How hard is it to retire?

When I first began doing my presentation on how to prepare psychologically for retirement, I wanted it to be based on facts.  So....I checked the research carefully and guess what I found?  Most people like retirement, most people aren't traumatized by it, and retirees on average report higher levels of life satisfaction than any other age group in society! 

I have many friends who are retired, are about to retire, or who will in the next few years and I have to say that their experience and attitudes reflect these research results.  This is true even for those who seemed to be reluctant to retire.  It is important, however, to be aware that the people who do experience retirement in a very positive way are most likely to be those who did spend some time preparing for it.  These individuals have hobbies, interests, a vision, in other words, they had a good idea what they wanted to do before they ever retired.   Pick up any book on how to prepare for retirement and most will suggest that you get a life before you leave work behind.  It can make the transition so much easier.  If you do that, you may find, like many of the retirees I know, the time flies by, there never seems to be enough of it and you really can't figure out how you every had time for work at all!

A Book Review: You Could Live a Long Time: Are you Ready?

From time to time, someone asks me, Are you going to write a book about retirement?  My answer is always the same.  I say that if I came up with a unique new twist on the issue, I would.  There are a ton of books out there about retirement and most of them say more or less the same thing.  Someone recently, however, passed on a new book about retirement to me (thanks Judith) and I have to say that finally someone has found a new twist on the issue and I like it.

The author, Lindsay Green, tackles the tough issue of what the later stage of retirement is going to be like.  There is no sugar coating here.  She has two important messages for us.  The first is that we are not going to continue to look good, feel good and be able to avoid at least some of the challenges that age brings.  These challenges include declining health, loss of close family and friends, and an increasing dependence on the help of others.

The second message is that there is hope.  She provides many insights and suggestions, based on her interviews with a number of people who have successfully adapted to later life.  Her message is ultimately a hopeful one.  Her book might very well inspire you to get going on that retirement plan, based on a realistic assessment of what your life in the second stage of retirement is going to look like.  I highly recommend this book.

Life Planning Tools

It struck me that I haven't touched on how one goes about planning for the future.  Whether it's retirement or some other life transition, taking steps to prepare for the transition is just common sense.  Researchers also support this notion; in the case of retirement, people who plan for it, are more likely to have a smooth transition and to enjoy retirement more.

So, here are a few tools to assist you in the planning process.

• Book Reviews:  Check out my reviews of the retirement/aging related books I like the most.  If you don't find what you want, there are tons of other choices; just do a search on amazon.
• Hire a Retirement/Life Coach:  If you are worrying about what you are going to do in retirement, hire a retirement coach.  They will normally charge you a flat fee, can be very helpful in uncovering your options and helping you to put in place an action plan. 
• LifeScape:  You can also visit my commercial retirement planning tool, LifeScape, for a small fee.  Check out the Demo.  It covers all of the financial, health and psychological issues of importance and there are lots of great calculators