If you want to have a good retirement, you need to figure out what that means to you. Do some life planning for retirement, set goals, and use these retirement tips to create a plan that allows you to achieve exactly what you want. What do most of us want? It is usually pretty simple, we want a happy, wealthy, and happy retirement.
A happy retirement is no longer really about sitting with your feet up and watching the rest of the world whiz by. Many people now think that retirement is a time for embarking on one of life’s greatest adventures. This is the time to do what you want with the experience-laden good sense to appreciate it.
How to be happy in retirement? Here are 65 retirement tips that can help you have a really good retirement. Make this the best time of your life!
1. Have a Sense of Purpose and Meaning
Make every day meaningful. Oxford University suggests that a meaningful life lessens the effects of aging. And, research from Patrick Hill and Nicholas Turiano found that people who have a sense or purpose or direction in life outlive their peers.
In fact, people with a sense of purpose had a 15 percent lower risk of death, compared with those who said they were more or less aimless. And it didn’t seem to matter when people found their direction. It could be in their 20s, 50s, or 70s — even when controlled for other factors that affect longevity like age, gender, and emotional well-being.
The study found that a sense of purpose led to a longer life. Explore 6 ways to find meaning and purpose for retirement.
2. Create the Most Complete Retirement Plan Possible
Most people have lived their lives day to day, month to month, year to year.
However, retirement is the time to have the best and most complete plan possible. You want to spend this time of your life doing what you want to do and you want to make sure you have the finances and wherewithal to achieve what is important.
Online retirement planning tools like the NewRetirement Planner can help you plan. However, be careful of simple retirement calculators. Those can be good for quick answers, but aren’t reliable enough for financial security. Working with a financial advisor is another excellent way to achieve your goals.
3. Make Friends with Your Future Self
Perhaps the best way to plan for retirement is to visualize your future — really think about the details of who you will be, where and why. Being able to imagine now who you will be in the future and what your needs and desires will be at that time is perhaps the most important aspect of planning.
Explore these 7 ways to visualize your future so that you can create and achieve a secure and happy retirement!
4. Think Health Not Wealth
According to an AgeWave study, more than 80% of today’s retirees say health is the most important ingredient for a happy retirement, meaning that the majority value good health even over financial security.
So, the best retirement plan involves not just your finances but also ways to stay mentally and physically healthy. Gardening, walking, joining a gym, and eating healthy are all proven ways to stay physically healthy. Staying vital, having a purpose, and challenging yourself mentally are great ways to maintain your mental health.
Additionally, it is important to plan for how to fund healthcare costs. Americans age 50+ cite health care costs in retirement as their greatest financial concern, regardless of their wealth level. Yet the vast majority of people have not factored these costs into their retirement planning.
Use the NewRetirement Planner to get a personalized estimate of your lifetime healthcare costs and make sure you are covered.
5. Trade Time for Money
If you can live on a little less than you have been planning, then retirement can be a lot closer than you might have thought possible. Cut expenses dramatically and the time to retire might be tomorrow.
How you spend your time is probably more important to your retirement happiness and before as how much money you save and earn. Don’t overlook the value of your time — how you spend it, where, and with whom — in your retirement planning.
Here are 20 ways to cut costs related to being rich in time!
6. Volunteer and Feel Great
If you are looking for meaning in retirement, volunteering might be something to try.
According to an Encore.org study, 55% of Americans believe that putting skills and expertise to use in some fashion to help others is an important part of how they view retirement. And 28% put post-midlife work with real social impact at the center of their planning.
Here are 6 tips for making a volunteer impact.
7. Want Health in Retirement? Make Exercise Fun
Try making exercise something you look forward to instead of something you have to do. Instead of walking (trudging) on a treadmill, take walks through the park or go for mini hikes. Still does not appeal to you? Why not listen to music or, better yet, bring a friend along and talk and laugh as you get the heart rate going.
Best of all, there is a bonus to the fun! Research from Cornell Food and Brand Lab found that those who think they are having fun while exercising end up eating less than those who are doing it for exercise.
8. And, If Walking Is Your Exercise, Walk Fast
Many research studies have found that how fast you walk after age 60 is a good gauge of longevity. Apparently, your walking speed can predict dementia, shorter life spans, and depression.
