Securing the Life You Want: 7 Questions to Ask Before Retiring (It’s Not Just About Saving)

Life can fly by when you’re busy with work, family affairs, and a never-ending to-do list. Before you know it, your retirement years have arrived sooner than expected. No matter your age, you should take time to think about what retired life means to you?

Many people simply say, “I want $1 million or $2 million when I retire.” However, unless you imagine your life without work and what that entails, the dollar amount you cite likely has little rationale or meaning behind it.

As you approach retirement, consider asking yourself these seven questions so you feel confident and empowered to live your most fulfilling life in this new chapter.

1. What does your ideal week in retirement look like?

Maybe you’re eagerly anticipating the days ahead when you don’t need to wake up at 5 a.m. and rush out the door by 6:30 a.m. to get to the office by 8 a.m. Even without a commute, the idea of ​​a life without deadlines, pressure, and alarm clocks can be very attractive. However, after doing this routine for some time, you may have become accustomed to the daily grind.

Consider spending some time visualizing spending a week in retirement where you have no schedule at all. How do you want to spend your time? How do you organize your days? A work-life routine can have benefits, so it can be helpful to map out your ideal week in retirement so you can continue to wake up with purpose every day after leaving the workforce.

Take a calendar, fill in your ideal week, and ask yourself some of these questions:

• What time will you wake up?
• How often do you exercise? What is the best time of day for you?
• What types of activities will you do throughout the week?
• Who do you want to spend your time with?
• How often do you cook versus go out to eat?

Of course, nothing is set in stone, but starting to envision what your post-retirement days will look like can be a useful exercise.

2. Will it work at all?

Many people decide to continue working part-time, do some consulting work, or volunteer before full retirement.

You may have come to really enjoy your day job during your primary career years and don’t necessarily want to stop working completely. Or you may be an employer who will simply reduce hours. Another potential option is to stay with the company you’ve been with for 30 years in a consulting role, working 5-10 hours per week with a more flexible schedule.

Earning extra income in your early retirement years can cover the costs of travel, a new car, gifts for family, or other one-time expenses that might involve dipping into your investment portfolio.

Visualizing how part-time work will impact your financial retirement plan is one of many variables you can model in the NewRetirement Planner.

3. Do you fully understand your normal living expenses?

With a steady income during your working years, especially at peak profit time, keeping track of all expenses on a weekly or monthly basis may not have been a top priority. However, if you plan to stop working completely, you may feel more anxious without a steady income from a paycheck every two weeks and a clear understanding of your spending habits.

Check your recent credit card bills and bank statements to get an idea of ​​average monthly expenses. Also consider sundry costs that arise throughout the year, such as annual subscriptions or semi-annual insurance payments.

Reviewing spending patterns with your partner doesn’t have to be daunting. Motivate yourself by planning something fun afterward – like watching a movie, going out to dinner, or grabbing drinks!

You also don’t have to do it alone! NewRetirement Planner enables you to design your expenses through Basic Budgeter and Detailed Budgeter, as a PlannerPlus subscriber. You can reflect your current spending while modeling how your spending will change in the future by adding expenses for different stages of your life, including:

• Years of work: If you are still working, these are your current monthly expenses until retirement.
• Years of early retirement: The first 5 to 10 years of retirement are typically where you may travel more, go out to eat more, and do more of what you always wanted to do in your free time.
• Later retirement years: Think ages 75 to 80 and beyond. Maybe you don’t travel as much or as much as you did in your early retirement years. Things may start to slow down and you may not do many of the more expensive activities. Health problems may arise and may limit your ability to do certain things you previously enjoyed.

These phases are often referred to as the “start, slow, and no-go years” and can provide some additional insight into potential spending patterns you may face in retirement.

Get more tips on how to plan for retirement expenses.

4. Are gifts or financial support for the family possible?

When forecasting retirement spending, you’ve probably focused on fixed and variable monthly expenses. However, have you also thought about possible future support for your children, grandchildren, siblings or others?

You may want to give your entire family annual leave, where you cover the costs for everyone. Or maybe you know that your brother or sister will likely need financial help in the future and you want to plan ahead for that cost.

Be realistic about how many people you can sustainably support in retirement. Any financial gifts will directly impact your savings and change your spending accounts.

