11 Seriously Important Things Too Many People Forget To Do In Preparation For Retirement
Lordn | Shutterstock Retirement no longer looks like wasting away in a recliner, and that means there are important things people forget to do in preparation for retirement in a new, active world. After dedicating so many decades to work and caring for others, retirement can be a time to focus on achieving your dreams.
First, you have to plan for all sorts of things that go well beyond paying your mortgage and eventual care. The good news? Doing it now will help you relax when the day finally comes to retire.
11 seriously important things too many people forget to do in preparation for retirement
1. Set realistic expectations
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Many retirees imagine that stepping away from their careers means stepping into their vacation era, where stress and anxiety no longer exist. As lovely as a stress-free life sounds, it isn't realistic in this day and age.
Having so much unstructured time can bring up a fair amount of anxiety for people, especially since we tend to define our self-worth around our jobs. Retired educator Dr. Riley Moynes reveals the four phases of retirement and offered advice on how to navigate the psychological challenges that retirement presents.
The first phase of retiring is a vacation mindset, which transitions into a mourning period, where retirees grieve the loss of their usual routine. Phase two is when people lose their routine.
"We lose a sense of identity. We lose many of the relationships that we had established at work. We lose a sense of purpose, and for some people, there is a loss of power," he writes.
Keeping your expectations grounded in reality can help prepare you for the sense of disappointment that can accompany retiring. Acknowledging that you're going to experience the full range of emotions when you retire can help you manage the transition.
2. Make a plan to continue learning
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Retiring can often lead to a later-in-life identity crisis. Since they're no longer able to define themselves through work, retirees question what their purpose in life is. Finding ways to mitigate that sense of isolation is essential to having a happy, fulfilling retirement.
You can use your retirement to learn new skills or focus on topics you've always been interested in, like photography or learning a new language. Taking part in community activities, like visiting the library or museums, can alleviate loneliness while being culturally enriching.
There's always room for self-reflection, especially in retirement. You get to define how to want to live out these next golden years, so let your imagination take you places you never thought you'd go.
3. Establish a routine
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One of the biggest disappointments of retirement comes after the initial excitement of having fewer responsibilities wears off: the loss of structure. Most people thrive when they have a set routine, which is why retiring can often make people feel like they're just treading water, waiting for something to come along.
According to a research paper from the Canadian Journal of Counseling and Psychotherapy, one of "the most important psychological challenges resulting from retirement is the loss of a work/life structure and the task of building a retirement/life structure to replace it."
Your goals don't have to be huge in order to be meaningful. You might set the goal of starting your day by walking new routes through your neighborhood or texting a friend you've fallen out of touch with. Even if your new routine is simple, it still provides a sense of purpose, which is a key part of feeling good about yourself in retirement.
4. Plan for financial surprises
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Money is a major concern for people who are preparing to retire, which is why so much of the advice around retirement focuses on the financial aspects. According to the United States Department of Labor, the average American spends around 20 years in retirement, yet only about half of them have calculated how much money they need to save for it.
The Department of Labor referenced data stating that people need 70-90% of their pre-retirement income to have the same standard of living when they stop working. They recommend planning ahead and educating yourself about the retirement plan your employers offer. Starting off small is better than not starting at all, which is why they advise putting money into your retirement fund as soon as you can.
5. Staying connected to other people
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Feeling disconnected from other people is one of the biggest disappointments of retirement, and something too many people forget to prepare for.. Yet retiring doesn't automatically have to mean isolation, as long as you prepare for the emotional challenges of your social networks shifting.
According to an analysis of retirement adjustment predictors published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior, social participation was one of the strongest associations that predicted how people will adjust to retirement.
Building off previous research studies, the analysis pointed out that quantity of relationships isn't the only determinant of a retiree's well-being. The quality of their relationships could be a more important aspect of adjustment, meaning that the amount of social interactions matters less than how connected they are to the people in their lives.
There's nothing wrong with having only a few friends, especially if the strength of those bonds lift your spirits and empower you. Quality matters more than quantity, but yuou do need to have a few.
6. Make a legacy plan
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A 2022 AARP survey on preparing for retirement found that 57% of retirees and 41% of non-retired adults don't prepare for their emotional needs once they leave their jobs behind. AARP reported that almost half of retirees said they didn't consider ways to find fulfillment once they retired, underestimating how much validation they received via their jobs.
Making a plan for how you want to be remembered is a very valuable way to find meaning in your retirement. You can give back to your community through volunteering or tutoring. You can mentor younger people who are finding their footing in your professional field.