In one study, published in Neurology, researcher Dr. Joe Verghese says “As a young researcher, I examined hundreds of patients and noticed that if an older person was walking slowly, there was a good chance that his cognitive tests were also abnormal.”
9. Think Income Not Investments
Esteemed economists like Nobel Prize winner Robert Merton believe that it is more important to estimate and plan for your retirement income needs than worry about investments and how much you need for retirement. He recommends dividing your income needs into three categories:
- Minimum guaranteed retirement income — This category is for how much income you need to maintain your life at the bare minimum. Your retirement assets should be allocated to guarantee this income for as long as you live. Social Security and lifetime annuities are two common guaranteed income sources.
- Flexible income — This category is for how much income you would like to live at your desired lifestyle. Income for this category should come from conservatively invested assets.
- Nice to haves — You can take some risks with investments in this category.
The best retirement plan insures that you have enough income to cover your expenses. The NewRetirement Planner can help you figure out how much income you need. Or, explore 18 retirement income strategies.
10. Leave Behind More Wealth than You Had When You First Retired
Retirement is not always about scrimping and saving. Many people are lucky enough to be able to increase their wealth throughout retirement. Bud Hebeler was one such guy.
Read his advice — 8 tips — for having more money at 80 than he did when he retired. Want to do it yourself? Here is general advice for becoming a millionaire… AFTER retirement!
11. Create and Maintain a Comprehensive Investment Strategy
Perhaps too much emphasis has been put on retirement investments, but it is not something you want to get wrong.
Creating an investment policy statement could be the secret weapon your retirement needs. An investment policy statement defines your investment goals, strategies for achieving those objectives, a framework for making changes to your plans, and options for what to do if things don’t go as expected. This type of document can help you make more rational decisions about your money.
12. Don’t Overlook Taxes
When it comes to your retirement planning, saving, investing, and plotting how to spend your free time are at the top of the list. How much you will have to pay in taxes after retirement may be the last thing on your mind, but taxes can be a bigger swing in your wealth than investment returns.
Here are 17 tips for retirement taxes.
13. Keep a Schedule and Structure and Follow 7 Other Overlooked Retirement Skills
It can be difficult figuring out just what to do with your time once the 9 to 5 is over and done. Retirement is a major life change, and not all of it is fun. But with a schedule, you can help avoid the boredom and restlessness that comes with switching from a busy life to one where busyness only happens because you want it to.
Studies have shown that a structured life is one of the keys to happiness. Work usually imposes a schedule and structure on your life. When you retire, you are faced with days and evenings at your leisure. While you may find this novel and a bit exciting, you may want to define some specific routines to maintain order and structure.
Learn more about 8 overlooked skills for a happy retirement — resiliency, sociability, budgeting, motivation, and more!
14. Research the Best Places to Retire and Go There
New lists about the best places to retire are common. While it is possible that you already live in the best place for you, it is also possible that there is a better place for your retirement. Best of all, relocating may give you more money for retirement expenses if you manage to downsize or move to a more economical location.
Retirement doesn’t have to mean that you’ll stay in the same house where you’ve always lived. Downsizing can free up your time. And moving to a 50+ community can surround you with like-minded people with similar interests. There’s less home maintenance, too.
Not sure where to go? Try this Retirement Destination Checklist.
15. Make Your Travel Dreams a Reality
According to surveys of NewRetirement users, knowing how to have a happy retirement typically involves figuring out how to travel. Travel is clearly the most popular and desired pursuit for this phase of life. From day trips by car to round the world journeys, retirees have wanderlust!
Anything is possible with the right prioritization. If travel is what you have always dreamed of, here are “20 Great Retirement Travel Ideas.”
Achieving what you want out of retirement can be a matter of setting a goal and then prioritizing that goal above everything else. Using a the Retirement Planner can help you visualize what you need to do to achieve whatever is important to you.
16. Think Positively About Aging
“There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.” ― Sophia Loren
Really interesting retirement happiness research from Becca Levy, an associate professor of epidemiology and psychology at Yale University, shows that Sophia Loren was onto something.
