One of the adventures in aging that some of us look forward to, and some of us dread, is retiring. Wait a minute, you say to yourself, when will I seriously have to think about retiring? Surely not yet! I can’t afford to retire anytime soon, and when I do I’m just going to travel and have a bunch of fun, and then worry about problems when they occur. Sounds like a realistic plan, right? Sure, but commonsense tells you that if you had at least a general idea of what most people experience during this stage of life it could help you out. In fact, the average person is best served when they review the available information about post retirement years before they retire, and make some plans based on what they have learned. Oh, I know you’re not average, and that likely you will live independently for a very long time, just like your Uncle Harry who died at 98 while sawing wood. But just in case you aren’t, and you don’t, maybe you should gather a bit of information about what happens to most folks. At least you could then be knowledge about what others will have to experience. And wouldn't it be better, and more fair to the people you care about, to do so before you’re faced with problems created by not thinking ahead?
Okay, so lots of people's first thought on the retirement subject nowadays may well be: I can't afford to retire! And after encountering that depressing thought, it all seems too hard to think about, and we just give up. However, it is extremely valuable to find out just what is possible or likely in this stage of life, even though it could be tough stuff to think about. No, everyone doesn't always retire, but most people do, sooner or later, for one reason or another. So let's start our thinking about retiring by asking ourselves some pertinent questions:
1. When, if ever, can I retire with enough monthly income, or savings, to support myself ?
2. What kind of part time job could I get after I retire?
3. What will happen to me if health problems interfere with my ability to work later in life?
4. Will my family be able to help support or care for me if I need them to do so?
After you think about these questions a bit on your own, then we will discuss some of the thoughts we have come up with and go on from there.
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