While retirement looks different for everyone and each person adjusts to it in their own unique way, it often follows a general course, which many refer to as the six stages of retirement. We know that not everyone can be boxed neatly into this pattern, however, becoming familiar with these stages can be helpful for those who are anxious about what to expect. What are the six stages of retirement? Let’s take a look.

Stage One: Pre-retirement

You may have a positive or negative outlook when it comes to anticipating your retirement. Some may be eagerly awaiting this exciting new opportunity while for others, the thought of retiring may cause much anxiety. In this stage, many make the mistake of planning out the financial aspects of their retirement but neglecting to think of what it will personally mean for them.

Stage Two: The Big Day

This stage covers the actual event of retiring. For many, this day is marked by a lively celebration and some kind words from their co-workers.

Stage Three: Honeymoon

Much like a marriage, retirement has its own honeymoon period where individuals become starry eyed about all the exciting things it could hold. Here, you realise that you are free to do all those things you’ve always planned, like travelling or taking up a new hobby, and feel exhilarated by this realisation.

Stage Four: Disenchantment

Also known as disillusionment, this stage is where many run the risk of sinking into depression or feeling like something is missing. After every high, there is a low and after the honeymoon stage you may be hit with disappointment, stemming from the fact that your retirement is not quite as expected.  All your free time suddenly feels aimless and you may start to miss all your co-workers who you’ve spent years getting to know – you may even miss that one co-worker who used to annoy the hell out of you!

Stage Five: Reorientation

Reorientation is a stage that requires a lot of ‘navel gazing’. In order to take yourself out of the feeling of disenchantment, you need to undergo some self-exploration and find answers to all those scary questions like ‘Who am I now?’ and ‘Where do I belong?’ This stage requires you to put in the effort to actively reorientate yourself and shift your mindset, setting new goals and expectations.

Stage Six: Retirement Routine/’Rewirement’

While this stage may sound a little boring, a retirement routine is nothing but – if you have successfully reorientated yourself and ‘rewired’ your mind. Here is where you can truly live out your golden years in a meaningful way by joining various interest groups and setting up a stable routine. This is not to say no to spontaneity and adventure but simply to find new purpose and belonging.

So, in summary, the answer to ‘What are the six stages of retirement?’ is: Pre-retirement, the big day, the honeymoon, disenchantment, reorientation and routine.

If you have already retired, we’d love to hear from you. How has your retirement been, and can you relate to any of these stages? Leave your comments below.

The post What Are the Six Stages of Retirement? appeared first on Alex Wardle.

Advances in medicine and new discoveries in the medical field have helped us live longer, healthier lives. According to the World Health Organization, while life expectancy varies from country to country, on the whole, it has risen by five years across the world since 2000. The number of years of good health that we can expect is now much more than it ever has been, leading many to enjoy more years of productivity and thus retire later. However, while the way we age has changed, the way we measure aging has not.  

Society still measures aging in terms of chronological age – this is defined by the number of years that have passed since one’s birth. However, this measure does not tell us much else besides how much time has gone by. The problem with this is that we reduce people to a mere number and define them by this, leading to unnecessary generalisations about our more mature citizens and causing many to deny them a wealth of opportunities based on their chronological age. 

This ageism also runs through into our own lives and affects the way we think about ourselves and what we are capable of. We may underestimate ourselves based on society’s measure of age and because of this, achieve less than we are actually capable of with our low expectations. We may fail to sufficiently plan for our golden years and, as a result, deny ourselves many valuable opportunities because we fail to recognise our longer futures.  

Instead of using such an outdated measure as chronological ageing, why not measure ourselves in terms of biological aging? Our biological clock is a much more useful predictor of our capabilities and limits. Additionally, when we pay more attention to our biological clocks, we are far more likely to take better care of ourselves and make better lifestyle and nutritional choices that will help us stay healthier for longer – rather than accepting health conditions as simply a result of chronological aging.  

It’s high time society changes its preconceptions of aging and adopts a much more accurate measure, revealing the wide variation in how our mind and body responds to the passage of time.  

Do you agree? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, so please do share your opinion in the comments below. 