Levy has found that when older adults think of getting old as a positive experience — being about wisdom, self-realization and satisfaction — they then.
- Function at a higher level
- Live 7.5 years longer
- Are more likely to eat well, exercise and avoid vice
17. Some Researchers Think Aging is… Optional…?
David Sinclair is a Harvard professor who made Time Magazine’s list of of the 100 most influential people in 2014. He argues that aging is… optional.
He believes that growing old is not a natural part of life but rather a disease that needs a cure. The bad news is that, yes, everyone does need to die at some point, but he says that we can double our life expectancy AND live healthy active lives right up until the end.
Learn more in his book: Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To. And then, just try thinking about planning to make your retirement savings last for another 100 years!
18. Avoid Retirement Depression (It is More Common Than You Might Think)
A study published in the Journal of Population Ageing found that those who were retired were about twice as likely to report feeling symptoms of depression than those who were still working. And, research from the London-based Institute of Economic Affairs found that the likelihood that someone will suffer from clinical depression actually goes up by about 40% after retiring.
Here are 9 tips for combating this common syndrome.
19. Spend Time with the Grandkids
Research from the Institute on Aging at Boston College found that grandparents who were able to both give and receive support from grandchildren are less likely to be depressed. In fact, “the greater emotional support grandparents and adult grandchildren received from one another, the better their psychological health,” said Sara M. Moorman, an assistant professor at Boston College.
If you have grandkids, spending active play time with them can help you stay healthier. Active play doesn’t have to mean that you’ll climb a tree, but you can play other games and go on outings together. The National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) says spending time with the little ones you love is also great for bonding.
20. Have You Found Your Ikigai?
The residents of the Japanese island of Okinawa have discovered three proven concepts for happy longevity: ikigai, moai, and hara hachi bu.
Learn more about how to apply these long life strategies to your retirement.
21. Make Sure Your Retirement Planning Includes Your Spouse and Loved Ones
It may seem obvious, but it is actually important to remember to include loved ones — especially spouses — in your retirement planning. A survey by Fidelity Investments found that finances and retirement planning are extremely difficult subjects for married couples.
Going through a retirement calculator can be an excellent way to really get into the details with your loved one(s). Just make sure you use a retirement calculator for couples. Here are important retirement planning topics to tackle with your spouse.
22. Single? Here Are Tips for You
Whether by circumstances or choice, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were 19.5 million unmarried U.S. residents age 65 and older in 2016. Experts estimate that around 23 percent of the older population nationwide will age alone and that percentage can be much higher — as high as 50% — in many cities. These aging adults are often referred to as elder orphans or solo seniors.
Women especially are living alone in greater numbers. The Administration on Aging and the Administration for Community Living found that 54% of women in the U.S. over 65 are divorced, single, or widowed.
There are some challenges to retiring alone. Here are a few tips for navigating retirement on your own.
23. If You Have a Health Setback, Adopt a Positive Outlook
Much new research indicates that you are who you think you are. The power of positive thinking is turning out to be very true.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that seniors with a positive bias toward themselves and life are 44 percent more likely to fully recover from a bout of disability than someone with a negative outlook.
24. Find a Motto for Your Retirement Plan — Put it On Your Refrigerator
Keeping your retirement goals front and center is important. Some people write down their goals, keep a budget or plan.
Other ideas include creating a Pinterest board with your retirement goals or finding a famous retirement quote, a funny and inspirational quote about retirement and aging or a quote about the pros or cons of retirement and putting it up on your refrigerator.
Maybe you could write your retirement manifesto.
25. Protect Yourself from Fraud
Seniors are an all too common target of fraud. According to the National Council on Aging, “approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60+ have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are abused each year. One study estimated that only 1 in 14 cases of abuse are reported to authorities.” Here are 7 ways to protect yourself from investment fraud.
26. Stay Married — Especially If You Are a Man
Marriage is good for you, and so are long-term relationships. This Psychophysiology study points out that while stressful marriages are detrimental as we age, strong relationships with a partner help in nearly every aspect of life.
Additional research from Harvard Medical School found that men who have marital partners live longer than men without spouses.
Even though you might spend every day together once you retire, date night is something different and special.
