Retirement: Living Life On Your Terms

What are you doing to save for retirement? With over one in five Americans not having any savings at all and nearly 30% of Gen Z saying they’re not trying to save for retirement or have no places to start now, is the US in a crisis when it comes to retirement planning?

While experts suggest that saving for retirement should start in your early 20s to get the most from your accounts and save as little as possible each month to build up that nest egg, and you should be aiming to replace around 80% of your current income with savings for retirement, is it the end of the world if you don’t have any savings?

Only time will tell if you will be financially stable come retirement without little to no funds, and there are currently people living now who also didn’t save for retirement; there are 20% of people aged 59 years and above as of April 2023 who also don’t have savings or a nest egg to fall back on,so is it really that important to not save for your golden years? That’s a question only you can answer.

But if planning for your retirement is on your to-do list or something you would like to know more about, this post looks at some things you can consider now, even if retirement feels like a lifetime away or it’s actually just around the corner.

Plan Your Finances

Regardless of whether you have savings or not, you need to see what your finances will look like. While you should aim to live comfortably off 80% of your current income, this isn’t always feasible for everyone. So you need to assess what type of income you have coming in so you know what to expect. Do you have a 401K that you just don’t contribute to? Or any savings accounts that can supplement your income with any stocks and shares or other types of investments you can cash in to live off. Suppose you have been contributing towards a pension. In that case, this will become payable once you receive retirement age if you have many contributions (currently, employees and employers pay 6.2% of an employee’s gross salary each towards pension payments, and freelancers must pay 12.4% themselves, and pensions become payable at the age of 62 at a starting rate of $2,572 per month).

Reduce Debt

It doesn’t matter how you will be funding your retirement if you have copious amounts of debt heading into your later years with you. So if you do have debt, then you want to be paying it off or down as much as possible before you reiterate so you don’t have to worry about finding the money to pay things back out of your income once you’re not working anymore.

Get debt advice, talk to your lenders, and see how you can become debt-free or at least reduce debt when you retire.

Consider Living Arrangements

Another massive thing to think about when you retire is how you want to live. For instance, if you need constant medical care and assistance then you can either opt for the services of in-home caregivers available at the most reputed home care agency near you or relocate to a senior living facility. For the first option, you can remain in your home for as long as possible if you wish; if you need assistance you might find the help of in-home carers and cleaners along with using meal delivery services valuable.

For the latter, you can look into senior living accommodations, which have a great reputation for serving the elderly. Alternatively, you can talk to family members about relocating close to them, or in with them if this is something everyone is happy to do, or you can even forgo all permanent residences and become a silver surfer and travel the world if funds allow. Remember, you have options, and living your life how you want post-retirement is something to consider now, so you have your plans in place.

Work

While you are not obligated to continue to work once you have passed your official retirement age, you might find that you want to. Some people need to carry on working for financial reasons, while others enjoy it or have built a business up from scratch and do not want to pass it on just yet. There is no one right or wrong way to spend your retirement, but you do need to ask yourself if you want to continue working and if you want to continue to do what you are doing now, as this will help you decide what your senior life will look like.

Make A List

Retirement isn’t always what people expect, and if you have worked your whole life, then simply doing nothing can come as a shock to the system. Instead, make a list of everything you want to do in your retirement and add in things that will make you busy.

Do you want to take up a new hobby? Start playing sports? Jon retirement clubs or social activities or use this time to learn something new? 

You should look for ways that will keep your mind and body active, so looking at exercise options in your local area can help you to decide how to stay fit and healthy on your terms, looking at courses for seniors or taking up volunteering, for example, can keep you mentally engaged and social so you don’t have to worry about premature cognitive decline or succumbing to the effects of loneliness.

Check Your Health

The last thing you want is to reach retirement only to find you aren’t as fit and healthy as you thought. So make it a priority to visit your doctor now to get a handle on your health and find out what you can expect in your advanced years. While conditions such as cancer can’t be predicted, your doctor can look for many other health issues to see if you are at risk or have already developed these conditions. This way, you can use your health status to plan your retirement, and you won’t be surprised by anything popping up you weren’t expecting.

Your retirement is your time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the world at your pace. It’s not always about the money and your 401K, although this is a big help if you are or can contribute towards it. It is about what you plan to do with your life, how you want to live, and what will give you a better quality of life, and all of these aspects play a big part in that, too.