Five Year Plan

[kyounge1956]

Ready to Retire? Here's a Five-Year Pre-Retirement Plan.

Retirement planning, at its best, is about much more than the size of your nest egg. With that in mind, one of the smartest ways to prepare is to map out a to-do list, one that counts down to "R" day.

Most workers prepare for later life by focusing on a single, key question: Have I saved enough? Yes, a healthy nest egg is important. But it's just as important to develop a vision for how you want to spend your time in later life. After all, the more specific your plans, the easier it will be to gauge just how much money you'll need and how fulfilling your retirement years will be.

We have compiled a checklist, in consultation with Deena Katz, an associate professor of personal financial planning at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, of things to do and consider over a five-year timeline before this crucial date.

This is an article I saw while on my trip, reprinted in the local paper from the Wall Street Journal. Here's another "retirement planning" article that takes it for granted a significant fraction of the people reading it will be working or starting a business after they retire. To me, "working after retirement" is an oxymoron, but I guess to each his/her own.

Gotta run now, I'm planning to retire in two years, and I don't have even half of this stuff done. , just the part about "will I have enough money?"

 

[flyfishnevada]

If you plan to work? If you plan to start a business? Really? That's it? It doesn't talk about any leisure or travel. Just switching careers. I realize health care is a big deal, but it gets far more coverage than lifestyle. Like your lifestyle will just fall into place after you open that small business or get a job as a consultant. The author could at least fill the reader in on how to get a cushy part-time writing gig churning out crap like that article.

I have probably said this before, but all of these so called retirement planners are nothing of the sort. They are either financial planners or career planners. Very few people are actually in the business of helping people plan their actual retirement. Like those stupid commercials with the green line, just save enough money and walk off into the sunset and have a satisfying retirement. I think all the people on this board worried about being bored, lonely or depressed is evidence that it's not just about saving money.

 

[Nords]

This is an article I saw while on my trip, reprinted in the local paper from the Wall Street Journal. Here's another "retirement planning" article that takes it for granted a significant fraction of the people reading it will be working or starting a business after they retire. To me, "working after retirement" is an oxymoron, but I guess to each his/her own.

Deena Katz is actually pretty cynical about Boomer retirement.

She says that we've failed to save enough to retire in the first place, so we're going to "redefine" retirement by [-]sour grapes[/-] saying "Eh, I don't want to just sit on the porch and rust!"

Not that Deena herself has any incentive to retire.

 

[W2R]

Gotta run now, I'm planning to retire in two years, and I don't have even half of this stuff done. , just the part about "will I have enough money?"

Don't worry! That is pretty much all that I did, right up to retirement, and I am having a wonderful retirement. I do have retiree medical insurance too. During the last few months I was a little nervous about "what will I do all day", but I just do the same things I used to do on weekends and vacations. You can, too, if that is what you want to do.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Yeah, "will I have enough money?" drives the rest of it. Like "location, location, location" for real estate, retirement's most important factors are "finances, finances, finances."

 

[kyounge1956]

(snip) Gotta run now, I'm planning to retire in two years, and I don't have even half of this stuff done. , just the part about "will I have enough money?"

Don't worry! That is pretty much all that I did, right up to retirement, and I am having a wonderful retirement. I do have retiree medical insurance too. During the last few months I was a little nervous about "what will I do all day", but I just do the same things I used to do on weekends and vacations. You can, too, if that is what you want to do.

I'm not worrying —I probably should have put a winking smilie after the head-smacking one. Actually, I think the only one of those items that applies to me and I haven't done anything at all about is the will, and what do you think I saw when I got to w@rk yesterday? The employee assistance program is giving a couple of estate planning workshops and IIRC I may be able to get legal advice through the EAP. I've got a huge backlog that piled up while I was on vacation but I think I will go to the workshop, then maybe use one of those "write your own will" packages and have it checked by the EAP legal advisors to make sure it's OK. I haven't looked into Medicare much either, but if all goes as planned I'll be retiring at 57. What with health care reform and dealing with the deficit, I suspect there will be changes in the years between retirement and when I become eligible, so I doubt that it makes much sense to get a bunch of details now.

 

[W2R]

I'm glad you aren't worrying! Yes, somehow I misunderstood. Oops. I don't usually think of you as worrying about these things, but thought maybe you were having cold feet. Glad you're not.

What a great chance to get your will looked over.

 

[Jay_Gatsby]

Retirement isn't completely about finance. It's about what you want to do with the rest of your life. W*rking is not incompatible to retirement if you're doing something you would otherwise do for free (or very low wages). Many so-called "retirees" end up substitute teaching, volunteering in various capacities, etc.... They don't have to do these things - then want to do them. Retirement is freedom to do what you want, or nothing at all.

 

[Mulligan]

Retirement isn't completely about finance. It's about what you want to do with the rest of your life. W*rking is not incompatible to retirement if you're doing something you would otherwise do for free (or very low wages). Many so-called "retirees" end up substitute teaching, volunteering in various capacities, etc.... They don't have to do these things - then want to do them. Retirement is freedom to do what you want, or nothing at all.

Jay, I agree with you 100%. I call myself retired even though I now work about 3 hours a day, at the school I retired from for 9 months out of the year. The money I make "working" is barely 10% of my pension take home, but I do it because I like to, not because I have to. Probably willing to do it 10 more years if they want me to.

 

[Glo]

I was thinking of retirement for about 40 years! LOL. When I was downsized 3 years before I'd planned, it took some convincing from DH that we'd actually be able to do it. But we are doing just fine. And we don't have a million in investments. The only problem is that I am health insurance free for about 1-1/2 years before medicare kicks in. So far so good on that!

 

[Tw90663]

Please do not gamble with health care cost. At minimum, a high deductible plan or even the dreaded HMO, will prevent a major financial maelstrom.

 

[GRambler]

The author could at least fill the reader in on how to get a cushy part-time writing gig churning out crap like that article.

One of the funniest lines I've read in awhile...

And I'm more worried about funding my hobbies than starting any business.

Insurance is the biggest issue. At some point I'll have to start researching it, right now we're on the DW's coverage for a few more years.