Checklist
First off, happy retirement and we hope you’re having a blast in your golden years! After years of work and responsibilities, it’s high time for you to kick back and enjoy the fruits of your labour. As we approach the latter half of our lives, there’s no time better than the present to start thinking about preparing our loved ones for the inevitable.
It can be extremely disheartening to receive news after news of friends and family members passing as they age but let that serve as a reminder to all of us that death is a very natural part of life. You’ve spent your entire lives taking full control of how you live it, wouldn’t it be nice to have some say in how we exit this life too? Here are some important things to consider when preparing your death plan as a senior citizen.
📄 Write Your Will
Sounds simple enough and yet more than 50% of Malaysians have not written one and the problem is most of us don’t think we’re RICH enough to need one. Here’s the thing, by the time we start working all of us would have at least a savings account, retirement fund (EPF/KWSP) and some personal belongings. Even if you have RM1,000 or less to your name, it’s still money that you’ve worked hard for and every cent counts. Also, it’s not that expensive or difficult to write a will. Check out this post where we talk about some of your options in Malaysia.
You can use an online repository like Bereev to securely store your will.
👴🏼 Review Your Retirement Funds
After spending your entire adult life working hard and saving your hard earned money, the last thing anyone wants is for their retirement funds to end up in the government’s hands. So take some time to check on your retirement accounts whether it’s your KWSP/EPF (or CPF if you’re a Singaporean) or even the ones that you’ve invested in separately. Make sure that your beneficiary list is always up to date.
Bereev helps you list down all of your financial assets in 1 safe spot.
📋 Update Your Insurance
If you have any insurance especially life insurance, check your policy and make sure that everything is in order. Remember to ensure that the beneficiary of your insurance is listed. You’ll be surprised to find that over 50% of the life insurance policies sold in Malaysia DO NOT have a beneficiary listed which means that when those policy holders die, the insurance company won’t know who to pay the money to and that’s years of paying your premiums gone to waste.
Here’s how to upload and manage your insurance policies on Bereev.
💸 List Your Debts
Another thing most of us ‘own’ that constantly slips our minds are our debts. Are you paying off any loans or mortgages for your house or vehicle? Do you have any unpaid credit card debt? Or do you owe anyone money? When everything is said and done, repaying those debts will help you tie up any loose ends and leave this life debt-free. Also, plenty of religious teachings stress on not leaving any debts behind before moving on.
Here’s how you can use Bereev to list down all of your debts.
🩺 Organise Medical Records
Compiling all of your medical records now will help your kids understand their family’s medical history as they grow up. Armed with that knowledge, they’ll be able to identify any potential hereditary risks and get their doctors to pay closer attention to those during their future checkups. You could potentially save their lives someday just by organising and passing down all of your blood test results, diagnosis letters and more.
Learn how to upload and organise your medical records on Bereev.
💬 Prepare Instructions
What else should your family know? Do you want your funeral to be handled a certain way? Do you have an active Netflix or Spotify subscription that needs to be cancelled? Are you a member of the local gym? What should your loved ones do with your email account? Write all of these down and help them understand what you need them to do when you’re no longer around, while you’re at it why not have a family meeting to talk through these things?
Learn how to plan for your own funeral on Bereev here.
✅ Itemise Your Belongings
List down all of the things that you own including your mobile phone, laptop, tablet, TV, camera, gaming console, jewellery, collection and etc. Specify where you usually keep those things and how to access it (i.e.: your phone’s passcode). If it’s not already in your will then let your family know who would you like to pass those items down to.
Learn how to manage your vehicles and properties on Bereev.
💌 Record Farewell Messages
The sweetest (and arguably most useful) thing you can do for the people you love is to comfort them in your own words. Losing you someday will leave a huge hole in their lives and some of them may struggle to move on with their lives without you. Help them find closure or use this opportunity to remind them how much you love them, forgive past wrongdoings and encourage them to look forward to life. It’s going to be tough on them and you can do your part to make it a little bit easier.
Here’s how you can leave messages for your friends and family on Bereev.
🐱 Arrange Pet Care
Are you a pet parent who needs someone to care for your furry friends when you’re no longer around? Make sure you’ve identified a person or two (just in case) who’ll be able to take them in when the time comes, don’t forget to let them know which veterinarian do you usually go to and if your pets have any allergies or medical conditions that needs their attention. If your pets have a microchip or birth certificate, make sure that their new carer will have access to those too.
Learn how you can arrange for the care of your pets on Bereev here.
Bereev is a Death Preparation App that helps you prepare yourself and loved ones for your own death. Sign up for your FREE account here.
📝 Plan
Leave instructions for your funeral, financial and personal arrangements.
📂 Vault
Store vital documents like your will, insurance, medical records and more.
💌 Message
Leave messages for your loved ones which will be sent after you’re gone.
👥 Share
Invite the people you trust to view your plan and customise their access.
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