Avoid a failed retirement. A successful retirement requires preparation and planning. You may also need to rethink these assumptions:
All I need is a good financial plan and I will be happy in my retirement.
Unfortunately, this is a set up for disaster. People think that the only action that they need to take is to plan to have enough money. While this is certainly a very important part of the plan, it is only part of the process. It is unsettling to realize that some people spend more time planning for their vacation than they do for the lifestyle decisions that they will need to make for the next 20 to 30 years of their lives. Don’t make this mistake too. Make sure that you get help with retirement lifestyle planning so that you can design the best retirement for you.
I will be able to figure out on my own what I will do with my time when I retire.
In other words, wing it. Some of us believe that we can figure it out as we go but the reality is that we will have a lot more time in retirement than our parents or grandparents did. It would be very easy to fall into idle busyness and then wonder why you are feeling bored or unfulfilled. This stage of life is the only one for which there is no blueprint like all the other stages of life, so it may require that you enlist the support of a coach. This stage requires
• Reading books about retirement
• Determining the timing of your retirement
• Talking to others who have retired
• Exploring where to live, staying in place, or having a second home
• Discovering the kind of lifestyle you want
What will you do with no schedule, no family, and no friends close by if you decide to move? How will you deal with the loss of medical professionals that you have relied on for so many years? These are very critical decisions that should not be postponed until after the fact.
My spouse will be so happy to be spending more time together daily in retirement.
Often this stage of life throws two people together who have had little day-to-day involvement during the working phase of their lives. Suddenly they are together every day. In some cases, one has been home and the other, typically the husband, has been at work 8 to 10 hours a day.
Since the pandemic, more couples are together daily, working from home, giving them a front row seat on daily togetherness while working. After retirement, imagine being home every day without the distraction of work. Without a plan, you would be together every day with no idea as to how you’d spend this time. One spouse may feel responsible for creating the schedule when previously he or she has been free to make their own plans. As a result, conflict may arise. It is so important that a couple communicate well in advance of either or both retiring.
My husband and I had many discussions long before we became more serious about these plans and long before I was ready for these discussions. At times, it was challenging for me. However, I am forever grateful to him. Our discussions helped me to realize how uncomfortable I was about this transition and how much preparation I needed to make friends with this life stage. I actually had to do preliminary preparation to then begin planning. I am now into the tenth year of my definition of semi-retirement and really enjoying it.
I’ll follow the crowd and do what my friends are doing.
Instead of exploring what it is that you need to define your ideal retirement, you default to someone else’s plan. There are so many different interests, needs, activity levels, and connections to family/friends for each of us that following the crowd may leave you disillusioned and unfulfilled. Why is this?
Some are so used to others leading that they follow this pattern in retirement planning. Still, others have no idea how to plan because “you don’t know what you don’t know.” There are those who have not done the introspective work to clarify what they need and is most important to them in this new phase of life. One’s direction in retirement should be from the inside out, not from the outside in. Maintaining autonomy in making these important decisions is imperative to ensure that you will be living your own retirement lifestyle and not someone else’s.
Let me assist you in planning your successful retirement. Please call me at 703-435-2273 or visit my website at https://www.LifeandWorkTransitions.com.