27. Devote Time to Retirement Planning — Even After You Retire
Research shows that most people spend more time buying a TV, making a restaurant reservation, and planning a vacation than they do planning their retirement.
Planning, assessing, and updating your retirement plans should be on your monthly checklist — even after you retire. It is important to check in with your budget and investments and adjust as necessary. Online tools like the NewRetirement Planner can help.
Consider the importance of a quarterly retirement plan review!
28. Don’t Let Retirement Taxes Get You Down
For most people, taxes are the opposite of a happy retirement. In fact, according to Pew Research, 56% of Americans hate or dislike doing taxes. (Although, there are actually 5% of people who love it. Who are these crazy people?)
If you would rather spend less money on retirement taxes, it is a good idea to plan ahead to minimize this expense.
The NewRetirement Planner enables you to see your potential tax burden in all future years and get ideas for minimizing this expense. It takes forethought, but Roth conversions (there is a Roth Conversion Explorer to help you see opportunities for when and how much to convert), taxable income shifts, and other strategies can result in significant lifetime savings.
29. Spend Your Savings (Safely)!
You want to have a clear plan in place for making your savings last, but experts are finding that many of today’s retirees simply aren’t spending enough.
There are so many questions. Good news: the Stanford Center on Longevity in collaboration with the Society of Actuaries (SOA) has some answers. They analyzed 292 retirement income strategies and are recommending the “spend safely in retirement strategy” as the best way to spend in retirement.
Still worried about spending? Here are 6 ways to overcome the terror of tapping retirement savings.
30. Adjust to Turning Your Perspective Upside Down
Retirement is a big deal. Both your lifestyle and your finances do an almost 180 when you retire. Your time is suddenly spent in leisure not work and you go from earning money to spending. It can be challenging to go from a focus on accumulation (saving, saving, saving) to spending (efficient use and drawdown of your assets).
Explore 6 tips to flip your mindset from saving to efficient spending. Or, if you are worried about retirement, try changing your perspective!
31. Be Social
You may be retired, but working on creating and maintaining friendships is one of your most important “jobs” as a retired person.
Research abounds on the benefits of being social as we age. The links between healthy social relationships and better health are well established. One study from the Pennsylvania State University found that when the social activities are linked to physical exercise, even more benefits are achieved.
And, it turns out that the opposite is also true. Researchers found that loneliness in older people may significantly increase the chance of death. Psychologist John Cacioppo says that loneliness may have twice the impact on early death as obesity and is as damaging as disadvantaged socioeconomic status.
Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, maintaining friendships is actually critical to your health and well-being.
You need people you can rely on emotionally and for real life help. And, believe it or not, science says that you are way better off when you have people who rely on you!
32. Be Social with People Outside Your Age Group
It turns out that there are some powerful benefits to have younger (and older) pals — a sense of vitality, energy, different perspectives and more. Get inspired by some beautiful stories of friendships across generations.
33. Choose the Right Time to Start Social Security
The later you start Social Security, the more monthly income you will receive. You might be eligible to begin benefits at 62, but delaying the start of benefits can reap big rewards.
Learn how to apply for Social Security and get 15 easy tips for making the right Social Security decision.
34. Spend Money for Retirement Happiness
Yep. Money actually can buy happiness.
From buying time to investing in experiences, there are multiple ways that you can spend money to achieve retirement happiness.
Learn about 11 ways to prioritize your retirement spending for well being.
35. Know Your Best Years May Be Yet to Come
This is likely to surprise you. I was kind of shocked. But, a few years ago researchers identified the two ages in an adult’s life when you are likely to be at your happiest.
Experts from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences found that happiness peaks at the ages of 23 and 69.
Whoa! Sixty-nine! That is older than many of us.
Learn more about the surprising age when happiness peaks.
36. Are You a Family Caregiver? Be Careful to Keep Your Own Retirement on Track
The costs of being a caregiver can be overwhelming. There is the extreme emotional turmoil but there are also serious financial concerns — from money spent out of pocket and from time spent caregiving instead of earning income.
While you may only be able to think about how to help the person you are caring for, there are steps you can take to protect your own retirement. You deserve the time it takes to care for your own self, too. Explore 5 tips for taking care of yourself.
