Many seasoned life people struggle with the decision of how long to remain working. Is retirement for me? Retirement used to be the ultimate goal in a person’s life. You have put in your years of hard work and now it is time to rest, play, and travel. There may also be other factors that lead a person to retire including illness, disability, spouse or other family member illness, or just plain old burn out.
In any case, retirement should be planned and thought out. The number one thing to do before deciding is to evaluate your financial situation and determine whether you can afford to retire. This will probably mean meeting with your accountant and financial advisor. If you don’t have either of those, I highly suggest you seek one out. These professionals can review your current income, savings, retirement savings, expenses, and future expenses versus income to determine if you can afford to retire or if you still have more preparation to do.
Another important thing to evaluate is your lifestyle. Does your travel plans, hobbies, and current living situation match with the amount of income you will have after you retire? Will retiring mean sacrifices? Travelling around the world and supporting expensive hobbies costs money and not everyone has set aside enough savings to cover all this on top of every day living expenses, health insurance, taxes, and children’s college education.
Let’s say you can afford to retire and travel a few times a year. What about the rest of the time? Especially if you had a career that was high level or involved being social with others, you may find life after retirement boring and meaningless. Unless you keep yourself busy socially or stay active in your community through clubs or volunteering, continuing to work may be important in order to feel like you have a purpose in life. Determining whether this will apply to you will require some self evaluation and awareness.
I have spent 34 years of my life in a career that involved interacting with people on a daily basis. I always had goals, deadlines, quotas, and expectations to strive towards. I am also a person who enjoys a routine and structure. I do not see myself retiring. Money has always been a motivator for me. Not earning an income is something that makes me extremely uncomfortable. I also have a high energy level and do not think of myself as unable to do physical things. Staying still for very long is hard for me. I still feel like I have things to accomplish and to offer, so that is why I do not see retirement for me any time soon.
What about you? Do you know if you are ready or soon will be?
