Senior citizens live in that stage of life where if something goes wrong, they may find it very difficult to recuperate. However, it doesn’t mean that they should not take risks at all and especially those related to specific financial matters.

So, here are a few situations when senior citizens can afford to take a little bit of risk.

Bigger Retirement Corpus Than Originally Planned: Plenty of money is a misnomer because the more money you have, the better lifestyle you can live in your retirement.

However, if you have been able to build a bigger corpus than what you had originally planned for in your retirement, you can definitely use a little portion of the excess fund to take a calculated risk for accomplishing your desires.

For example, you can put money in the equity market, or, go on an unplanned vacation, among others.

Adequate Health Insurance Cover: Senior citizens are more prone to diseases than young people. So, they need to be more careful about their health. However, if they have sufficient health cover, they don’t need a big financial backup towards covering their health-related contingencies.

Fall Short Of A Crucial Financial Goal: Sometimes things don’t go as planned. If senior citizens find themselves in a situation where they are not able to achieve some of their crucial financial goals due to lower returns offered by their investments, they can take a higher risk to increase the return and get closer to their goal.

However, they should remember to take a calculated risk and take only such steps for goals which they cannot afford to miss.

WHEN YOU MUST SAY A BIG ‘NO’ TO FINANCIAL RISKS

After your retirement, if you have unpaid debts, then you must try to avoid taking risks.

If you are already short of retirement savings, then taking a risk can increase your difficulties. When you or your life partner have serious health issues, you must avoid financial risk.

Last Word

You must avoid going overboard when you take a risk in your retirement. Having the right judgement of your risk appetite, tolerance, and financial situation can help you make the right decision when you have to decide whether to take a risk or not. It’s always better to seek professional advice when you are not sure what’s right or wrong!

The author is an Independent Financial Journalist