Mandy gives an insight into aspects of retirement

Preparing for and Enjoying Retirement
Author. Fagil Mandy
Availability. It’s on sale in all leading book stores
Price. Shs20,000.

There is something out of the ordinary that comes with reading works by an author who speaks from a vantage point of experience. There is the credibility that comes as a given, you want to believe their ideas because they have been here, seen this and done that.

That is why, when a man who has conducted more than 200 training programmes on retirement, and has been retired for at least 14 years speaks, that voice deserves attention, a tad more attention perhaps.

Education consultant, Fagil Mandy’s latest book, Preparing for and Enjoying Retirement is based on the author’s experiences and several retirees that reveals facets of retirement we take for granted. In 112 pages, Mandy who retired seven years before the government’s mandatory retirement age of 60 gives an in-depth understanding of the broader context of retirement, preparing for it, financial aspects and habits to religiously stick to and abstain from.

The book comes with freshness thanks to anecdotes that are expertly interwoven to explain aspects that would otherwise bore you stiff if written in an academic style. A number of books on the shelves take to a lecturer-student format of knowledge sharing on the subject.

The author assumes the “Mr I know it all” position and turns the reader to a learner. That can be a put off. Mandy’s experience in the book writing arena possibly enables him steer clear of taking to this style of writing.

He instead invites retirees such as outspoken presidential advisor on Security in Buganda sub-region, Brig Kasirye Gwanga and former Uganda Investment Authority chief Dr Maggie Kigozi who literally take hold of the pen and jot their thoughts along.

Diversified
Added to that are newspaper articles on the subject matter. You almost find yourself reading a book by multiple authors. That gives it a wealth of ideas from varied sources who speak verbatim. Brig Gwanga for instance, shares what he calls the four golden tips of sweet retirement such as ensuring your children are self-reliant, your financial position is strong, adapting to technology and being generous with your accumulated wealth.

Dr Kigozi wonders if there is any such thing as retirement since she has found herself being engaged time and again as though she was in mainstream employment. It is prudent to add that this is a book whose content cuts across a socio-political landscape. The real life stories and ideas of retirees for example are drawn from a varied section of careers and social classes.

Even more, Mandy insists the knowledge in the book is one your high school or university student ought to partake of.

This is in sync with his argument that retirement planning must start early, again with his personal account of how reading the book, The death of a salesman by Arthur Miller, as a young man, taught him being employed till you are elderly can be dangerous.

An equally important section of the book is making arrangements for your financial comfort in which the author, himself an accomplished businessman, shares tips on viable investment avenues that will pay off in your retirement.

Save for the avoidable grammatical and spelling errors which a more thorough editing eye would have cleansed and the inexpert lay out of the book, another put off, this is a comprehensive book that will benefit the young, old and retired in equal measure.

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