Hundreds of thousands of people will retire this year. If you are among the lucky ones that are finally headed towards some much-deserved time away from work, you will want to make sure you are prepared. There are several things that you need to do prior to retiring.

Review Your Situation

If you are going to retire this year, it is extremely important to understand your financial situation. You need to know how much income you will need to have every month in order to pay all of your bills. Then you need to think about how much money you want to have every month in order to pay for the fun things in retirement like travel or spending time with the grandkids. Once you have all these numbers together, take a look at the assets and income sources that you will have in retirement. You need to have a plan that utilizes your assets in a way that will provide you with the income you need/want in retirement. If you need help along the way, we specialize in creating retirement income plans that are tailored for each individual! You can reach a member of our team here.

Get A Coach

Retiring can be very stressful. You have been used to getting a paycheck throughout your working career. The thought of not getting a paycheck the first month that you retire can be daunting, to say the least. Having a coach or an advisor can help reduce this stress. You need to work with someone who has walked this road with people before. An advisor should not only help get you to retirement, but they should help get you through retirement as well. There are going to be things that change in your life during your retirement. Having an advisor who can adapt and adjust your plan along the way can be beneficial.

Identify Your Purpose

We tend to talk about the financial side of retirement most of the time. One thing that often gets overlooked when people are thinking about retiring is maintaining purpose in their lives. You can’t just retire to the couch. Our purpose is often tied to our careers, but when that career ends, you need to have something else that adds value to your life. Think about the most content retirees that you know; odds are they are involved in something that gives them purpose. This could be mission trips, volunteering, a part-time job, or hobbies they like to do. Having purpose and things to look forward to in retirement can increase your health and longevity. Talk about these things with your advisor so they can plan for the financial output required for these activities.

If you are planning to retire this year, congratulations! As you get closer to your final day at work, keep these three things in mind – they’ll be an important part of your journey into retirement!

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.