What is retirement life planning?
When we think of retirement planning, we usually think of finances. Of course, finances do form a foundation for retirement, and they will have an impact on what your retirement looks like. But financial plans are just the start.
A recent survey by Edward Jones found that 77% of those planning to retire are looking for resources that go beyond finances.
Another survey by Standard Life found that only 54% of pre-retirees feel mentally prepared, and 48% feel socially prepared for retirement. So roughly half of retirees are feeling like they need to do more to prepare for the social-psychological side of retirement.
One of the most common questions in the run-up to retirement is, “how will you spend your time?” Some of us will have very clear answers to this, while others may have no idea. Actually, this question can cause a lot of uncertainty and concern about retirement: What will I do? More importantly, will I really enjoy it?
The latter question is really the one we want to be focusing on. And this is what retirement life planning is about. It is not necessarily about generating a bucket list, looking for volunteer roles, or finding other ways to fill time and keep busy—although it can include these things. It is more about understanding what this next chapter in your life means to you. It is about designing a lifestyle plan that aligns with your own vision for what this phase of life will bring. For some, it may be a busy time. For others, it may be mellow—a time to slow down. The important point is that you find it engaging and fulfilling.
—Keep in mind, retirement can be engaging without being overly busy.
What does retirement life planning entail?
Every coach, or planning professional, will have their own style and method for working with clients. At Retirement Life Plan, we aim to go beyond surface level planning, to help you design a lifestyle with elements that are shown to support wellbeing. We aim to help people prepare by first looking at personal circumstances, characteristics, and preferences. Understanding who you are as an individual is key to discovering a fulfilling retirement. We want to design a lifestyle that aligns with you, as opposed to following advice that has worked for others.
We also base our approach on an in-depth understanding of research on retirement adjustment and wellbeing. With this, we are able to help pre-retirees (as well as recent retirees) to avoid common pitfalls and prepare in ways that will support and enhance their wellbeing in retirement. Our goal is for the focus on meaningful work and job satisfaction to be expanded, to include a fulfilling retirement.
What else should you be thinking about?
How ready are you for retirement?
What type of retiree will you become?
What is your ideal vision for your retirement? Is it realistic?
What do you need to do?
Of course you want to be thinking about your ideal vision for retirement, and how ready you are for retirement. For some, this is tricky and a bit mysterious—how can you really know what retirement will be like until you get there? It is quite normal to experience some anxiety and stress with uncertainties in the approach to retirement. Reflecting within, on your own personal values, interests, and passions is a great place to start. You can also start that process with one of our introductory sessions with a Certified Retirement Life Coach.
If you are a coach or professional who is working with pre-retirees, we provide retirement-specific training that helps you to get at the heart of the issues that retirees face.
