Some people fear it; others will be excited by the prospect. Regardless of your views of retirement, there’s no doubt that you need to initiate a degree of evaluation before you get to that point.
Luckily, most countries will at least “look after you” to some extent as soon as your career finishes. Of course, you shouldn’t just assume this, and you should be aware of the various retirement myths that people tend to buy into. In other words, double-check just how much you are going to receive when you reach the elusive age.

As well as the above, you need to evaluate a few areas of your life so that you are adequately prepared. You need to know how much money you will have available, and what your new lifestyle will entail. Let’s take a look at three areas you should evaluate.

Evaluate Your Health

First and foremost, it’s crucial to evaluate your health. This isn’t about trying to delay your funeral (although on that note, it is advisable to turn to a pre-paid plan), but rather ensuring that you are as healthy as possible as you reach a period of your life where everything is about to change.
As part of this evaluation you shouldn’t underestimate your mental health. Again, things are about to drastically change. You are going to have a lot more time on your hands and there is a very good chance that a lot of this time will be spent alone. This can impact your mental health immensely, so make sure that you are socially prepared for the day when those regular trips to the office cease.

Evaluate Your Assets

From a more practical point of view, it stands to reason that you also need to evaluate your assets. At the moment, you know your monthly salary, but as soon as you retire this is going to disappear and be replaced by a pension figure.
It’s not all about income, either. For example, you need to evaluate how much, if any money, you owe on your mortgage. You may also be able to top up your savings through the sale of personal items, just to make the retirement phase a little more comfortable.
If you can take stock and understand all of the above, you will be in a much better position.

Evaluate How Much Budget You Will Need

This all relates to the goals you wish to realize when you retire. Some people will actually spend more during this phase of their life, for the simple reason that they have more time to spend money. Others, meanwhile, will stay at home and will proactively look to save.
This is where you need to step back and ask yourself how much you will realistically need to live on. Will you have any new hobbies? Will you have a yearly vacation? Once you have answers to these questions, you’ll be able to work out a final figure which can tie into the assets question we asked earlier.

How are you planning for your retirement?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.

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