The following article was written by Chuck Kuster, author of the new book Is This Your Plan to Retire? Many of you have expressed interest in how to better plan for your family’s future long term. We’re excited to bring you Kuster’s expert insights on why you should think twice about your retirement plan.
The Impact of Changing Retirement Environment On You and Your Family
Whether you are approaching retirement or have a parent or relative nearing that age, it’s well worth your time to examine how the changing retirement environment impacts planning.
Life expectancy for a typical 60-year old male is about 84 years today. Considering the average retirement age is ~63 years, this means most can anticipate 21+ years in retirement. That is 17 years longer than a 60-year old man retiring in 1970! Females follow a similar trend.
What does this boost in longevity mean? While a blessing, it does pose implications for the retiree and family. For example, the obvious implication is the need for more money. Longevity also increases the odds of cognitive issues, need for skilled care and increased care expenses.
But that’s not all. The elderly encounter social challenges as friends die, relocate or become impaired themselves. While friends and family express willingness to help an aging parent for a while, extended support is often impractical when the elder may need active support for a decade or longer.
If you or a loved one is approaching the retirement phase of life, it’s worth your time to undertake some planning.
Those thriving in retirement have things in common.
I paid special attention to those thriving in retirement to identify what they do differently than those who struggle. The first common trait is they usually made planning a priority. They took ownership of the planning process. They tend to have both goals and support plans. Their general attitude toward “retirement” is also positive. They view retirement as a unique opportunity to focus on themselves, their interests to explore, experience, travel, learn new things, contribute. Successful retirees also take comfort in addressing opportunities, obstacles and issues. Preparation provides a lot of peace-of-mind for all involved.
Above all, those thriving tend to consider retirement as a new beginning, not as an end. They look ahead, not backward. Finally, they define what will make them happy and communicate those desires. Communications is a priority. Happiness is contagious. A key part of lifestyle planning is having positive, like-minded friends.
Want to learn more about how to plan for a successful retirement? Stay tuned! Additional topics will be added in upcoming posts. And for a Q&A with Kuster, check out this post: A New Approach to Retirement Planning and Why You Should Care.
Charles Kuster is semi-retired from a career as a communications strategist and serial entrepreneur. He’s trained as a business journalist, and spent his formative career in corporate communications management. Kuster and his spouse and own an educational publishing company that specializes in children’s books, graphic novels, games, comics and computer apps. His new ebook, Is This Your Plan To Retire? can be purchased at Book Baby here.
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