Your retirement lifestyle planning may start with financial planning, but having a happy retirement needs a much more holistic approach. It is also an ongoing process which you will refine over time.
Why you need more than a financial planner for developing a holistic retirement plan
We started planning the details of our retirement over 10 years ago and it would be fair to say we are still planning for it – learning from our mistakes and leveraging our successes. Although there are always financial matters for serious consideration, we also have managed to have a lot of fun along the way and we have learned to look more broadly at retirement.
There is no doubt financial planning for retirement is an important subject, and one you should pay close attention to. Unfortunately though, that is often where retirement planning advice ends. Unless you are entitled to a redundancy counselling, your retirement planning will typically end up in the hands of financial planners and accountants. These are key advisors for your financial success, but they are generally not skilled in holistic retirement planning. I note that all these years later they are beginning to talk about the lifestyle aspects of retirement, but that isn’t their core skill set. Indeed as they are usually younger than us their knowledge can really only be intellectual in any case.
This focus on purely financial matters is also obvious in print and online media; in researching retirement planning, we found that around 90% of the articles published were about the financial planning aspects. And thus, this website and blog was born to talk about the myriad other aspects of retirement. Since we started blogging on these subjects we are pleased to see that others have begun to discuss the ‘softer’ side of retirement. Actually it isn’t really a softer side at all, it includes so many subjects of importance.
How retirement lifestyle expectations have evolved
There are so many aspects to having a satisfying and rewarding retirement. Retirement is now a time of great expectation for many of us; no longer does the male of the species typically leave work and then drop dead. Many women have had careers that have been satisfying and stimulating. Both genders now seek a retirement lifestyle that is fulfilling. And with our longevity increasing, retirement is likely to be a longer period of life, all the more important that we should plan carefully for it.
You don’t have to be planning to fully retire either (we both consider ourselves semi-retired) but you do need to think about how you want your life to be in ‘retirement’, whatever that means to you.
Why you should start early with planning your retirement lifestyle
At what age should you begin to think about retirement? That is an entirely personal decision; we have friends who started planning in their 40’s and others who only began the process in their 60’s. For us, whilst we had done a lot of financial planning for retirement, we have had to learn a lot ‘on the go’, and that has sometimes been painful.
Our experience has taught us that there is a lot to think about so that retirement can be the most fulfilling stage of your life; health, wealth, family, leisure, location, estate planning etc. etc. The list goes on. You need to develop a plan for every aspect of your life .
And you really do need to get out your crystal ball and consider contingencies. What happens if one or both of you becomes seriously ill or dies? What if you choose to move to a new location to be close to children and grandchildren, and they are transferred away for work reasons? How will you create new social networks if you move away from your current home? And we often don’t want to talk about this topic, but what will constitute a good death for you?
How this blog can help you in your planning
This site is designed to share our experiences with you. Unlike the financial planner we have dealt with real life challenges and experienced real life joys.
The site is not designed to tell you how to live your life. You should consider it more a series of posts which will hopefully encourage you to ask yourself questions about your ideal retirement, to create or refine your plan as you move into and through your retirement years.
That plan will evolve over time, as you near retirement and as you move into and through your retirement. Health may be a factor that changes your plans, family issues may change your plans, we have found that just being semi-retired has been quite different to what we expected and that in itself has changed our plans ….
We have learned about and shared posts on each of these topics:
- Ageing, ageism and the emotional impacts
- Ideas on financial and legal issues, including keeping on top of our SMSF (self managed superannuation fund)
- Thoughts and experiences on volunteering
- Ideas about staying healthy in retirement
- Where to live, location and types of housing – whether ageing in place or in a retirement community setting
- Refreshing your wardrobe for your new lifestyle (yes for men too)
- More indepth pieces on the planning aspects
- Relationships and family
- Technology and it’s importance for keeping connected (and some of the challenges it presents)
- Travel – one of our favourite parts of our retirement lifestyle
- Thoughts on working in retirement – yes that sounds counter intuitive, but many retirees choose to take part time work to keep connected and tick over the coffers. That has included being involved in the sharing economy.
We have also shared some of our opinions ….
We hope to be thought provoking and if our experience can help you towards a better retirement then we are delighted, and we’d really like to hear from you.
Disclaimer: We are not financial planners nor are we retirement planners in the broader sense of the word. We are two individuals who have transitioned from full time work and a city lifestyle to semi-retirement and a regional lifestyle. Find out more about us here.
Tell us, what are your most burning questions about retirement? What experiences and wisdom can you share with our readers?
Kathy Marris | 21st July 2017 at 4:48 pm
My husband and I started planning for our retirement in our mid fifties. We both retired from full-time work and travelled around Australia for 7 months in 2014. When we returned home we went back to work part-time. We both felt it is was very important to know where we were headed prior to turning 60 and sought the advice of a financial planner. It really put us on the right path and we’re now happily enjoying semi-retirement. We intend to travel a lot more and make the most of our sixties.
Jan at Retiring Not Shy! | 21st July 2017 at 5:03 pm
Getting good advice and doing some planning is so important. It isn’t possible to plan for all eventualities but having some foundations in place makes a huge difference. Like you travel is a serious aspiration for us, and we like to make sure we have the funds and are healthy enough to continue to enjoy it for as long as possible. So much of the world to see in our 60s and beyond.
Life Images by Jill | 19th November 2015 at 1:41 pm
We are heading towards retirement so I’ll be back to read more. Thanks! I’ve come to you from over at Lifestyle Fifty.
Jan from retiringnotshy | 19th November 2015 at 9:02 pm
Hi Jill
Thanks for visiting us.
We post fortnightly so the best way to make sure you don’t miss a post is to sign up for the newsletter. We would value your regular input.
We also have a Facebook page where we post more frequently , including useful pieces from the mainstream media.
https://m.facebook.com/retiringnotshy
budgetjan | 16th November 2015 at 7:53 am
We are retired and enjoying ourselves. Travel plays a big part of our lifestyle as does supporting our aged parents.
Jan from retiringnotshy | 16th November 2015 at 10:27 am
Jan, ageing parents are now behind both of us. I am so pleased you still have time for travel, it is one of our great pleasures in retirement.
Leefromhackett | 02nd September 2015 at 6:47 am
Kudos to you both for blogging on this topic, I look forward to reading of your adventures. I aspire to a wonderfully happy retirement with a balance of fun, creative & brain nourishing activities! Ms. G
retiringnotshy | 03rd September 2015 at 4:06 am
Thanks Ms G. Lovely to have you as part of our community and we look forward to your full participation as we know you will have fun, creative and brain nourishing ideas to share with others on Retiring not Shy!