Go? No-go? A Guide for Planning to Retire

Chances are that you’ve given your finances a lot of thought with retiring. Outliving your retirement savings is number one on the list of concerns of men 50 and over, along with access to adequate healthcare coming in second. But what about your psychological health? Have you given it any thought? The key is to prepare long beforehand and we can help with A Guide For Planning to Retire.

It’s not unusual for new retirees to experience a bout of depression after the initial ‘honeymoon phase’ of retirement because they just don’t know what to do with themselves. This happens for a variety of reasons. Whether you didn’t think ahead of what retirement would look like, you’ve lost your sense of identity, or you didn’t realize the amount of strain it would cause, you could find yourself lost and even disheartened. So, how can you prepare?

Start Visualizing Retirement

If you’re like me, you’ve already planned your “retirement.” Mine involves a sailboat, a bottle of wine, a laptop and me happily writing away while watching the sunset off the Keys. But realistically, at least five years before, it’ll be the time to start genuinely visualizing what retirement means to you and what you see yourself doing.

To Work?

Do you still want to work just in a different capacity? What are the possibilities in your industry? Or do you want to reinvent yourself and pursue a career you’ve always dreamt of, but it wasn’t financially workable? Now’s the time to explore, assuming you have the finances to back you up and are accepting of the demands on your time. We have the statistics on our side as mentioned in our blog, Making the Most of Your 50’s, middle-aged entrepreneurs are almost two times more successful in launching start-ups.

Or Not to Work?

If you don’t want to work at all, that’s perfectly acceptable! (I think we’ve done enough, let’s have our kids run things since it’s so easy. HA!) But seriously, how will you fill your time? Will you travel, volunteer, or just kick back and relax? The question here is: What’s your personality like? Can you handle not having anything to do for days on end or would that make you crazy? Boredom can lead to stress and the more stressed you feel, the easier it is to regret your decision to retire.

Do you have family or friends that are retired or planning to retire soon? If so, ask them what’s going well and not so according to plan. Listen to their stories and hear their problems. Do you see the same things happening to you? Now is the time to make sure they don’t.

Review your Financial Plan

If you haven’t at this point, and for peace of mind, sit down with a financial advisor and talk about your plan.

• Determine when you should start your government entitlements such as Social Security and Medicaid.
• Can you (or should you) max out your 401K contributions if these programs are available to you? Read up on what the Internal Revenue Service allows.
• Capitalize on other investment tools such as an IRA or Roth IRA. (The difference between taxed and pre-tax dollars.)
• Do you have access to, or plan on creating, any other income sources? Check out our blog on Making Money During Retirement.

Three top things retirees found in the first year; 1) the money goes FAST, 2) I can’t get the hard-wired 9 to 5 schedule out of my system, and 3) wow…things change! Now is not the time to realize you’re strapped for cash, have nothing to do and you don’t have a plan.

Make Concrete Plans One Year Out

That 365 mark is more than laughing hysterically each time you rip a page off the daily calendar. Now is the time to get real and start implementing your go-for-launch checklist. What will the first day, week, month be like? Sleeping in? Eating out? Did you plan a life event like a world cruise, a month-long hike through the Andes, playing the top ten golf courses in the country? Perfect! The celebratory phase typically lasts for the first year, but you could find yourself off-course within the first week or two if you don’t have plans. Remember, this first year is a transition. Spend enough time with the reveling and then get down to the business of retiring, whatever that meant to you.

Your First Year as a Retiree

Finances aside for a minute, think about your mental picture. The first year of retirement is your time to be free and to have fun, but what if you don’t know how to? What if you thrive on structure and without it you feel lost? It’s time to find yourself. According to Nancy K Schlossberg, there are six types of retirees:

• Continuers who stay within their career in some fashion even though they’re retired.
• Searchers who try the new things and see what works and what doesn’t.
• Retreaters who stay laid back and do little; they have the highest risk of becoming depressed.
• Involved spectators who stay involved in their industry, but at a much more subdued role, such as a volunteer.
• Easy gliders who just go with whatever is going on.
• Adventurers who go out and try many new hobbies or even new professions.

Where do you fall on this scale? (Most of us probably associate with a few of the categories) Do you have any interest in staying employed or do you want to cut ties with the working world? What resonates with you the most? Don’t forget about this essential aspect of retirement; yourself!

Final Thoughts

Planning is the most important thing you can do in retirement. Consider your finances, without a doubt, but this is only one part of a successful retirement. Don’t forget about your emotional and mental health because if you aren’t happy, what good will the money do you? Take the time to go “big picture” far enough in advance so you can adjust accordingly.

We hope that you’ve found some beneficial information with our A Guide For Planning to Retire. As always, if you don’t see something here you want, reach out to us directly though our Contact page or leave a comment below. All the best ~ Glen.