Back to List

Retirement – Event or Process?

I’ve been thinking, planning, and writing about retirement for quite some time. It seems to me that many people think of retirement as a binary decision – either yes I am or no I’m not. It seems to me that retirement planning is needed before AND during retirement. Rather than thinking of it as a binary event, we would be best served by considering the multiple stages of retirement. If you’re financially prepared and physically healthy, retirement can last for decades. The different stages that make up your retirement have different expenses and require distinct approaches to budgeting. Even with a shorter retirement, you’ll go through the same stages, just in a condensed time frame. These four stages are pre-retirement, early retirement, middle retirement, and late retirement. Here’s what the first stage looks like and how to handle your finances accordingly.

Stage 1 -“Pre-Retirement” (50 to 62)

Pre-retirement is the stage just before retirement. You’re still working, but slowing down is in the near-enough future that you’re finally getting a clear picture of what your nest egg, income, and expenses will look like. Perhaps the kids have gotten through college and are now out on their own (watch out for boomerangs). You’re also getting closer to figuring out what you’ll do with your days once you’re free to fill them as you please. What seemed merely theoretical earlier in your working life starts to seem real. We put age 62 on it, the age when people first qualify for reduced Social Security payments. But you might retire at 60 or keep working past 70.

At this stage, you should honestly assess what your likely income and expenses will be once you’re no longer in the workforce. What will you receive from a pension or Social Security? What is the balance in your retirement plans, such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s or IRAs? And how much will you be able to comfortably withdraw each month? Will you have paid off your mortgage already, and if not, how much will you still owe and for how long? 

You may or may not be in a strong enough position to seriously evaluate whether you can afford to retire early. Your employer might downsize and you might find yourself considering whether to accept a buyout. If you run a family business, this is a good time to create a succession plan. And if you aren’t where you want to be financially, it’s a good time to work more, change jobs, or actively pursue a promotion so you can earn more and save more for retirement while you have the chance. 

Pre-retirement is also a good time to reevaluate your monthly and annual expenses and cut back on costs that have crept up over the years to eliminate any wasteful spending and give your retirement budget some breathing room. Finally, you might want to replace your usual vacations with trips to places you’ve envisioned yourself moving to during retirement.

 

Stay tuned next week to learn how to properly handle the ins and outs of the second and third stages of the retirement process, while taking full advantage of both your time and money.

 

 

This commentary on this website reflects the personal opinions, viewpoints and analyses of the Gainplan LLC employees providing such comments, and should not be regarded as a description of advisory services provided by Gainplan LLC or performance returns of any Gainplan LLC Investments client. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing on this website constitutes investment advice, performance data or any recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security. Gainplan LLC manages its clients’ accounts using a variety of investment techniques and strategies, which are not necessarily discussed in the commentary. Investments in securities involve the risk of loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Categories: Careers, Education, Family

Subscribe to Our Blog