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At Alex Wardle, retirement is topic we’re passionate about, and we love seeing our clients through this life stage – both in terms of the financial impact of it and the psychological adjustment to it. As avid readers, we’ve perused our fair share of books on this topic, and while there are plenty of worthwhile retirement reads, we have 2 special books that we’d like to share with you. Whether you have already retired or are planning on retiring, we think you’ll enjoy reading these best sellers.  

1. Rewire, Don’t Retire: Embracing Your Retirement 

Image courtesy of Irish Life 

This captivating, short read has to be our all-time favourite. It reframes our idea of retirement and helps us see all the exciting opportunities this new life phase brings. The idea it encapsulates is to ‘rewire’ your mind and make the most of retirement – not seeing it as the end of the road, but as a new journey. The lifestyle guide takes us through the secrets for a fulfilling retirement, suggestions to help adjust to this new stage, nurturing relationships and living your best life. 

You can download this guide for free here. 

The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World

Image courtesy of Bloomsbury Publishing 

This is one of the most interesting retirement reads by far. It delves into how advances in technology are changing our lives – extended lifespans being one of the many changes. While we are left wondering how to fit into this fast-paced, ever-changing world in our older age, authors and economics and psychology experts, Andrew J. Scott and Lynda Gratton present three basic principles that help us find our feet, allowing us to live longer, smarter and happier lives.  

Read more about this book on Amazon. 

Do you have any retirement reads to recommend to us? We’d love it if you could share them with us and post your top picks in the comments below. 

The post Our Top 2 Retirement Reads appeared first on Alex Wardle.

Periods of change can bring about new challenges or new opportunities, but they can also be overwhelming and a little scary. Retirement is no different and adjusting to it may not be so easy for some, but a little guidance along the way can make all the difference. To help you better adjust to this new life stage mentally and financially, we’ve drawn up a few pointers that are worth keeping in mind. 

Adjust Your Budget 

It’s just as important to have a budget when you retire as it is to have one while you are working. There will be some expenses that fall away when you retire (such as your daily commute) and there may be some expenses that increase (such as medical aid premiums). It’s essential that you keep track of these in order to make the most of your finances. You may feel that you deserve to splash out and spoil yourself – and rightly so – but if you don’t have a budget in place, then you may end up spending too much on those weekly comforts instead of saving for that dream holiday you’ve always wanted. 

Learn Something New 

Have you truly explored all of the things you are capable of? Retirement can be an exciting opportunity to find some hidden talents and learn something new. It doesn’t really matter what you learn, as long as it is stimulating and challenging. This will not only boost your brain health but will also help you transition into retirement more smoothly with your mind preoccupied with positive things – that is, provided you are patient with yourself and give yourself time to learn.  

Get an Extra Income Stream  

While you may have planned out your financial retirement well, there will always be a few expenses you may not have anticipated, such as new taxes that unpredictably skyrocket or loans to help out a loved one who isn’t doing so well. This is why it’s a wise idea to set up an additional income stream.  

Perhaps you can capitialise on that hobby that you’ve been enjoying and sell your crafts at a local farmers market? 

Express Your Emotions 

A lot of people underestimate just how difficult the transition into retirement is. You will feel many different emotions – some good and some bad – but it’s important that you mentally prepare yourself for this and know that feeling extra emotional at times is completely normal. Learning to express your emotions, fully feel them, and clearly communicate them to your loved ones is healthy and will help your journey into retirement feel more manageable.  

If you are currently battling with adjusting to retirement and would like further advice, you are always welcome to get in touch with Alex. His years of experience in working with retirees from all walks of life, have equipped him with much insight into the challenges of this life stage.  

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Retirement is a big adjustment and can be quite a shock to one’s system! As humans we are naturally resistant to change and disruptions in our systems, even if these changes are good for us! 

Security and comfort are what we cling to when things are uncertain, and we tend to turn to what is most familiar to give us this. But when it comes to retirement, it’s not like we can turn back to our old familiar jobs. So, how then do we make a smooth transition into our golden years and how do we make sure that we have a happy and fulfilling retirement? 

