Even if you like your job, you probably look forward to retirement. The better prepared you are, the more you’ll enjoy it, so take a look at the tips below and make sure you’ve considered some of the most important aspects of your post-retirement life.
Your Vision for Retirement
First, think about what you want the years ahead to be. Retirement can be anything you want: spending more time with your family, traveling, even starting your own business or going back to school. This time should be all about you, so don’t worry too much about other people’s “shoulds” and think about what you want. This can also help you prepare emotionally for the big change ahead. Many people simply assume that it is going to be so wonderful to not have to go to work that they don’t really think past that point, but after a few weeks of catching up on sleep and doing what you like, you’re probably going to want a new purpose.
Your Money Situation
How much do you have saved? How much will you receive in Social Security? Do you have enough to cover your expenses and the kind of lifestyle that you want? If the answer seems to be no, don’t worry. There can be a lot of options, such as moving to a place with a cheaper cost of living or looking at your assets and seeing what you can sell. For example, if you have a life insurance policy, you may want to find out whether you can sell it through a life settlement. You can review a guide designed to help clients understand whether this is an option.
Your Social Situation
It can be easy to become too isolated after retirement, so be sure to give some thought to what your social situation will be like. This is particularly true if large parts of your social life are connected to your work. You might want to think about making connections in the community in other ways, whether that’s through volunteer work, your religion or pursuing a particular interest of yours–perhaps one that you didn’t have much time for until you retired.
Dealing With Family
There are a few aspects of family life you may need to navigate after retirement. First, if you have a spouse or partner who is also retired, it could put a strain on your relationship if you are both at home together all the time. How will you deal with this? Think ahead about ways to ease stress so that you have solutions locked and loaded if you and your partner start to experience new tensions. The other common issue is if you have grandchildren nearby and your children want you to do childcare. Some grandparents may be delighted with this, others less so. You may need to establish your boundaries while still assuring your family that you care about them.
Not Retiring
Have you considered not retiring? Not everyone is really cut out for it. You may want to stay on in the job that you currently have, but if this isn’t possible or desirable, this might be a great time to start your own business or see if you can use your expertise in some other way. You could teach a fitness class for older adults, lead tours in your community, or help a nonprofit with filing or phone banking.
