We're into a new topic now (catch up here if you need to). In this second post, we're looking further at what you need to think about when it comes to retirement, and some things that you need to do to help you to prepare for it.
Retirement is a Transition, not a Hard Stop
Crucially, I think it’s vital to understand that retirement is less of an event than a process. It isn’t a hard stop any more; it’s a transition which often happens over many years, and I actually think this is really healthy.
I don’t have any scientifically gathered evidence to prove this, but I’ve seen enough empirical ‘evidence’ throughout my own life and career that suggests that working flat-out one day and then doing nothing but watching daytime TV after that, is very bad for your body and mind.
Some reduce their hours at work. Others do something completely different, moving from executive-level work or even business ownership to driving a van or stacking shelves. It may not even be paid work, just something to keep the mind and body active.
Couples often stagger their retirements, and I often think this is because the thought of being together 24-7 is a bit worrying for them! But it’s also because each individual is just that, an individual, and even though they have built a life together, they still want to live their own life to some degree, and rightly so.
Fortunately, the financial services industry has kept up with this changing paradigm of retirement and now you can phase benefits from your pensions in all sorts of wonderful ways. The pensions freedoms of 2016 have made a massive difference to the retirement planning landscape – and I’m looking forward to exploring some of these with you over the next ten weeks.
Retirement is Yours to Define
Finally, you need to understand, really grasp that your retirement is just that – YOUR retirement. There are absolutely no expectations being put on you by anyone else except maybe your partner. There’s no objectively correct standard of what a retirement should look like; it is a blank canvas waiting for you to put your unique mark on it. What will it look, like I wonder?
Everything You Need to DO
Start to Think About What Retirement Will Look Like
If you’re in the stage of life where retirement is looming in the near-ish future, then it’s well worth you sitting down one evening with a receptacle of your favourite beverage and just start thinking and dreaming.
What would a typical day look like? Where will you be? What time will you rise? What will you eat for breakfast? Will your day be full and planned out or spontaneous? Who will be there with you? Will you go on holiday, or live somewhere which is like a full-time holiday?
Start to Gather Together all Your Stuff
Dragging you back to practical realities, you also need to make a start gathering together all the information you have about your various financial plans, policies, investments and pensions.
Don’t worry about organising it yet, but make a start going through the filing cabinet or those drawers stuffed full of old envelopes, or those plastic boxes in the loft. It might take you a while, so best get started. Don’t put it off – time goes quickly, and better to be on the ball, ahead of the curve and whichever other metaphor you might want to use about being proactive.
OK, let's look at refining your idea for retirement!
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