Retirement Stages
What’s so difficult about planning for retirement? You save; you retire; you spend.
If only it were that straightforward. Today’s pre-retirees and retirees have so much more to consider. Longer lifespans mean longer exposure to the possibility of inflation eroding your purchasing power. And then there are these concerns:
– The global economy and its impact on everything from market volatility to interest rates to unemployment and wages
– The decrease in company pensions and greater burden for retirees to provide more of their retirement income
– The long-term solvency and viability of Social Security
– How future legislation and the political environment might impact Medicare
It’s a lot to think about. That’s one reason it’s important to work with a knowledgeable financial professional to help you consider the factors that might impact your retirement. The good news is that many retirees now have the time, thanks to a longer lifespan, to plan for and enjoy a longer retirement. When it comes to your retirement income planning needs, we may be able to help with that; just give us a call. As an independent financial services firm, we help people create retirement strategies using a variety of insurance products to custom suit their needs and objectives.
Much as our younger adult life can be divided into stages — college, job, marriage, family and all manner of advancement rungs in a career — retirement can be broken into separate categories as well. It’s not all travel and country club parties, gardening and golfing, grandchildren and book clubs. In fact, those activities are generally characteristic of the first stage of retirement, when we tend to spend more time with family and friends, pursuing hobbies, travel and other “bucket list” items.1
One of the best things about the first stage of retirement is that Mondays are no longer dreaded; they’re just another day of the week.It may take some time, but some retirees learn to replace their office wear for roomy, comfortable workout pants and soft tees. Put these on, and you can just feel the stress melt away.2
During the second stage of retirement, you might not travel quite as much. You may even think about moving closer to your children or to a community with other people your same age. These are good instincts because it’s important at this stage to stay socially connected. 3
During this stage, if you’re concerned about the possibility of outliving your income, it’s natural to cut back on expensive activities like travel. In fact, now that you spend more time at home, you might consider getting an easy, low-stress part-time job. Or you could join the gig economy, working from home.4 It’s important to remain engaged, and, of course, extra money coming in wouldn’t hurt.5
In the third stage, when retirees move past age 80 or later, they may need daily assistance.6 Again, it’s a good idea to set up some type of regular relationship to avoid isolation and stay connected — even if you remain quite independent. This could involve sharing meals with a companion on a regular basis. Have someone you can call to change a lightbulb, move furniture around for better mobility or help you bake an old family recipe — and share it over a cup of coffee.
Each stage requires some degree of planning. Even during a “freewheeling, high-octane” first stage, you’ll need to lay some of the groundwork to help ensure your latter stages of retirement are enjoyable. This includes eating healthy, establishing an exercise routine that is sustainable throughout your lifetime and engaging in activities you can continue through old, old age. And, perhaps most important, work on strengthening relationships that will be with you forever.
Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.
1 BoomingEncore.com. “Three Different Stages of Retirement” http://www.boomingencore.com/three-different-stages-retirement/. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
2 Business Insider. April 16, 2017. “I retired at 52 with a $3 million net worth — here are 10 things that surprised me about early retirement.” www.businessinsider.com/early-retiree-shares-10-things-that-surprised-him-after-he-quit-his-job-2017-4. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
3 BoomingEncore.com. “Three Different Stages of Retirement” http://www.boomingencore.com/three-different-stages-retirement/. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
4 Mary Beth Franklin. Investment News. April 21, 2017. “Retirees embrace the gig economy.” http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20170421/BLOG05/170429976/retirees-embrace-the-gig-economy. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
5 Katy Read. Star Tribune. Sept. 4, 2016. “Get back to work! Working past ‘retirement age’ is beneficial.” http://www.startribune.com/experts-agree-working-past-retirement-age-is-beneficial/388305801/. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
6 BoomingEncore.com. “Three Different Stages of Retirement” http://www.boomingencore.com/three-different-stages-retirement/. Accessed Aug. 6, 2017.
This material is intended to provide general information to help you understand basic retirement income strategies and should not be construed as financial advice.
The information contained in this material is believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed; it is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions. If you are unable to access any of the news articles and sources through the links provided in this text, please contact us to request a copy of the desired reference.
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