NB: In the planner, you have the ability to model future one-time expenses, such as gifts to family members, to see if they can be made as part of your overall retirement plan.

5. where do you want to live?

Choosing the optimal retirement location can be a financial decision, a lifestyle choice, or both. For most families, housing is their largest expense and asset. As a result, where you live can greatly impact your financial security and satisfaction in retirement.

Some possible considerations include:

• Stay in place: Your mortgage is paid off, your family is close by, you love your home and there is no reason for you to move, so why would you?
• Move somewhere closer to family: Maybe your children and grandchildren are in Pittsburgh and you are in San Francisco. You’ve been waiting for the day when you can finally retire and be closer to your family.
• Moving to a country that does not impose income tax: Maybe you’re tired of the high taxes in your current state and are eagerly awaiting the time when you can move to a state that doesn’t impose income taxes like Florida, Texas, or Wyoming.
• Sale and rental: You may have the flexibility to choose where you will live after retirement, but the ideal location is still undetermined. You decide to sell your home and rent it in different cities over the next year or two until you settle on a place that will enable you to achieve a more fulfilling retirement life.
• Downsizing: You and your partner realize that a five-bedroom, three-bathroom, three-story house won’t be necessary for you for the next few decades of retirement. Moving to a smaller home where you won’t even need a mortgage (due to the equity in your current home), may lead to a more satisfied life in your retirement years.

6. How do you envision your social life?

Coworkers can develop into an extended “work family” over time. Have you thought about how to enhance your social relationships during retirement?

Harvard study of adult developmentOne of the longest-running studies of adult life has found that strong social connections are associated with a longer, happier life.

Some social activities to consider include:

• hobbies: You finally have time to continue doing more of the activities you’ve always enjoyed, such as tennis, cooking, writing, reading, or drawing. You may also decide to choose a new activity. Who doesn’t want to play pickleball these days?
• Community: Stay active in your community by joining clubs, volunteer organizations, or community groups that align with your interests.
• Lifelong learning: Have you always wanted to learn a new language? Have you always wanted to read a new book every month but never found enough time? Taking a class at a local college or library or joining a local book club will allow you to meet new people and perhaps make new friends along the way.
• Be regular: Frequent a particular café, restaurant, gym, or barber shop on a regular basis. This allows you to get to know the people there. Making connections with familiar faces, even through short interactions, can develop a strong sense of community.

Staying actively involved, pursuing your passions, and staying involved can help you achieve a fulfilling and joyful retirement.

7. Do you have Create a comprehensive retirement plan?

In addition to considering what you will retire on, it is always important to address the financial aspects of your retirement. This may include:

• Do you have enough savings? The answer to this question is not clear. It’s not about getting a specific dollar amount. Getting enough is a calculation that involves the intersection of expected expenses, sources of income like Social Security, and a slew of assumptions like how long you’ll live, what will happen to the economy, and more.
• Do you have enough savings for the worst-case scenario? Let’s state the one thing we know about your future: things won’t go according to plan. So, if you want a secure future, it’s a good idea to plan for the worst-case scenarios and make sure you’re comfortable if inflation skyrockets or the market crashes before you can hope to fund your kids’ college expenses. The NewRetirement Planner enables you to build different scenarios to stress your future financial stability under different circumstances.
• Can you afford health care? : If you leave your job before age 65 (before Medicare eligibility), how will you get health insurance? Or if you’re eligible for Medicare, which Medicare health plans make the most sense for you?
  • What about long-term care??: It’s not a nice topic, but what if you start experiencing cognitive decline or another serious health event? Do you have a plan to address these issues? How will you pay for more specialized care, such as assisted living facilities or memory care?
• Investment strategy: Should you adjust your investment portfolio to better align with your current life stage?
• Estate plan: Do you have valid wills, powers of attorney and a living will? Do you need a living trust? When was the last time you updated your estate plan?

Many financial aspects of your retirement can be managed effectively with the NewRetirement Planner. This tool allows you to plan for future medical costs, long-term care expenses, evaluate your investment returns over different time frames and more, allowing you to improve your financial preparedness for retirement.

By taking a comprehensive look at how you intend to allocate your finances and time during retirement, you’ll be better equipped to make your retirement years the fulfillment of your lifelong dreams.