37. Get a Dog
The research on the benefits of owning a dog is pretty overwhelming. Beyond emotional benefits like their unconditional love of us, one study found that dog owners need fewer doctor visits. Another study from Australia found that pet owners had lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a lower heart attack risk than people without pets.
Other research has suggested that caring for a dog, in particular, is healthful in that it keeps us vital and generally insures that we get a walk every day. Here are six ways pets can improve your health.
38. Don’t Stop Budgeting
If you’ve saved well, you’ll want to be sure that your retirement funds last as long as you need them to. And if your finances are less-than-stellar, it’s even more important to budget, since you won’t have next week’s paycheck to supplement financial mistakes.
Willingness to be flexible with spending is “absolutely key” both before and during retirement, says Jon R. King, certified financial planner with Austin, Texas-based Pegasus Financial Solutions, LLC. “Spending before retirement is important because the less you spend, the more you save,” he says. “Cutting spending after retirement makes [your money] last longer.”
Here are 9 tips for predicting your retirement expenses.
39. Keep Learning About Finances
A recent survey suggests that financial literacy is lower than even most people might expect. Fidelity asked more than 2000 people — half who were between the ages of 55 and 65 and not retired — questions in eight different retirement categories. The average that people got right was a mere 30 percent. Absolutely nobody got all the questions correct and the highest overall grade was 79 percent. Can you do better?
40. Be Sure to Plan Your Next Big Financial Goal: Your Estate!
A big part of retirement planning is figuring out how much you can and want to leave behind to heirs.
Do you know what your estate is likely to be? And, have you created all the recommended documents and kept your paperwork up to date? Find out by using the Retirement Planner! This is critically important.
Learn more about what is the average inheritance, meaningful ways to leave a financial legacy to heirs and estate taxes.
41. Know Your Money Personality Type
For better and worse, your genes and your circumstances have conspired to create a money personality type.
Understanding your money attitudes and habits can be useful to creating a stronger financial future.
What is your money personality type?
42. Be Realistic About What Retirement Will Mean to Your Lifestyle
While many things are fairly universal for retirees, such as having lots of time to do what you want, some things might surprise you. Boredom can be a big problem, especially for someone who is used to a busy pre-retirement life. Time isn’t necessarily fun when it’s spent in front of the TV wishing you had something to do.
If you want to know how to be happy after retirement? Explore 120 things to do in retirement.
43. Continually Optimize Your Health Insurance
It is important to re-evaluate your supplemental Medicare coverage every year. Insurance companies change policies and your health changes too.
Shopping for the best supplemental coverage can really save you money and improve your benefits.
44. Don’t Forget to Plan for a Long-Term Care Need
You also want to look at ways to fund long-term care costs. Long-term care is not covered by Medicare or Medicare supplemental insurance. And, research suggests that at least 52% of people turning 65 today will need long term care at some point.
You need to plan for it!
45. Prepare for the Awful Things that Are Likely to Happen
We all want a happy, healthy and wealthy retirement. But the reality is that awful things are probably going to happen.
Here are 7 common tragedies that will likely happen and how to deal with them all.
46. Throw a Retirement Party
Retirement really is something to celebrate. And, if you have a good retirement plan, that is a major achievement — something to be really proud of!
Here are a few tips for throwing a really great retirement party.
47. Will a Retirement Survival Pack Help You Have a Happier Retirement?
From calendars to help you maintain a schedule to replacements for what you will miss from work plus books, apps and tools for staying physically and mentally healthy, discover a retirement survival pack.
48. Watch a Movie
Movies — like all art forms — can be a great way to explore important themes in your life. Movies with themes of retirement and aging run the gamut from great animated choices to watch with your grandkids to adult comedy and drama.
Here is a list of movies related to retirement and aging. Is a movie too long or abstract? Try a Ted Talk related to retirement!
49. Optimize Your Resources to Maximize Your Income and Protection from Risks
One of the key reasons that the very rich hire financial planners is that they can help optimize resources — make small tradeoffs — to dramatically improve the client’s overall wealth and security.
