Investments are necessary for people from all walks of life. They ensure a safe and financially secure future. One major factor that encourages (or can say compels) one to invest is, retirement. Planning a retirement is a complex task, and one has to take many factors into consideration. This type of investing also has various goals depending on different factors. For example, a person may retire at age 60 or age 80. If a person survives till the age of 90, and has retired at 60, they are looking forward to 30 years of non-full-time-employment, whereas if they retire at 80, it's only ten years of non-full-time-employment years. The best suggestion that comes to mind while planning a retirement investment is safe investments. The best way to have a care-free retirement life is by, opening an account in a bank early in the professional life, and depositing some money every month. This way, by the time the individual retires, they will have a lump sum amount in the bank, along with the interest earned on it through the years. Banks generally offer a 2 to 2.5 percent interest per month on the amount deposited. However, for this investment to make any good returns, you should start investing quite early in their professional life. Certificate of Deposits are another way of investing. In this case, the investor lends money to a bank for a set amount of time, like six months to one year. The bank then repays the money to the investor at the end of the time span, along with interest earned through the time span. However, it entirely depends on at what point of time, the investor invests in Certificate of Deposits. One should try to bring the end of the time span of the Certificate of Deposits, at the time of their retiring from service. Bank Bonds are another way of planning your investments. You can invest your money in a bank for a longer period of time, for example, four to six years. The bank will then pay you back the money, with an interest at six to seven percentage per month. Though these three ways of investing are safe, secure and flexible, they don't give as much returns as one might want. For such long run investments, stocks are a good bet. Though stocks are known to be volatile and have fallen many times, a small amount put in safe stocks in the share market may give you more returns than bank accounts, certificate of deposits and bonds put together. Also, stocks and shares are known to be as trustworthy as a bond or a certificate of deposit. It all depends on which company you wish to invest in. Investments, and particularly those involved in retirement plans are a risky business. Therefore, it is always suggested to take the help and suggestions of a professional investor. There are companies which offer asset allocation systems for retirees. These asset allocation systems will recommend you the ways on allocating your assets before retirement, so that you are prepared when the event actually occurs. There are many asset allocation companies in the market. You can find out more about them via internet. Before going to an asset allocation company, you should make proper decisions about your financial needs after retirement. Before hiring any asset allocation company, be sure to go through the credentials and expertise of the company. If you already have a company looking after your investments, you can ask them whether they have any special or different plans. Many companies will have online calculator tools, which will tell you what to do with your money, so that you get proper returns.