(This is long, so I’m going to split this into two posts – please bear with me!)
#1:
Each of us has a unique financial and estate planning situation. There are so many factors to consider, and each factor has a different level of importance to each individual.

All too often we think of retirement and financial planning as aged-based – ‘I want to retire early, before 65!’ Or the sad-sounding ‘I’m never going to be able to retire; I’ll have to work forever....’

But think about how your life has changed as you’ve moved through adulthood. Consider how your attitudes about so many things have altered, as life experiences impact you and the people you care about.

Now – is this process going to stop when you reach your retirement date, whenever that is?

No, of course not! You will continue to change, both voluntarily and involuntarily. So will your spouse or partner. So will your friends and family. None of us can hold back the inevitability of Life and the changes that occur.

The reason why pro financial planners keep saying, “It’s not the age you retire, it’s the age you’re going to die,” is because it’s actually the idea of planning for a LIFESTYLE change. Retirement isn’t the primary goal.

So whether you call it financial planning, retirement planning, or estate planning, the true GOAL is to try to prepare yourself for the most likely changes to happen to you and your partner, in the short-, medium- and long-term.

What is important isn’t the money. It’s the plan for dealing with any changes in your life – whether physical or mental, internal or external forces. If you haven’t planned well, you will have limited options. You can have more options, even with limited funds, if you have honestly analyzed your circumstances and developed a workable plan for the future.

It isn’t easy. But a good plan gives you peace of mind as well as confidence that you can, indeed, deal with life effectively and empower yourself.

#2: So consider these factors:

1) Start planning in advance! 10 yrs before taking retirement is barely enough time. There are a lot of complex factors involved in a holistic financial plan, including insurance, health (not just mortality but morbidity), legal issues, etc. It takes time to understand how the preferences you have and the actual decisions you make, will affect your options going forward as you age. If you want to have options available when bad things happen, you MUST plan properly!

2) Everyone's retirement is unique, just as their financial and estate planning needs are unique. Never assume that what is true for your cousins, friends, parents, siblings, etc., is absolute for you as well.

3) If you are retiring as a couple:

- Have you planned a 'worst case' scenario for the disability or lingering illness of one spouse? Do you know what the Medicare rules are? Do you keep knowledgable about Medicaid rules and benefits for your state? Do you know how using Medicaid benefits will affect your final estate planning? Do you have some idea about what you could do if the rules change, which is inevitable when you are talking about something that may be 25 yrs in the future, or may happen 5 years from now?

- Do you have sufficient income for BOTH of you, whether you both live into your 90's or if one of you dies (and their Social Security or pension goes away)?

4) What will you do if one or both of you can no longer drive? Do you know what services are available, and whether you qualify? What are the options for senior living in your community (or the community you choose to retire in)?

5) Do you make friends easily? Have you made any new friends of different ages in the last five years, outside of work or people you've 'known forever'? Do you make the effort to 'keep in touch', by phone or email or writing? Is your family nearby, or too far away for an easy visit? Do you have a plan to keep yourself physically active and mentally engaged, independent of your spouse? Do you have a fall-back plan, should you have to retire due to physical disability? How would physical disability affect your attitude towards retirement? These factors determine your adaptability in adjusting to retirement, and are emotionally critical to a smooth transition to this new stage of your life.

6) Have you talked to a professional advisor with fiduciary responsibility to you, about running Monte Carlo simulations on your budget numbers? Even if you don't use a registered advisor normally, I highly recommend hiring an independent CFP or CPA w/PFS certification to go over your retirement assumptions at least 5 yrs before actual retirement. It would be even better to do it at the 7 yr prior and 3 yr prior mark.

6a) Either way, it should be done again 6-12 months prior to final retirement date.

Very few people are capable of factoring in all the 'gotchas' that could happen to their retirement. I have seen friends and family get tripped up by thinking their plans were on track, only to discover they had been assuming nothing bad would happen – not just the market gyrations, but heart attacks, etc. It can be worth paying a professional for good neutral advice.

Could you do proper planning yourself? Sure – I did it. But I did have help from good, experienced professionals, even if we didn’t have to pay for it (sheer luck). And I enjoy things like investing and funds management. I’ll sit for hours at the PC, doing research and reading about estate planning, insurance trends, Medicaid/Medicare issues, etc.. Honestly, I don’t know anyone else who has the time or interest to do these same things.

A professional will bring up questions and issues you may have never realized could affect you. Asking for advice on the Net is worth precisely what you pay for it – even mine, I’m afraid!

This is a very complex subject matter, with a lot of factors to consider. A huge lifestyle change, whether it’s retirement or disability or death, needs to be planned for. That transition will be a lot easier if you can arm yourself with sufficient knowledge.

It comes down to three main factors... money money money.

I also agree on the friend thing. That is so important, but often hard maintence if you work full time, do caretaking and have grandchildren. But still, I need to do more in that area.

I mean absolutely no disrespect in what I am going to say. Please believe this.

Some of us are just more casual about life.

I retired last June and I will plan my retirement as I go, just as I have planned the rest of my life. My family history suggests I will live into my 80's. I believe I have more than enough money to live for that amount of time, thanks to my savings, my IRA's, my pension plan, social security, and inheritance.

I have friends. I have hobbies. I have enough expertise in my past work history, that I will find (I already have one part time job in the field offered to me) work if absolutely necessary.

Again, I am not being flip or disrespectful. I just live life a little looser. It may not be the wisest way to live, but it has always worked for me.

Anno, there is certainly nothing wrong with 'living loosely'! That is one of the great things about life, to learn what is worth the effort and what things are not.

It confounds my MIL that DH and I don't live on a schedule. Left to herself she would stick to a rut because that's most comfortable for her.

Trouble is, that inflexibility has also contributed to her dementia. Her refusal to think about critical issues has led, decades later, to an inability to think about almost anything.

We consider retirement one of those subjects that is too important to be treated casually. We have seen too many of our friends and family unable to retire, because their planning was inadequate. Outside of the very wealthy people we know, we are the only ones in our circle who were able to retire at age 56, despite not ever earning an above-average income between the two of us.

Knowing the questions you need to answer before retiring, can be half the battle. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to having options as you age.