You no doubt have a good idea of what your dream retirement will look like. And with a long-term financial plan in place, you’re well on your way to making that dream a reality.
But, whether your retirement date is weeks, months, or decades away, there’s still plenty of work to do.
Keep reading for a look at some of the important steps happy retirees take during their careers and the habits they carry with them into their lives after work.
1. Start planning early and be prepared to adapt to changing priorities
You’ll have had times during your working life when things didn’t go to plan. You’ll have been flexible and adaptable while remaining focused on your desired outcome.
The same resilience might be necessary in your retirement planning too. Changing legislation and fluctuating markets can affect your fund’s performance and your retirement options. Over a decades-long accumulation phase, your priorities might change too.
Beginning to think about and save for your retirement as early as possible gives you the longest time for your pot to grow, making the most of investment returns and compound growth. It also allows your investment time to ride out short-term dips.
A long-term approach, coupled with adaptability, is perfect during the saving phase of your retirement but it can be invaluable in the decumulation phase too.
You’ll need to focus on your end goal and manage your fund accordingly. When things don’t go smoothly, or your priorities change, you’ll want to know that your plan can cope.
Whether it’s keeping an eye on your asset allocation, carefully managing pension withdrawals, or putting a contingency in place for later-life care, happy retirees have an adaptable, flexible, and robust plan for the whole of their life.
2. Stay healthy and active in body and mind
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirms the average UK life expectancy for those who reached age 65 between 2018 and 2020 is 18.5 years for males and 21 years for females (that’s 83.5 and 86 years old, respectively).
If you retire at 65, you might need to fund a 20-year retirement. In 2020, though, the number of UK centenarians reached 15,120 people and a female born today has a 20% chance of reaching 100.
Retire at 55 (the current minimum retirement age, rising to 57 in 2028) and you might need to fund retirement for 30 or even 40 more years. You’ll want to be fit and healthy for as much of that time as possible.
The road to a healthy retirement begins long before you retire.
Happy retirees make the most of the early, active stage of their retirement. Whether this is travelling the world, taking up a new hobby, or spending time making memories with family, staying fit and healthy is key. Healthy eating, daily exercise, and plenty of fresh air should help.
ONS figures confirm that healthy life expectancy at birth mainly fell between 2020 and 2022 compared with 2011 to 2013. Coupled with rising life expectancies, this means that while we might be living longer, we might spend longer in ill health.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important, but so is having the peace of mind that comes from protecting yourself and your loved ones financially.
We can help you put protection in place to cover a loss of income or to save for the high costs of later-life care. This will give you peace of mind throughout your retirement.
3. Push your boundaries, give back, and don’t stop learning new things
You might spend the end of your career winding down, either through a phased retirement or during a long handover process. But it’s your early career drive that you might opt to take into retirement.
The ONS confirms that one in five self-employed Brits is over 50, and it’s a section of the workforce that has been growing over the last decade. According to Age UK, the number of self-employed people aged 65 and over more than doubled between 2017 and 2022.
The rise of these so-called “olderpreneurs” might inspire you to push yourself in retirement. You might opt to use the skills you acquired during your working life or branch out into something completely different.
Starting a new career in retirement isn’t without dangers, and you’ll need to think carefully about the financial impact on your pension and the risks you are willing to take. But pursuing a new employment dream, in a field you love and with hours to suit you, could give you the chance to begin a whole new chapter.
Alternatively, if you want to stay active and sociable in a new role, you might combine this with giving something back to the community and undertaking volunteer or charity work.
This will keep you physically and mentally active without the worries attached to managing your own business.
For more advice on staying mentally agile in retirement, read about three ways to keep your brain active in our latest blog.
Get in touch
If you want help planning your life after work, our Chartered Financial Planners can help. Get in touch and speak to us today.
Please note
The value of your investment can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may be subject to change and their value depends on the individual circumstances of the investor.