Through education, innovation, and access to retirement products and strategies, NewRetirement hopes to provide that same level of holistic planning to the average retiree.
Examples of small tradeoffs that make a big difference include:
- Delaying the start of their Social Security can mean an additional 30 percent in monthly income. Use the Social Security Explorer in the NewRetirement Planner to help determine the best time for you to start benefits.
- Buying a lifetime annuity or long term care insurance may mean less total savings are required for retirement
- Working longer can be the difference between making ends meet and not
50. Keep Working or Reverse Your Retirement
Seventy five percent of Americans expect to be employed for as long as they can, with 39% saying it’s because they like to work, according to a Bankrate Financial Literacy poll.
And, according to a Federal Reserve Board study, a full 1/3 of those who retire eventually reverse retirement and return to work on either a full or part time basis.
Many seniors make some kind of career change and work because they find something they love doing. The additional income is good, but it is often the satisfaction of a job well done that keeps them working. There are so many benefits to working past the traditional retirement age.
The most common reasons that people go back to work are somewhat dependent on income levels. People with less income usually go back to work to boost their cash flow. Retirees of the highest income levels go back to work because they want to take advantage of their skills and make more money.
Whatever your reason, here is more information about reversing your retirement.
51. Get Out and Do Something Amazing — It Is Not Too Late
Walking away from the 9-to-5 opens up a world of opportunity for you. You can do anything and become anything that you want. If you’ve always wondered what would have happened if your life had taken a different turn, this is your golden opportunity to make that turn and see what happens.
Regular older people are doing amazing things. They hike the Pacific Coast Trail, take up skydiving and go back to school.
It will be exciting to see what today’s retirees accomplish. Older Americans today are more vibrant than those of the past. Even so, there have been many notable accomplishments and amazing feats by people well into their 60s, 70s and 80s — at age 65, Colonel Sanders started Kentucky Fried Chicken and at 90, Pablo Picasso was still actively producing art.
Retirement does not need to be about retiring from the world.
52. Cut Housing Costs
Housing is the most expensive budget item for most households. Your home is probably also your most valuable asset. As such, optimizing your housing to best achieve your retirement plan is critical to your retirement success.
A few ideas for cutting housing costs in retirement include:
53. Try This if You Aren’t Sure if It is Time to Retire
Some of us can’t wait to retire and do so as early as possible. Others are not so sure about life without work. Reluctant retirees might be worried about money or they might be concerned that they will just really miss work. The fear of missing out (FOMO) can be strong for both work and leisure.
If you want a happy retirement, you need to leave the workforce at the right time for you.
Here are 9 exercises to help you decide if it is time to call it quits.
54. Don’t Wait for Retirement to Be Happy
The transition to retirement can be a time of feeling a little stuck. These types of in-between times can be difficult in that you are waiting for something to happen. You are neither here nor there.
Here are 8 tips for to help you thrive no matter your stage of life — but especially if you are in one of those awkward in-between phases.
55. Follow the Lessons of Healthy 90 Year Olds
UC Irvine is heading a celebrated research project that is documenting what factors determine who will live past age 90. Here are some of their findings:
- Smokers die earlier than nonsmokers
- People who exercise live longer than those who do not. As little as 15 minutes a day makes a difference. Forty five minutes a day is best.
- Nonphysical activities are also important. Think book clubs, meeting friends for coffee, crossword puzzles.
- Vitamins do not seem to make a difference.
- Moderate alcohol consumption is associated with living longer. Up to two drinks a day leads to a 10–15 percent reduced risk of death.
- Coffee is good too — 1–3 cups a day.
- Gain a little weight — people who are average or slightly overweight seem to live longer than those who are underweight.
If you want to know more about this retirement research, 60 Minutes did an excellent report on “Living to 90 and Beyond.”
56. Think About College in a Whole New Way
Most people go to college to meet a goal, not for personal enrichment. Taking a college class, or a few classes, after you retire is a whole different experience. There’s less pressure to get each class under your belt and move ahead. You might actually enjoy criminal justice or cultural anthropology now that it’s not something you must take in order to earn a degree.
