Retirement is a process of losing and finding your identities. The financial challenges of preparing for retirement can be managed in many ways. It always begins with a solid and dynamic financial plan. The psychological plan should also be invested in too.
The reality of discovering that within an employment capacity, you are indispensable, is jarring. Most of all, the change in the pace and purpose feels unnerving. A delightful read about this transition by Sydney Lagier from the Wall Street Journal offers a common experience. Preparing mentally and physically for non-work activities can not be underestimated. At Hampton Securities Private Client we have many clients who are busier than when they worked full time. For others it is an opportunity to stop the constant scheduling of tasks and travel and more.
What changes in retirement?
Once you leave your employment you need to “replace your support networks you had through work, spend more time than ever before with your spouse and find new and engaging ways to stay active.” advises the American Psychology Association (APA). Having prepared your financial well-being, what about your psychological portfolio for retirement?
People need to invest as much if not more time in their social or psychological portfolio planning before retirement, to figure out what makes them happy.
Psychologist Jacquelyn B. James, PhD, of the Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College, has found that only those people who are truly engaged in their post-retirement activities reap the psychological benefits. “Retirement is not like jumping off a diving board, it’s a process and it takes time,” she says. “There’s a lot of work people can be doing leading up to retirement to prepare for it.”