GDA partner Wile Consulting Group - UBS offers tips for retirement planning.
Retirees face opportunities and
challenges. Optimistically, many
individuals and families see retirement
as an opportunity to do everything
that they never had time to do while
working. However, many families also
have to confront the loss of purpose
and social connections that working
provides.
Retirement is a drastic lifestyle
change. Researchers have found that
any extreme lifestyle change creates
stress. In fact, according to the “life
events scale,” which is frequently used
by psychologists, retirement is one of
the most stressful events that you’ll
experience in life. So it’s not surprising
that so many investors are apprehensive
about their decision to retire.
As investors approach retirement,
it’s important to have a goals-based
plan in place. Only 40% of investors
have a retirement plan, and not
knowing what you want to accomplish
in retirement only serves to make the
underlying stress more severe.
Here’s a simple strategy to start that process!
Step 1: Think deliberately
Deliberate thinking requires taking the time to think about options over an
extended period. It’s not practical to develop a lifetime of goals and objectives
in one sitting. Days, weeks, and even months of reflection are necessary.
Step 2: Identify all goals
Identifying all goals and objectives is crucial as they provide a foundation for
sound decision-making and planning for the future, yet research on goals
development indicates that individuals miss nearly half of their goals. Use
categories of goals to kick-start the process.
Step 3: Plan for the unexpected
One way of preparing for a range of possible future scenarios is to evaluate
multiple future versions of your life. These narratives can help uncover
opportunities and risks that might otherwise be overlooked.
Step 4: Learn from others
One good way to improve our ability to predict what we might value in
the future is to learn from the experience of others who have already been
through a certain stage in life. Talk to someone who has already been through
retirement about the experience.
Step 5: Prioritize
Trade-offs are a necessary part of the planning process. It’s better to prioritize
now than to be disappointed later.
