Are Your Retirement Plans Too Cliché?
Many soon-to-be retirees haven’t seriously considered what they’ll do in retirement.
The concept of retirement has changed from a monolithic block of time after you’ve stopped working, into a fluid and shifting experience that, for many people, may last almost as long as their career did.
For many of the clients we deal with, the idea of not being active feels more like a death sentence than a well-deserved break from a lifetime of accomplishment. We are consistently hearing about retirement plans of part-time work, mostly either charitable or consulting, which will provide the dual benefits of some extra income in addition to providing an outlet for energy.
Another consistent theme we see regarding retirement planning is the lack of a carefully thought-out plan for how time will actually be spent in retirement. In fact, many pre-retirees we speak with haven’t seriously considered what they’ll do in retirement.
So, how do you ensure that your retirement will not be just another cliché? Here are three things to consider:
Figure out what you want.
Your ideal way of spending your days will probably look more similar to what you did while you were working than you might think, and taking the steps to figure out what you want it to look like will help you plan for that time in the appropriate manner.
Analyze the possibilities.
One thing my experience as a financial planner has shown me is that making a plan and analyzing the full range of possible outcomes is the real key. In fact, our clients repeatedly tell us that engaging in our complete planning process before retirement has helped them add flexibility into their lives—something that their pre-retirement careers have taught them is essential.
Go for a test drive.
I find the concept of test driving your retirement plan especially interesting, since helping our clients to pre-experience the outcomes of various decisions they face in their lives is what I focus on in our practice. We are carefully focused on the financial implications of a given decision, though our goal is ultimately to remove the financial constraints from the decision-making process and allow other (generally more emotional) factors to take control. Try this: Take a couple of weeks off from work and try out the ideas that you’ve considered. Go and play golf every day of the week. Volunteer at a homeless shelter or at the office of your favorite charity. Maybe go make friends with the manager of a vineyard and see what’s involved in running that kind of operation.
Call it a “retirement dress rehearsal”.
I’ll bet you come away with an experience you won’t soon forget and a better feeling for what you really want to do in your twilight years. Or, maybe you’ll figure out that you love what you do right now and just want to do it at a slower pace.
Read this article on U.S. News & World Report >
Monument Wealth Management in Alexandria VA, is a full service wealth management firm and Registered Investment Advisor. Monument Wealth Management has been featured in several national media sources for the past several years. Tim and Monument Wealth Management can be followed on their blog at Off The Wall, their Twitter account@MonumentWealth, and on their Facebook page.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendation for individual. To determine which investment is appropriate please consult your financial advisor prior to investing.
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