For a start, it’s a good idea to do some navel gazing and reflect on our own thoughts about retirement. Are they negative or positive? Stepping into unknowns are always easier when we have a positive outlook and train our brains to think about what could go right instead of what could go wrong. When we’re in this frame of mind, we find ourselves identifying more opportunities to grab hold of – ones that will ensure we have a satisfying retirement.  

However, we know that this is easier said than done and so to help those of us that battle with changing the way we think, we’ve drawn up a list of opportunities to get excited about and to help us make the most of our later years. 

While we know there’s not always a one-size-fits-all formula for everyone, research points to a wealth of opportunities that will most likely lead us to a fulfilling retirement: 

1. Being Purposefully Active – this means seeking out activities to spend your time on that are purposeful (read our blog, ‘Why You Should Reconsider Retiring Early’ to see why a sense of purpose is so important). Sure, your sewing may come in handy come birthdays and Christmas, but when you’ve run out of gift ideas, then what is the purpose for your craft? Surely not just to keep busy. Perhaps you can look for ways to give your special hobby a purpose. For example, selling your crafts to raise money for a worthwhile charity that is meaningful to you. Which leads us to the next point.  
2. Giving Back – there is a special sense of fulfilment that comes from volunteering your time, money or efforts to a special event or cause. Research shows that giving back to others through volunteering, decreases your risk of depression, reduces stress levels and can even help you live longer! 
3. Connectedness – opportunities to maintain or rekindle socially supportive relationships are essential to your mental health. As humans, we were never made to live in isolation – closed off from the word around us. Those who are lonely tend to have lower confidence levels and self-esteem and greater risks of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or dementia. Spending time in good company makes us happy (even for the most introverted of us), reduces stress, keeps our brain active and helps us live longer. 

If you would like further advice on how to make your retirement more meaningful and enjoyable, please feel free to chat with our financial planner come life coach, Alex Wardle. His many years of experience in the industry put him in the perfect position to offer wise tips and information regarding both the financial and emotional aspects of retirement.  

The post I’ve Retired. Now What? appeared first on Alex Wardle.

Many of our clients come to us to plan out their financial retirement, but we often find that they neglect to think about much else further than that. Reaching a point where you can retire and be financially comfortable is one thing, but what about being ready to retire from a mental or emotional perspective?

 A slowdown in life’s pace may be something that clients dream about and they may longingly look forward to lazy days with absolutely no agenda, but when the time comes to hang up those metaphorical boots and the reality of it all sinks in, they are often left feeling like something is missing that they can’t quite put their finger on.

After working with people from all walks of life, chatting to them and getting to know them intimately, for over 30 years now, we have a slight suspicion as to what this is. We believe it’s a sense of purpose and belonging – two fundamental human needs that, in many studies, have been shown to decline in older adults, age 65 and beyond.

Without purpose or belonging, life can seem empty and meaningless. And so, one’s risk of depression increases greatly (unfortunately, depression can also trigger a number of health issues such as heart disease, blood clots and strokes!).

Furthermore, research shows that those who retire too early, more often than not, suffer a wide array of health issues and thus they have a shorter lifespan. According to a 2016 study, carried out by the University of Oregon, those who decide to continue working beyond 65 years of age are more likely to live longer and, in fact, even working one year longer can decrease your risk of dying by as much as 11%. This finding makes more sense when you think about how closely mental and physical health are related.  Given this, it is not surprising that there is a growing trend towards retiring much later on in life.

With all of this in mind, it makes sense to stop and re-evaluate whether you are mentally ready to retire. Be honest with yourself and ask yourself if you really will be okay with filling your time with purely leisure-based activities like fishing or golf. If your answer is no, then you have a few options to consider, such as retiring later, doing contracted work, or retiring with view of joining or starting an organisation that will give you a lasting sense of purpose and belonging (you could think about a worthy NGO to join or consider plucking up the bravery to teach that class you always wanted to). Whatever your choice is, we will be here to advise you and coach you along your retirement journey.

 As financial planners, we are not simply here to do our job and take your money. We build close and lasting relationships with most of our clients and genuinely care about thier wellbeing. Which is why we believe in going out of our way to give them valuable advice that extends beyond finances and helps them reach their full potential and live a meaningful life. You are always welcome to give us a call if you need help thinking through your various retirement options.

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