by Trish Lynds
Retirement. What a beautiful word.
When I think of retirement, I dream about sleeping in, reading books all day, and traveling when I want. Then…I wake up to face my current reality. Most of us have a vague understanding about retirement, and the reality is quite different.
Retirement is not all about whether you have enough money to live off. It is more about your own personal experience, how you are going to dance and sing for the next 30 years or more.
Retirement will become a way of life for most of us if we are fortunate. How we cope in retirement depends on the following:
- Where you live
- Health issues
- Savings
- Goals and hobbies
- Family support
- Social contact
We all know the statistics about retirement; we are reminded most weeks via the media. In my experience as a planner, many people fail in retirement, as they don’t plan. They would rather spend more time working out their three month holiday in Europe than sitting down and working through the nuts and bolts or retirement.
We have found that between the ages of 50 – 60, everyone is able and life is great. At 60- 70 health issues and money issues could be occurring. By 70 – 90 there are often ongoing health issues, less capital to spend, and changes of circumstances i.e. rest homes, retirement villages.
