by After retirement, not only your physical but also your mental and emotional health are important. While some people have had a post-retirement plan in place for a long time, others find themselves floundering without the sense of purpose that a job provided. However, these can truly be the golden years, as they are sometimes called, and taking the steps below can help make that possible.
Careful Planning
You don’t have to have the next few decades of your life laid out, but you’ll enjoy retirement more if you don’t have to worry about certain things, like money and medical care. You might want to make or update an estate plan, and you may want to examine your assets and see if you want to make any changes to them. If you have a life insurance policy, you may want to consider selling it if you no longer have dependents who would need the proceeds. You can review a guide on everything you need to know about life settlements to learn more about this option for increasing your cash reserves after retirement. You may also want to consider whether you want to purchase long-term care insurance and what your health care options are.
Your Physical Wellbeing
It is difficult to generalize about the physical wellbeing of any group, and as you near retirement, you may continue to be very active, or you might have some limitations. What’s important is that you have a plan in place, in conjunction with your doctor, that will allow you to continue to take care of yourself with any of those limitations in mind.
Your Intellectual Wellbeing
There are many misconceptions about the intellectual capabilities of older adults. The truth is that people in their 70s, 80s and even 90s are getting college degrees, running businesses, writing books and continuing to either do the things they have always loved doing or discovering new interests. You might want to think about whether you actually want to retire. You may want to cut your hours or embark on a new line of work, but reaching a certain age does not mean you have to stop or even slow down if you don’t want to. Don’t feel pressured or constrained by the expectations of others. Think about what kind of intellectual stimulation you’ll need to continue to be happy after retirement, and seek it out.
Your Emotional Wellbeing
Although retirement can be a wonderful time, it can also come with a lot of challenges, and you might want to think ahead of time about how you’ll negotiate those challenges. For example, how will you manage it if your children assume that you’ll be an on-call babysitter now for your grandchildren but you have plans to travel the world or assume a busy volunteer position? Your family might feel neglected and you might feel guilty, but it’s important to take the steps you need to make this time in your life fulfilling for you. Another potential area of conflict with family is the degree of independence you’ll have as you get older. Communication can be key in negotiating the expectations of loved ones in relation to what you hope to do with the years ahead.
