Are You Afraid to Retire?

Written by: Monica Palmer

When a person thinks of retirement, they can have a thousand things running through their mind which can be met with a variety of emotions. On one hand, retiring means that you get to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of your labor. After all, this is why you have been working all those years — for the time you can live how you want to, and do the things that you have always loved doing. For some, retiring is a beautiful thing, but for others, retiring can be scary. There are fears that can cross their minds, making them wonder if retiring is a good idea after all.

A fear that people can have is whether the money they have saved will be enough to last them the rest of their lives. What if you live until 100? Will you have enough?

You have worked throughout your life, and retirement is now your time to enjoy all that you have worked so hard for. If you were in a stable, well-paying job, you probably were used to living a comfortable life. Will you be able to splurge as much as you used to? This is a difficult question for some to answer. So what can you do to alleviate this fear?

Find a Financial Planner

Budgeting is the best way to estimate how much money you will need to support yourself through this period. Visiting with a financial planner 1 who is knowledgeable in finances and retirement can help answer your questions and help set you on a path to financial freedom. A financial planner can help you budget according to your previous income and savings, and can even help you set aside money for a rainy day or to help pay for unforeseen medical expenses that might come your way.

If you are thinking of retiring or are recently retired, we believe that visiting with a financial planner is always a good idea. A financial planner will be able to develop a plan to estimate if you can retire now, or if you should wait for a few years to be better situated. And if you’re already retired, they can help you determine how much money you can spend and never run out. [i] At ARS, we specialize in increasing your odds of success in retirement, and helping you discover how much you can spend every month, of every year, and not run out of money until you reach 100. We like to call that having the freedom to live the life you’ve always imagined.

Related: How to Retire On Your Terms

Planning For Medical Expenses

The fear of incurring medical expenses during your retirement is something that can cause some people to hold onto their jobs longer than they’d planned. Often, jobs come with medical care incentives and insurance which can be a great boon in the case of a medical emergency. However, most companies ask you to forgo these health benefits once you retire, which can make retiring an incredibly scary experience. Planning and budgeting for this can be hard, which is why you should get health insurance 2 that gives you excellent coverage and which can keep you well situated in these instances.

Keep Yourself Busy

The fear of being by yourself and not having anything to do is something that some people face in retirement. You might have been accustomed to getting up early in the morning and heading to work. You might be used to spending your entire day engaged in your job, and then coming home and spending time either with yourself or your friends and family. Retiring means that you have a lot more time on your hands, which can cause some people to get frustrated, bored or lonely. It can be important to find something that you like doing to keep yourself engaged 3 . You can take up a small, part-time job that lets you work from home, or even take up a hobby or skill that you have always wanted to learn and cultivate. Who knows what new passions you will discover?

There can be a lot to think about when planning for retirement. We are here to answer your questions and help ease your concerns about this new and exciting chapter in your life.

1 https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2013/05/09/10-questions-to-ask-when-choosing-a-financial-advisor/#671e82a53642
2 http://time.com/money/4066464/choose-health-insurance/
3 https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/2011/11/18/20-ways-to-stay-busy-in-retirement
[i] Based on set parameters and assumptions reviewed with Client at time of the plan being built.