Tag Archives: retirement

A Retirement Plan Beyond the Financials

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From my US News & World Blog

When I used to contemplate retirement, I pictured a world beyond work where I would be free to do whatever I wanted or even nothing at all. Retirement was not about what I would be doing, but what I would no longer be forced to do: the daily grind, heavy commuter traffic, stressful meetings, and the constant battle to rise higher in the ranks. My retirement would include none of this and good riddance.

I planned to save diligently throughout my working days and pay off big debts along the way. I wanted to be financially prepared by age 65 to rest and relax, enjoy my free time, not worry about tomorrow, and just live in the moment. That wishful thinking was pretty much my plan for retirement.

The reality is quite different for many people entering retired life. No one questions the importance of providing for your financial needs in retirement. We certainly need enough money to live and enjoy ourselves after we leave the workforce. But once you have the money side of things taken care of, there are still other retirement preparations that need to be made. Consider what you will do for the next twenty or thirty years. Assuming you now have the time to do what you want to do, what exactly are you going to do?

Too many people enter retirement with no plans beyond having enough money to make it to the end. Their main goal has been to reach retirement age, while little or no thought has gone into what happens next. If you don’t plan and prepare for your retired life, you may discover yourself just existing rather than truly living. Instead of waking each morning excited about what the day may hold, you could find yourself bored, alone, confused, and unsure. Without planning for your life after retirement, are you even ready to retire? Before you retire, ask yourself:

  • What activities do I find most interesting that can occupy my days? Beyond just keeping busy, what meaningful endeavors can I undertake since I have the time to do so?
  • Are there interests that I am passionate about? Retirement provides the time and freedom to do what you have never been able to do. Pursuing a passion inspires us and helps keep us feeling young.
  • As I slow down over time, how will I adjust my lifestyle and activities to account for the challenges of aging? Our physical and mental condition will change over the years, so we need to factor that into our plans.
  • How will I balance relaxing with productive activities? Sometimes it’s great to slow down and escape the whirling activities of daily life. But there is much to be gained from hobbies, volunteer work, and other productive activities. Retirement does not necessarily mean that you withdraw completely from society, even if you want to slow down a bit
  • Is there something I have dreamed of doing, but never had the time due to work and family commitments? Is there any real reason why I can’t do that activity in retirement?
  • Should my health deteriorate, what options do I have in the area for assisted living arrangements? Will I be able to stay in my home independently? Can I possibly live with other family members? What will I do if the time comes when I need help?
  • Do I want to continue living in my current community or would a move be desirable? And, if so, where to?
  • Do I have a sufficient support network available in my current friends and family?
  • Are there opportunities in my daily life to engage my mind and body so I remain as healthy as I can?

Retirement can be a time for us to pursue passions that have excited us throughout our lives, but it does not automatically happen. We need to put effort into our retirement happiness. Beyond the financials, we must also generate ideas and an action plan for a fulfilling and stimulating retired life.

Dave Bernard is the author of I Want To Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be. Although not yet retired, he focuses on identifying and understanding the essential components a fulfilling and meaningful retirement. He shares his discoveries and insights on his blog Retirement-Only The Beginning.

How to Stay Fit as you get Older

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Post by Sebastian Bos

Don’t count yourself out of the fitness crowd just because you’ve moved into a retirement home in Lancashire, where spending your time watching daytime TV and sitting around is the norm. You’re in a retirement home, not a graveyard.

Keeping fit is important no matter what stage of life you’re in, but many older people feel there’s not a lot of exercise they can do without risk of hurting themselves. Wrong! Keeping fit doesn’t necessarily mean getting out on the field for a vigorous game of football every night. Here are our top tips for staying fit as you get older.

Take a Stroll Every Day

Walking is the most basic form of exercise there is, and it’s important, too. Half an hour a day is the perfect amount to maintain basic fitness levels and keep your heart and lungs healthy. Half an hour of walking a day almost sounds TOO easy, right?

Engage in Moderate Aerobic Activity

Moderate aerobic exercise, in which your heart rates rises and you break a slight sweat, is a fantastic way to keep in shape, and is great for older people who want to do something more interesting than take a gentle stroll each day, but don’t fancy vigorous exercise. Cycling, swimming and line- and ballroom-dancing all do the trick! Shoot for two and a half hours per week.

Toss in Some High Intensity Exercises

This isn’t an absolute necessity, but if you’re relatively fit and healthy for your age, you should have no problems, and it can be fun as well as beneficial. If you’re up for it, sports such as badminton, running, squash and tennis will work their magic.

