Thinking About Retirement?
Retirement is a great way to make the most of your senior years. It means you can turn off the alarm and stay in bed that bit longer each morning. You can spend more time with people you love, as opposed to sitting in never-ending business meetings. Your time becomes your own once again.
The average retirement age in America is 67.7 for men and 66.5 for women, but it is important that you put a plan in place for retiring as soon as you can. This means that you have time to think about your pension, start saving money, and (most importantly) plan for all of the fun things you are going to do!
With that in mind, here are some questions you should ask yourself when thinking about retirement.
Does taking a lump sum from my pension make sense?
There are numerous different ways in which you can receive your pension. For example, you may receive a monthly payment, in the same way, you would receive your wages. However, you may also be given the opportunity to take out your pension in a ‘lump sum’. This may seem particularly exciting, as it means you will suddenly find a significant amount of money in your bank account. However, this could mean that you will feel more frivolous and spend more money than you originally intended. Therefore, before deciding on taking a lump sum, you might want to consider the following:
- What your cost of living will be
- If you need to pay for health insurance/medical treatment
- Taxes
Should I start saving now? 
Ideally, you should start saving money for retirement as soon as possible. However, it is never too late to start! When saving money, it’s much better to set up a separate bank account for your savings, to stop you dipping into the money on a rainy day.
Savings are there to make your retirement a little easier – you have money to fall back on should you encounter unexpected bills, and you are able to treat yourself more frequently. After all, you deserve a little treat now and then – from an expensive bottle of wine to a day out.
How will you spend your time?
When you retire, you can decide what you do. If you want to begin by doing simply nothing, then do nothing. However, you should ensure that you make plenty of plans to keep yourself busy, as you’ll quickly feel bored and restless if you don’t give yourself something to look forward to.
You no longer have to follow a strict schedule, but a routine is a great way to remain focused and fill your days with activity. For example, you might spend one day a week in nature, partaking in one of your favorite hobbies, such as walking or golfing. If you’ve always dreamed of traveling, put plans in place that will let you do so (once it is safe). Now is the time to treat yourself, so don’t hold back.
