As a Coach, partnering with people making various life changes, I’m often asked, “how will I know when I should retire?”. Work often gets in the way of things people prefer to do, and those desires become stronger as retirement begins to beckon, but leaving the workforce is a personal and individual decision. As with other life choices, sometimes when the time is right, you “just know.” Perhaps other life circumstances may dictate the necessity. Some may choose semi-retirement or not to retire at all, while others may not have retirement options. There is no “one size fits all” answer.
Finances are understandably valid and primary retirement considerations. Can you afford it? How much is enough? People, employers, governments all have different needs, plans, and requirements, so each situation must be taken individually. Some find benefit, while still employed, in cutting living expenses to expected retirement fund levels, easing the shock of no longer receiving a paycheck, and smoothing financial transitions. The added advantage: it allows more savings.
Others may decide to stop contributing to savings plans, using those monies to explore places and areas of interest, and rejuvenate their spirit while continuing to have income. Banks, financial planners, investment and other financial organizations, even the internet, offer retirement calculators which consider age, income, debt, savings, lifestyle choices, and other financial issues specific to each situation.
The decision to retire has other significant deliberations: for some, lifestyle considerations create challenges equal to, or greater than, finances. Retirement, for some, is a natural life progression: they eagerly, actively, plan and look forward to it. Their identity is not tied exclusively to their job; they know how they want to spend time in retirement, where and how they want to live. They have mentally and socially stimulating relationships and consider retirement a well-earned reward for hard work, a time for personal renewal. They don’t view retirement as aging-out and, in terms of age mandates, may even retire “early”. It’s time for them to enjoy things more important than continuing to work.
[otw_is sidebar=otw-sidebar-8]
Another option is “practicing” retirement or phasing into part-time work. They may travel, consider relocation, assess how they feel being away from family or friends and see how loved-ones react to their being away. Does it cause relationship strain or do they continue to have emotional support systems? Some find it’s more comforting and preferable to remain near family and friends, or that their dream locations, in reality, do not match their expectations. Not all dreams are expensive, but by practicing retirement or working part-time, necessary adjustments are more easily made, problem areas identified.
Some find decisions about retirement complex, complicated, and fraught with stress and nerve-wracking uncertainty. They may, or not, enjoy their work but postpone making related decisions. They often expect it will “work out somehow”. And perhaps it will. But a much more satisfying retirement is possible with some honest soul-searching and planning.
Not everyone is tempted by retirement and of course it’s fine to work as long as you want and are able to do so. Some actually fear walking away from employment, at any age. A recent French study of about 500,000 people found the risk of dementia reduced by 3.2 percent for each additional year past retirement age worked. But this does not mean everyone should delay retirement. It’s important to engage in things enjoyable and healthy, to stay mentally and socially active, and some experience this primarily in the workplace.
A satisfying retirement need not mean sitting around doing nothing: it may be more active or last longer and be reinvented from years past. Who are you without your job? What do you want to do with the rest of your life? When do you want to do it? Are you happy in your job? Have you outgrown it or burned out? What more can you see yourself doing? How will this affect your family? Who still depends on you, and for what? Does your partner support your choices and timeline? Do you yearn to travel or explore new things? Will your health, family obligations, and finances support that? In the absence of a work identity, how will you redefine and identify yourself? Are you as good at “living life” as you are at “doing work”? Is your self-worth and identity defined solely by your job? If so, you may need to plan to continue to work, or, alternately, to “get a life,” developing other friendships, activities, and interests outside the work place. These are important questions to ponder, whether presently considering retirement or not.
Retirement is an opportunity to live out unfinished desires, to focus on and reengage in more leisurely or fulfilling joys of living, free of responsibilities of earning an income. In this context, it’s more important to understand who you are than what you want to do. It’s possible, at any age, to live life to your fullest ability, carefully assessing and prioritizing what’s most important to do, when, with whom, and why. How important is it?
It’s appropriate to dream and to plan, and it’s equally important to remember life is unpredictable and can change in a blink. Things may not always go according to plan, so stay open to making adjustments along life’s way, and make every day count. It’s good to have a plan and idea of when you hope to retire and to listen with both your heart and your head to know when personal conviction tells you it’s time to do so. Retirement need not be an ending. With proper introspection, a clear lifestyle plan will serve you as well as a solid financial plan to another satisfying, fulfilling, productive stage of life’s journey.
