Keen On Retirement

No matter how you feel about your upcoming retirement, there's no denying that letting go is a part of navigating this life transition. Your daily schedule is going to change. You won't have professional responsibilities. You probably won't see your work friends as often. And you'll lose the comfort of a monthly paycheck and your benefits, including your old health insurance. But while you might have mixed feelings about some of the things you're leaving behind, letting go in retirement can also be liberating! Retirees can cross these ten items off their to-do lists and spend more time focusing on the people and activities that they love.

In this new retirement era, where government rule changes and longevity trends are nudging many seniors to work well into their 70s, a "traditional" retirement at 65 might seem way ahead of schedule. But if you’re planning to retire at 65 or later, will you still be healthy enough to enjoy it? According to recent data from the World Health Organization, healthy 60-year-old Americans can expect an average of 15 more years of good health. Is that really what you've been working, saving, investing, and waiting for? A decade, maybe two, of being well enough to play more tennis, travel all over the world with your spouse, and give back to your community? Or should you be talking to your advisor about how to accelerate your retirement timeline so you can maximize your Golden Years while still ensuring your long-term financial security?

Why do so many people focus on "hitting their number" as they approach retirement? In part, I think it's because major life transitions can feel scary, and numbers can help us feel more secure. Boiling retirement down to a figure might, in some way, shrink your worries down to size and put your goals in black and white. Unfortunately, no "magic number" is big enough or flexible enough to encompass all the variables that life will throw at you in retirement if you don’t have an effective mindset around money. That's why, to improve your retirement readiness, I'd recommend focusing less on hitting a number and more on building up these three mindsets that can help folks take a more holistic approach to preparing for the second half of their lives.

While many of the major changes that come with retirement are personal, married couples have to navigate this life transition together. Even if it's only one spouse dealing with the end of a career, both people are going to experience a significant adjustment period that can put severe strains on finances, health, emotional well-being, and the marriage itself. That's why, at Keen Wealth, we ask married couples to be equal participants in the comprehensive planning process. And as retirement draws near, we encourage spouses to discuss five important topics that they could be overlooking, or worse, avoiding. These aren't always easy conversations to have. But if you put off talking about what retirement is going to be like, you might find yourself facing some unspoken challenges that you could have been preparing to diffuse months, if not years, ahead of time.

You can't go back and tell your college-aged self to load up on Berkshire Hathaway stock. But I do know from experience that wishing you were a little wiser when you were younger doesn't go away as you age. I regularly have conversations with folks in their 70s and 80s who look back not on their 20s or 30s, but on their more recent preretirement years with some couldas, wouldas, and shouldas. Taking heed of this valuable advice in your 50s or 60s might not be the same as receiving guidance from your future self … but it's close!

The joy that we all feel checking off our holiday shopping lists, wrapping gifts, and exchanging presents with loved ones is often accompanied by another feeling: anxiety. Not just from the stress of getting everything done before the parties start, but from worries around money that can pile up this time of year. Some folks just can't look at a pile of presents without seeing price tags -- especially if money is a little tight this year or they're still adjusting to living off a fixed income in retirement. Worse, that anxiety might make you feel like you're doing the holidays "wrong," letting things that don't really matter keep you from enjoying the things that do. But, as we discussed on a recent podcast, finding the right balance between generosity, personal fulfillment, and long-term financial security is an ongoing part of just about every financial plan. Holiday gift-giving just makes us experience that tug-of-war in a more heightened, time-bound way. And if you can use these three strategies to control your holiday giving this year, you can establish a strong foundation for sustained giving going forward.