It is essential for most people to be active at something they consider meaningful for happiness. Otherwise, after a period of travel, visiting, fishing, golfing and catching up on the chores we may be doing little more than waiting to die. Having no meaningful purpose for living can create life threatening stresses. We have all known seemingly healthy individuals who were not happy in retirement and did not live long after retiring.
Good health and happiness usually requires busy minds and bodies. For many, the challenges of responsibility while working are more stimulating and satisfying than we realize. You will still be the same person and have the same basic requirements for enjoying life after retirement. It is extremely important to identify those requirements and provide for their satisfaction before retirement.
My grandmother once told me that, in her mind, she was the same little girl who played in the meadows seventy years before. Her body had aged but her mind and her perception of who she was had never changed. She admonished me to never become old. If you share that attitude, it is important to provide for the needs of a young senior person. Some of us should never retire. Others should do less work than we once did. Still others of us may expand upon our hobbies and other activities to the point where our lives become more satisfying than when we worked. We must make sure that our lives will have fulfilling activities and we will feel a sense of purpose for as long as we live.
The financial considerations of retirement are also frequently misjudged by individuals about to retire. If your retirement income is fixed, you must consider the effects of inflation on your income. If you can expect to live twenty years after retirement, and inflation is only four percent per year, you are looking at losing almost all of your purchasing power unless you have provided some means for your wealth to grow after retirement. Your health expenses may escalate to a lifetime high at the point where you are least able to pay. Many seniors get caught in this situation without having realized that potential.
The decision to retire may be the most significant decision you make during your adult life. It is usually not reversible. It is important to take a good look at yourself, who you are, what you will need for the rest of your life, and proceed with caution. Consult with those who know you best and consider professional guidance if you are not certain of what you should do.
Retirement seldom enhances life in the absence of effective planning. Make sure that your retirement will enhance the quality of the rest of your life.
DAN ROBLING©