57. Start a Retirement Planning Club
We all need help with our retirement plans but very few of us turn to friends for that support. A retirement club — kind of like a book club where you discuss retirement topics instead of novels — can provide an ideal and friendly forum for helping you have a more secure future. Learn how to get started. Or, try a retirement book club.
58. Forget Retirement — Take a Long Vacation Instead
The road to retirement is changing dramatically, with older Americans taking a long vacation, or a work sabbatical, for a period of time and then rejoining the workforce –often by switching careers — to delay full retirement. Explore the pros and cons of sabbaticals before full retirement.
59. Keep Making 5-Year Plans
Goal-setting isn’t just for twenty-somethings. The more you plan for the future, the more you’ll get out of your retirement. Brainstorming over your next move in life can be a great way to spend Sunday morning coffee time.
Just make sure your plans and goals keep in synch with your retirement finances. Keep using the NewRetirement Planner to stay on track.
60. Not Yet Retired? Do Some Catch Up Savings
Catch up contributions are the IRS’s way of making it easier for savers age 50 and up to tuck away enough retirement savings. You probably already know that there’s a limit to how much you’re allowed to save in tax-advantaged retirement account such as IRAs and 401(k)s. Well, once you reach age 50, you’re allowed to make additional “catch up” contributions over and above those annual contribution limits.
Learn more about catch up limits and how to take advantage of them…
61. Getting Older? Be Sure to Take Your RMD!
RMD stands for required minimum distribution. When you reach a certain age, you are required to withdraw a minimum amount from your IRAs and 401ks or get a huge tax penalty.
Until recently, RMDs were required by everyone at age 70 ½ or 72. However, in late 2022 Congress passed the Secure Act 2.0 as part of the omnibus spending bill that increased the RMD age to 73 in 2023 and 75 in 2033.
RMDs can be great retirement income, but often trigger higher taxes. Here are 6 strategies for managing these withdrawals to minimize taxes.
62. Think of Yourself as Young
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you was?
Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige may have had it right. In studies conducted over four decades, Harvard psychology professor Ellen Langer showed that mental attitude can reverse the effects of aging and improve physical health. Langer proved time and time again that age is truly a mindset and not a number. If you think of yourself as young, you can be young.
The right mental attitude can reverse the effects of aging and improve physical health.
63. Stay Inquisitive About the World Around You
It’s easy to become isolated and fall into a rut after you retire. Keeping a curious mind will allow you to really enjoy learning how the world works.
Curious people are always asking questions and searching for answers — meaning that the brain is getting a work out and staying strong.
64. Plan for a Longer and Healthier Life in Retirement
In the 1950s, people retiring at age 65 lived until 78. Today’s retirees can expect an average lifespan of 83 or 84 years – which means that half of you will live even longer than that.
Your expanded lifespan means many things:
- That your retirement savings will need to last longer
- Your overall health-related costs will be higher now than ever before
- You will need to plan for different phases of retirement – each with its own financial requirements
Use the Retirement Planner to find out how long your money will last.
Instead of a time for slowing down, retirement could very well be the doorway you walk through to a whole new experience. Strive for an active, inspiring, fulfilling life where you’ll learn new things, listen to new music, dance new steps, and embrace the things that you already love.
If you find that you’ve got a million excuses about why you can’t do this or that, maybe it’s time for a change of perspective. So, you aren’t physically able to hike? Chances are you can take a walk on the beach. You get the idea.
With a strong mind, healthy body, and a well-laid plan, you can look forward to a happy retirement instead of allowing it to surprise you in some good, and not-so-good, ways. By taking control of how you approach it, you’ll have a much better chance of creating your retirement instead of just allowing life to happen to you.
65. Think About the Big Picture
It is easy to worry about getting older. Health faltering and all… Did your golf game not go as planned this afternoon? Has your knee faltered for a second (or third) time? No doubt. It’s a bummer. Aging is a…
However, instead of focusing on your own shortcomings, be sure that you are doing and experiencing things that make an impact. Bring joy to other people. Be inspiring. Do something memorable.
Sure, retirement is your time. Just keep the big picture in mind and be sure to leave behind a little inspiration.
Speaking of inspiration… Share this article with your friends! And, let us know what you think makes for a happy retirement in the comments below!
