock in fact bears a diminished benefit. A cross-pollination of ideas may be better served by overreaching ones limited social block through extensive interaction. It may sound remarkable to say this but after working for thirty years, the military is the only safe place you know, started one retired Brig Gen, It is where you run for big and small favors including a market for your farm produce. You pick up an addiction, a syndrome that depends on the Service over the years. By the time you retire, you realise the only people you truly know are fellow servicemen. He concluded.

Two houses may not be enough I interviewed another retired senior officer who shared that in 1996, he was offered to buy two big residential plots in Libala South at only two million kwacha. He declined, saying it was a bush. By the time he was retiring ten years later the place had become prime land costing nearly ten times for one, not both plots as was initially offered. Realizing he had made a mistake, he worked hard and managed to acquire one piece of land in Chelstone. By the time of his retirement, he had managed to bring it to a habitable state. Upon getting his benefits, he bought his second home in Emmasdale then moved his family into the former and rented out the later. On the face of it, I had done better than most of my counterparts, he said. But soon, it became c lear that monthly revenue of two million (now two thousand in rebased currency) kwacha from my rentals was hardly enough to put food on the table. He shared that after two years of persistent financial stress characterized by recurrent school fees for school going children and basic costs of subsistence, he was forced to sale his Chelstone house. You see, a house does not bring in much. You have to build a very special house before you can expect monthly rentals in excess of five thousand kwacha. In hindsight, maybe I should have built flats instead. He concluded. He further said that had it not been for a contractual job he later secured through an In-laws company, he would have sold his second house too. When I asked him the single thing that he would do differently if he had a chance to prepare for his retirement again, he said, Start earlyas early as captain or even lieutenant. If youre a lieutenant colonel and have not started making a deliberate preparation youre already running late. I will not even talk about colonels. He ended. Not all gloomy My meetings were not all gloomy. I did also meet well settled officers and warrant officers. I met two officers that have settled as farmers, one growing vegetables and raising a large stock of livestock. He said he begun buying animals while he was at he rank of captain. He says his stock of cattle is over three hundred now. Holding the pictures of his younger self as one would hold a precious artifact, he shared his fond military training stories He said far too many people try to approach agriculture, a highly complex venture without due diligence, as though it comes naturally. He cites this as a source of failure for many. A retired warrant officer who now owns a popular shopping complex in a named neighborhood along with several other real estate interests had similar sentiments. He felt people get drunk on the short term promises of their formal jobs and sacrifice personal effort and initiative. He equally insists that retirement is a battle won by starting sooner rather than later.

A heads up As I conclude, below are some invaluable pieces of advice I gathered from the interviews: Start small, start now: If youre reading this article and are employed, pick up a pen and start writing down your retirement strategy, now! The best money to use is what you have: I learnt from these interviews that a lot of people tend to think, I will start properly when I raise proper money. This is a fallacy. Just last week, I was amazed at the diligent commitment of one officer who on his way home stopped to buy only 18 concrete blocks worth K 56.00! He put them in the boot and drove on. He told me, I am on my way to the plot anyway so the issue of uneconomical use of fuel does not arise here. This is all I have but it can build over a square meter of wall. Thats my beer for today. Experiment now, not in retirement: Business is volatile and requires some risk taking. One needs to ensure that the science behind their business of choice is grasped well in advance. Such knowledge is not attained by making mental calculations from the comfort of an air conditioned room, no. One has to go out there, roll their sleeves and risk their money. This process should be done during the preretirement stage as one is more resilient and more likely to bounce from a loss than during the postretirement stage. Stress test your plan: It has already been established that after retirement, we all invariably become entrepreneurs of some sort. Whatever your plan for post -retirement put it to test before you retire. For instance, try to live exclusively on the return from your project for a month ot two and see if it can support you. If it cannot support you before you retire, it most likely will fail you after you retire. As I concluded my assignment I couldnt help noticing the wanton financial stress on most of those I visited. I asked myself, is there a chink in our armour? More importantly I wondered, is retirement a servicemans final waterloo?