Key Takeaways:
- Pre-retirees primarily focus on planning for the financial side of retirement, often overlooking the equally crucial emotional side.
- Understanding the various stages of retirement and how they may affect emotional well-being can help you anticipate what’s coming and plan for how to navigate each phase.
- From maintaining your health to nurturing existing and new connections, there are several steps you can take now and in retirement to support your physical, mental, and emotional needs.
- It’s a pivotal time to consider partnering with a financial advisor to help ensure they’re aware of your shifting goals and can assist you in staying on track financially and emotionally.
Pre-retirees often prioritize planning for the financial side of retirement over the equally crucial emotional side. Transitioning into retirement is a significant milestone that brings a range of feelings, from excitement and loneliness to loss of purpose and uncertainty. In one report, 61% of pre-retirees said they fear retirement more than death because of its financial and emotional impacts.1 With many retirements now lasting 25 to 30 years or more, according to our recent blog about longevity risk, understanding how to prepare for retirement emotionally can help improve your quality of life and well-being in your next chapter. If you’re five to ten years out from retirement, review our strategies to help ensure you’re emotionally prepared.
What Are the Stages of Retirement?
Retirement generally involves five common phases. Anticipating and understanding these stages can help you prepare for what may come and navigate the emotional hurdles that may arise.
- The Planning Phase: Five to ten years from retirement, you’re considering how and with whom you’ll spend your newfound time and next chapter. You may feel nervous, along with a sense of upcoming freedom. Sharing your concerns with a financial partner or trusted friend can help you better process this dynamic.
- The Honeymoon Phase: Once you enter retirement, you’ll likely feel excited and optimistic, spending quality time with loved ones, travel, and new hobbies. However, after several months or even a few years, you may find yourself questioning, “What’s next?”
- The Disenchantment Phase: Once the honeymoon phase has run its course, a new reality begins to set in for most retirees. You may miss your career or feel lonely or unfulfilled, which could lead to depression, stress, or boredom.
- The Turning Point Phase: Disenchantment, while uncomfortable, often prompts retirees to reimagine what their ideal retirement means to them. In this phase, you may schedule your day around people and activities that bring you joy, decide to volunteer or return to work part time, or create new connections.
- The Stability Phase: By this stage, retirees have established a fulfilling routine, effectively balancing their financial and emotional needs, which may include cultivating new social connections and maintaining their health.
The experience can vary significantly from person to person. For instance, some retirees get stuck in stage three and struggle to find a sense of purpose and a meaningful routine. On the other hand, individuals who are better prepared might skip stages three and four entirely or move through them much more quickly.
How to Prepare Emotionally for Retirement
Considering the five stages of retirement, there are several steps you can take to prepare for them emotionally, including these four:
Take Care of Your Body and Mind
In addition to ensuring they have enough savings, health is a top priority for retirees.2 Health contributes to quality of life, the ability to live independently longer, and overall physical and emotional well-being. Plan for ways to stay active, eat a nutritionally rich diet, get sufficient sleep, and remain mentally sharp, either through social connections or other activities. You should also consider having a plan in place in case of a medical emergency or unexpected hospital visit, so you’re prepared if an incident occurs.
Explore New Passions
While you may have a vision of how you’ll spend your time in retirement, there may be new activities and passions to explore you’ve either set aside earlier in your career or haven’t yet discovered. Staying open to new opportunities and experiences can help you stave off boredom while potentially enriching your life. You may consider traveling more, joining a new class, volunteering, or pursuing other enjoyable and low-pressure activities.
Nurture Connections and Rely on Your Circle of Support
Loneliness and isolation are increasingly common experiences in retirement, with 43% of retirees aged 60 and older reporting feelings of loneliness.3 To combat these feelings, it’s essential to maintain social connections with your loved ones, friends, and former colleagues, as well as form new relationships with others in your same life stage. You don’t have to process loneliness or other emotional challenges in retirement alone; be sure to reach out for trusted support when necessary.
Align and Refresh Goals with Your Partner
If you’re in a relationship, it’s crucial to discuss your shared priorities, hopes, and expectations for retirement, taking into account factors such as your health goals and bucket-list travel destinations. However, like any plan, be sure to check in and realign when circumstances or needs change.
Are You “Ready” for Retirement?
As you approach retirement, now is the time to evaluate your financial readiness as well as the emotional and mental aspects of retirement. It’s natural to feel a range of emotions, but with guidance and planning you can feel more confident in how you will spend your time, manage your health, and find renewed purpose independent from your career.
Communicate Your New Goals with Your Financial Advisor
As you progress through the various stages of retirement, your goals may change. Whether you want to travel more, need to support a family member, or relocate, communicating new goals with your financial advisor can help ensure your finances stay on track while preparing for the what-if scenarios that could also impact your emotional well-being.
Perhaps, you don’t yet have a financial advisor. It’s a pivotal time to consider one. A trusted partner can help you identify opportunities and overcome the challenges inherent to significant transitions, such as retirement. Download our four-part retirement planning series, a free resource designed to help you gain clarity and the framework to support your financial security and peace of mind. Whether you’re retirement planning in San Diego or beyond, our team of professionals is here to guide you through every milestone and transition. Contact us today.
Resources:
1Petras, G. (2024, September 24). What do working Americans fear more than death? Retirement. USA Today. https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2024/09/02/american-workers-fear-retirement-more-than-death/75012002007/
2Shryock, T. (2024, September 26). In retirement, what’s more important – health or wealth? Medical Economics. https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/in-retirement-what-s-more-important-health-or-wealth-
3Smith, K. (2024, October 22). Escaping Loneliness in Retirement. Talkspace. https://www.talkspace.com/blog/retired-and-lonely/#:~:text=Is%20it%20Normal%20to%20Feel,and%20that%20can%20be%20lonely