When your job comes to an end, this very often frees up the time to think about what to do next. Retirement can be a welcome prospect for some but others may find it scary. Some questions that may come up include “do I need to work?”, “will I get bored if I give up work?” and “do I have enough money to retire?”.
Here are some tips to help you as you plan for retirement.
Orientate yourself
Start with orientating yourself in order to take better control of your future. Exploring retirement helps you take stock of your current situation, while encouraging you to craft a vision of your desired future, based on your own values, drivers and other factors.
Speak to a consultant, such as a WSG career coach. Or, look out for events, physical or virtual, that can help you reflect on personal circumstances.
It’s important to not put undue pressure on yourself and to take adequate time to think about your own circumstances. If your job has suddenly come to an end before planning to retire, this might require some reflection and recalibration.
It’s always important to first take stock of your current situation, what’s important to you and how that relates to your own vision of the future.
Adopt an open mindset
We often have greater freedom to act when planning retirement than we realise — there’s an opportunity to think about our own interests, rather than being driven by financial considerations. Limiting constraints such as paying for mortgages, university education, schooling, etc have often disappeared as younger family members may have probably left the home. So exploring retirement lets you make choices based on what you’d really like to do.
Develop your plan of action
It’s helpful to understand the different pieces of the puzzle that need to be analysed and addressed, so you can consider everything necessary before moving forward. Reflect on key elements including financial and legal considerations, and adopt a holistic perspective before you draw up a retirement plan.
It’s important to look out for useful information and resources on retirement planning, in order to make the transition as smooth as possible.
This article was contributed by Manpower Singapore.
