Preparing for retirement is like getting ready for a trip — it never goes quite as planned. But the better the plan, the better the outcome. When things go wrong, you want to have the flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances. You never know what retirement will be like until you get there.
One component of any retirement plan is making a smooth transition by “practicing retirement.” Think of it as a dress rehearsal before you take the big (and often irreversible) step to fully retire.
Right now, you may be used to taking two or three weeks of vacation every year. But when you retire, you suddenly have 52 weeks of unoccupied time on your hands.You may also move to a different community or state, start a new hobby, or realize all your friends are still working. That is a lot of change at one time, which can be a prescription for disaster. Who wants to work all his life only to retire and realize what he thought would make him happy doesn’t? You might wish you’d tried it out first.
Practice retirement while you are still working. In fact, making a long, drawn-out transition to retirement could actually be part of your retirement plan. According to a new study by Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies and the Aegon Center for Longevity and Retirement, 64% of U.S. workers expect to retire at age 65 or later or not at all.
Here are some moves to make that will help you ensure a smooth transition to your golden years:
1. Take more weeks of vacation.
The top retirement wish I have heard from clients over the years is to travel. Why wait? Even if you don’t have time to take a 24-hour flight to New Zealand and back, check out the U.S.A. You can get halfway across the country in a day. Go swim in the waters off the Florida Keys, visit the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, take a whiskey tasting tour in Tennessee, hike on the red rocks in southern Utah, or take a raft down the Grand Canyon.
One of my clients is a personal injury attorney who only takes two weeks of vacation a year. His cases keep him busy all year long, because in his business, there isn’t a slowdown in the summer or a winter break. He can’t even imagine retirement — he doesn’t know what he’d do with his time. Since he won’t know until he tries, he should be diligent about carving out another two or three weeks of vacation for himself now.
2. Change your work hours.
Even if you think your company won’t be open to a flexible, remote, or part-time schedule, you never know until you ask. The New Flexible Retirement study found that 25% of people 55 and over reported that their employers allowed workers approaching retirement to switch from full-time to part-time schedules. You could be part of the lucky 1 in 4. If so, take advantage of the opportunity. If not, make a case for it.