Many newly minted retirees enjoy a honeymoon period where they sleep late, participate in all their favorite activities, and take a couple of vacations. But sometimes they find this isn’t enough.
“The novelty of retirement’s going to wear off quickly because we’re just wired for more,” said Tony Bryan, a wealth planning strategist at Truist Wealth. “We’re not wired to be on a permanent vacation.”
So, we need to figure out what that “more” is, Bryant said in Episode 5: Transition to a purposeful retirement of Truist Wealth’s podcast, I’ve Been Meaning To Do That.
Introduce structure to your retirement
To help you make the transition to your retirement’s early stages, have a plan with daily routines that include activities that you enjoy. “We don’t want folks to wake up on that first day and say, ‘Oh my goodness, it’s 9 a.m. What am I going to do?’” said Oscarlyn Elder, host of I’ve Been Meaning To Do That.
Consider the trips you want to take, activities you haven’t had time for, home improvement projects, organizations you want to volunteer with, and your social calendar. ”I know that when I retire, I would love to go back to school and get some additional degrees, maybe in history or philosophy,” Bryant said.
When thinking through what you want to do in retirement, Bryant suggested writing down your responses to three scenarios posed by George Kinder, a longtime expert in life planning:
- Imagine that you’re financially secure and have enough money to take care of your needs today and in the future. How would you live your life? Would you change anything?
- You visit your doctor, who tells you that you have only 5 to 10 years left to live. What will you do in the time you have remaining? Will you change your life, and how will you do it?
- Your doctor tells you that you have only one day left to live. Ask yourself: What did I miss? Who did I not get to be? What did I not get to do?Disclosure 1
Create a glide path
Another way to ease into retirement is to take it in phases. Retirement doesn’t necessarily need a rigid starting date. Around 20% of retirees today are working either part time or full time, according to a 2023 T. Rowe Price survey.Disclosure 2
These employees have a variety of reasons for staying in the workforce. For example, working might provide a way to:
- live out their purpose
- discover new passions
- maintain or build social networks
- earn extra income
If your work is a large part of your identity, you might benefit by arranging for a phased retirement with your employer. For many of Bryant’s clients who are working on a reduced schedule, “just completely stopping would not have been a very healthy plan for them.”
“In today’s labor market, more and more highly skilled, engaged, professional organizations are much more likely to work with an individual to develop that part-time engagement,” Elder said.
Business owners, many of whom are wired to constantly create and build, can plan for a gradual exit instead of potentially struggling with a sudden retirement. “Especially if they have a plan to sell the business to leaders who are already senior within the organization, they may plan that so that there’s a multiyear step back,” Elder said. “They don’t go from 100% engagement in the business that they’ve cared for and loved to 0% overnight.”
Start planning years ahead
Whatever your approach, start thinking about your retirement plans well in advance of the date—three to five years or more—to prepare yourself mentally and reduce any uncertainties you have.
“Retirement is one of the most stressful events that someone’s going to go through in their life just because of all the drastic lifestyle changes,” Bryant said. “So spending some time and energy on planning is going to help reduce some of that stress.”
Listen to Episode 5: Transition to a purposeful retirement on Truist Wealth’s podcast, I’ve Been Meaning To Do That.