At the development stage, a child is dependent on the parents. The responsibility is with the parents to provide care and protection and see the child through education until he graduates. So any financial planning here will be the concern of the parents.

Then the person finds a job, pursues a career, perhaps marries, takes a mortgage and raises children. Suddenly, he finds he has heavy responsibilities.

This is the time when financial planning is most important because whatever objectives are worked on early enough at this stage will have a much better chance of achievement in the later part of life, and allow more time for adjustments.

For example, a young worker may be able to seek more growth-oriented investments, which gives the potential for a higher return, because he can bear a higher degree of risk at this stage. If he gets it right, he can build from that position. If not, he has time to correct his position. He certainly has more options than when he is older and already burdened with various financial commitments.

Unless the person has the time, the patience and the knowhow to do his/her own financial planning, it would be best to seek the help of a financial planner.

It is also at this stage, when he/she may not have acquired significant wealth yet, but have dependants, that risk protection becomes a major focus.

Why? Because if something happens to the person when the wealth accumulation is just starting, the impact is severe on his/her dependants.

For example, a young man, being the sole breadwinner of a family and earning an annual income of RM 60,000 per annum, may need to insure his life for say RM 300,000 (five times his annual salary) so that the family is able to get the insurance proceeds to meet their basic living costs in the unfortunate event of his death - a small price to pay for protection against the very real risk of unexpected death. It would otherwise take the person a good number of years before he is able to accumulate his wealth to an equivalent inflation-adjusted amount.

Of course risk of death is not the only risk that has a major impact to a family. There are many other risks that need to be considered (see Risk Planning).

After some years, a person may have done well enough to settle or reduce his/her debts substantially and be in a position to start accumulating wealth.

And if he/she is involved in business, chances are the business is the person's most valuable asset, in which case, protection of value becomes a major preoccupation. Protection of value can be attained in a number of ways, most commonly through succession planning and, in the case of partnerships or shareholdings, through a buy-sell agreement funded by insurance. It would be best to consult professionals who are experienced in such arrangements (see Risk Planning).

The choice of an appropriate investment strategy must take into consideration a person's risk appetite and his/her financial goals. Then, there are the myriad investment options available when executing. For those who find the choices perplexing, go and seek out a financial planner for advice.

The wealth accumulation is also the stage when tax planning may be needed, since income by now would be significant and, with proper advice from a tax expert, there could be tangible savings in tax.

After all the hard work in the earlier years, the person may hope to enjoy his/her retirement in peace and with the assurance that needs are taken care of until death. This requires good financial planning in the earlier stages.

If the planning is left too late, there may not be sufficient time nor options to make the necessary funding provisions to maintain the living standards that the retiree desires. In such circumstances, the retiree may have to settle for a lower living standard or going back to work (if able or lucky enough to get an opportunity) or be reliant on others such as the children.

The importance of planning early enough for retirement cannot be overemphasised. To provide perspective, here are some salient points:

According to a 2005 EPF survey, the average contributor's balance in 2005 a year before retirement is only RM 100,000

Also according to EPF, most retirees would have spent 70% of their EPF savings within 5 to 10 years of withdrawal

According to a 2007 survey by Prudential Malaysia, 37% of retirees needed to go back to work because of dwindling savings

In the same survey, 67% of respondents relied on children for monetary aid while 14% lived on part-time earnings

According to a March 2007 NST report, a person earning RM 4,000 per month would need at least RM 1.4 million to maintain the same lifestyle on retirement

Average life expectancy of Malaysians has gone up in the last fifty years from 55 to 74. With medical advance, there is no reason to believe that life expectancy will not continue to increase. This means that as time goes by, the planned years of retired life at time of planning may not be sufficient when actual retirement arrives