Anyone thinking about retirement in the next 10 years needs to start planning for what life after work will look like for them, and not just the financial aspects, according to Stanford Brown director of private wealth Vincent O’Neill.
“While having a healthy superannuation balance is important for a comfortable retirement, it’s not the only consideration for making sure the retirement years are positive and rewarding,” Mr O’Neill said.
“Unfortunately, people tend to focus solely on the financial side of their retirement planning and neglect the lifestyle considerations.
“Going ‘cold turkey’ into retirement is never a good idea, and we often see people struggling with the first few years of retirement because they haven’t spent enough time thinking about what they want their lifestyle to look like, well before they retire.”
Mr O’Neill said it is more important than ever for clients to ask themselves what they are retiring to, not just focus on what they are retiring from.
“When people think about retirement, the focus is on broad themes of ‘travel’, ‘relaxation’, ‘family’, ‘golf’ – whereas little thought may have been given toward what retirement looks like on a daily basis,” he said.
“This can lead to a lack of direction, a lot of time in front of the TV and in many cases periods of disenchantment.”
Further, Mr O’Neill said perhaps the biggest challenge for people is learning that their job is not who they are.
“Anyone who defines themselves by their work, profession or stature will find retirement to be a big challenge,” he said.
“The secret is to identify where they funnel their energy now, and what kinds of things keep them mentally active. Busy retirees tend to be the happiest when they are doing things they enjoy.”
What are you ‘going to do’ in retirement? What’s your plan for the first six months, twelve months?, two years?, five years?
Just as a financial plan looks ahead and wants to achieve certain goals, a retirement lifestyle plan is also important.
Do you have networks outside of work?
How will you keep the brain active and challenged? Will you work part time? Will you do casual work?
Are you planning ‘Cliff Edge’ retirement (Celia Dodd), where you suddenly stop work or are you going to work ease into retirement?
Golf and other leisure activities can look very attractive when you are working, but too much can lead to an ‘over balanced’ lifestyle portfolio.
Joining the ‘FishMoreAndDoLittle Company’ is not a great idea.
You have skills and experience – how are you going to use those?
Will you move in retirement? Do you want to move? Do you have to move?
If you have a partner…do you both agree on where you want to retire?
What are the ‘push and pull’ factors?
Having interviewed and written about 100’s of pre and post retirees, (21 Ways to Retire, Where To Retire In Australia, Retire Bizzi), finding a sense of purpose in retirement may for some people be difficult .
Author Charles Handy made the comment: ‘I felt like I was moving from a sheltered workshop to the open world as if I had stepped out of nice little cave in my life that was at least a place of safety. What would be my identity?