A Planned Retirement Is A Happy Retirement
While there’s no guarantee your retirement will be a happy one, Next Avenue has found that academic research and noteworthy books about retirement, like The Retirement Maze and How to Retire Happy, suggest the following nine factors will boost your chances.
9. See your children and grandchildren if you have any.
Stan Hinden, author of How to Retire Happy, said his favorite tip from his retirement do’s and don’ts list was: Do find ways to be friends with your children and grandchildren, even though they are very busy. You need them, Hinden added, and, whether they realize it or not, they need you.
8. Keep a Schedule, But Not Like Your Pre-Retirement One
A study from Taiwan said the key to a happy retirement isn’t how much free time you have, it’s how you manage whatever free time you have. A schedule prevents you from getting bored, depressed or lonely. Organize your activities on a daily a weekly basis — just not hourly, the authors said.
7. Learn New Things or Pursue Your Passions
Those passions could be ones you’ve long held or that you had when you were much younger, like playing an instrument. Retirement is a great time to discover new passions, too, by taking classes or finding one-on-one instruction. Check out local colleges for adult education and continuing education classes, too.
6. Get a Part-Time Job In Retirement
Part-time work in retirement can be very satisfying, not just financially but psychically. Studies show that working in retirement helps keep your mind sharp and helps you avoid getting isolated and lonely. Maybe you can to come up with a phased-retirement plan through your current employer. If not, try securing a part-time job elsewhere, perhaps by setting up shop as a consultant or a project-based contractor.
5. Stay Engaged and Healthy If You Can
Career coach Bill Ellermeyer says the happiest retirees he knows are either engaged in some kind of meaningful activity or actively employed. Some have become entrepreneurs; some have started encore careers (doing either paid work or volunteering for the greater good), some are just volunteering here and there.
4. Choose When to Retire and Then Follow Through
The authors of The Retirement Maze surveyed 1,477 retirees to see what made the happy ones happy. They found that 69% of the retirees who retired by choice were satisfied with their lifestyle but only 36% pushed into retirement said they were.
3. Come Up With a Retirement Income Plan
Figure out how much your 401(k) and other accounts will translate into monthly income; how much you’ll get from Social Security and any pension; how much you can afford to withdraw each year and which accounts you’ll tap first for withdrawals to keep taxes down.
2. If You Have a Spouse or Partner, Talk About Your Plans Together.
Neal Frankle, a noted financial planner, recently wrote on Next Avenue that he finds it helpful for couples to discuss their retirement dreams and write them down. Then, he says, they should mark each as a “must have,” a “want” or a “wish” and be ready to compromise.
1. Figure Out In Advance What You Want Out of Retirement
Determine, as best as you can, how you’ll spend your days, where you’ll spend them and what would make you fulfilled. One key decision is where you will retire and how much traveling you’ll want to do. A survey of 389 expats by the Best Places in the World to Retire website found that 81% were happier in their new country than where they lived before.
by Richard Eisenberg
Author: Richard Eisenberg
Source: Forbes Media LLC
Retrieved from: www.forbes.com