Muscle-Strengthening Bodyweight Exercises

Keeping your muscles strong doesn’t necessarily mean lifting weights at the gym, and it’s such an important element to maintaining your overall health. Your muscles will naturally weaken as you age, meaning regular tasks become harder and harder and you become more susceptible to diseases like osteoporosis – but there’s no reason you can’t fight back by incorporating body weight exercises (no weights needed!) into your week.

The aim is to work all your different muscle groups, including your back, arms, legs and core. Exercises like push ups, pull ups, squats and lunges can help you achieve this, but don’t worry if that sounds impossible: there are easier ways of doing these exercises than the full blown techniques you’re probably imagining right now. Push ups can be done against a wall, for example, instead of flat on the floor.

Hopefully you’re now confident that you can take exercise every day that will help keep you in shape, even if you are stuck in that care home in Lancashire. And just remember: some activity is better than none at all, so don’t immediately try to incorporate all of the above into your life if you find it overwhelming. Start slow, with that gentle stroll each day, and build on your fitness routine over time.

The Case for On-Again, Off-Again Retirement

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From my US News & World Blog

A funny thing happened on the way to retirement. It turns out that not everyone feels the all-consuming need to escape from the working world. Some people actually enjoy the benefits that come from working with others in a company environment toward a common goal. Staying engaged and involved mentally and physically can help senior citizens realize a more fulfilling and exciting second act. And for some, the working world offers an increasingly attractive option.

One obvious motivation for working longer is to counter the financial hardship brought on by a challenging and unpredictable economy. Sometimes we need to work longer than we hoped in order to save enough money, as witnessed in a study by the National Council on Aging that found pre-retirees, on average, delaying retirement by five years due to the impact of the recent recession.

But the appeal of working beyond retirement age is more than just monetary. The council’s United States of Aging Survey report found that of the 1 in 5 seniors still working either full- or part-time, 70 percent ranked enjoyment high on their list of reasons to stay in the workforce.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Although only 4 percent of retirees say they want to work full-time in retirement, 36 percent would like to go back and forth between periods of work and leisure.

Having successfully negotiated a career and satisfied the requirements of raising a family, retirement age historically meant exchanging the stresses of working for a peaceful second act filled with relaxing hours and happy pursuits. But while workers of days gone by may have exhausted their body in physically demanding occupations, today’s workers have many good years left to pursue new and exciting interests. That said, they do not want to miss out on the leisure time they have heard so much about.

One intriguing possibility is to work a bit, retire a bit, work a bit, and so on. For some, an on-again, off-again retirement can be just the ticket. Enjoy the engagement and stimulation provided within the job for a period of time, perhaps a few years. Interact with co-workers, complete projects, and learn new technologies. All the while you remain removed from the sometimes crippling stress of a working situation that you must stay with for better or worse due to financial and other requirements. You know it is for a limited amount of time. Then, when you are ready for the retirement side of the coin, you exit the job and chill a bit.

I find this combination attractive not just for the on-again, off-again aspect, but also for the opportunity to learn new things. Each new company has different processes, technologies, challenges, and opportunities. You meet new people and have new experiences that keep your mind engaged and stimulated.

There are risks when you decide to leave a job, especially as you get older. You may not immediately find something when you are ready to return to the workforce. But if you haveprepared for retirement and are not financially in jeopardy, the lack of an immediate position only means an extension of the retirement part of your on-again, off-again strategy.

And with 10,000 baby boomers reaching age 65 each day, smart hiring companies will have to take notice of this valuable pool of labor. With skills, experience, and a willingness to work, along with the fact that seniors do not actually cost more, older workers can hope to find their employment prospects improving. According to the book Managing the Older Worker: How to Prepare for the New Organizational Order, doubling your percentage of 55-year-old workers raises your business’s total compensation costs by a mere 1 percent.

An on-again, off-again retirement may not be for everyone, but it can provide a happy medium for some. It offers the opportunity to pursue one passion for a period of time and then head down the path toward another after a bit of time spent recharging in between. Each of us has to do what is right for our specific situation, but it is good to know there are some interesting options out there.

Dave Bernard is the author of I Want To Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be. Although not yet retired, he focuses on identifying and understanding the essential components a fulfilling and meaningful retirement. He shares his discoveries and insights on his blog Retirement-Only The Beginning.