Many retirees find that they look back into the past as much as they're thinking about their future, which can mean healing old wounds and focusing on family connections. Writing down your life's journey in a memoir can provide a major sense of meaning, while creating a document of living history that will last for future generations.
7. Set long-term health goals
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Aging isn't designed for the weak-spirited. Graying hair and wrinkles might be the most obvious signs of getting older, as experiencing a decline in your physical health isn't always noticeable from the outside. Staying active in retirement is an essential part of living a well-balanced life.
The aches and pains of aging can make it hard to move the way you used to, so be gentle with yourself, both literally and emotionally. Take meandering walks with friends. Try a new low-impact activity, like water aerobics or tai chi. Stretch.
Tending to what your body needs is a key part of practicing true self-care. As Clare Waisman, SUDCC II/ M-RAS, explains, "The ultimate goal of self-care is to enable us to live the healthiest and happiest life possible."
"It's about fostering a harmonious relationship with ourselves, both physically and mentally, so that we can navigate life's challenges with resilience, embrace joy, and savor the richness of our experiences," she concluded.
8. Build a gratitude practice
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It can be tempting to focus on everything you don't have once you retire, but focusing on what you're missing means you're not paying attention to what you have. Establishing a gratitude practice can help you stay grounded and shift your perspective away from living in the past to existing in the present moment.
Research from the Journal of Happiness Studies found that practicing gratitude for at least six weeks, even for as little as 15 minutes per day, can change a person's perspective and improve their mental well-being. This small new habit is one of the best wayts to prepare for a retirement that's truly rewarding.
Practicing gratitude doesn't have to be anything huge. It can be a small, simple activity, like listing five things that you like about your life or writing down memories that bring you joy. The point of practicing gratitude is to acknowledge the good in your life, which can temper any disappointment you might feel in retirement.
9. Find authentic, lasting motivation
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There's a lot more to retirement than just survival and waiting for the end, no matter how those sarcastic "over the hill" retirement cards try to paint it. It's about finding time to rediscover who you are and what fulfills you.
Most people forget to prepare for this aspect of retirement, but not knowing what motivates you internally can leave you with a serious case of ennui once that initial excitement wears off.
Intrinsic motivation, defined by the American Psychological Association as, "an incentive to engage in a specific activity that derives from pleasure in the activity itself (e.g., a genuine interest in a subject studied) rather than because of any external benefits that might be obtained (e.g., money, course credits)," can be the difference between feeling fulfilled and directionless.
An article published by the Harvard Graduate School of Education shares a few key changes we can make to develop our intrinsic motivation. Try reflecting on the process involved in doing a task or activity rather than simply completing it.
What's that experience like? Do you enjoy it? If you only found joy in the completion of something or when others see it, it isn't giving you intrinsic joy.
10. Plan for the temptation to go back to work
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People are getting healthier and living longer than in past generations, which means they'll spend more time post-retirement age than ever before.
As Pew Research writes, "Numbering roughly 11 million today, the older workforce has nearly quadrupled in size since the mid-1980s," so you'll be in good company if you feel like it's too early to retire or if you want to go back to work after the "honeymoon phase" of retirement is over. But do you want to?
It's good to prepare for the temptation to return to employment. Ask yourself a few questions:
- Would I be happy back in my old job? If not, what would need to change?
- Could I enjoy doing something new, even if it means starting toward the bottom of the ladder again?
- If you want to go back because you're bored or lonely, could those needs be met by volunteering or joining an activity instead?
- If you're tempted to start a business or invest in someone else's, make sure you have a plan for what will happen if that business doesn't work out.
It would be smart to consult a financial advisor or someone at your bank, just in case, before making any changes that could affect your financial security. After all, you may feel great right now, but it may not always be the case.
11. How to not annoy your spouse
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This is a bit of a joke, but it's serious legitimate concern when you're the one going through it! If your marriage featured one or both of you working outside the home for years and years, then being at home means spending way more time together than you have in the past. It's a big change.
While a weekend or even a week together was fun in the past, months on end of being at home will require different planning. Do you want to spend every day together, do activities together, eat meals together daily? Or would you rather meet up at specific times?
What daily activity could be fun together that wouldn't be too much pressure, but keep you connected? Maybe a daily walk or hike.
And what will you do if you start annoying each other or, conversely, start drifting apart? How can you communicate it?
Planning ahead sends your spouse the message that your relationship will continue to be strong, even throughout the change, and lets them know it's safe to talk about the challenges. That way you can enjoy retirement together even more.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers social issues, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.
