There are undoubtedly some challenges from transitioning from working for a living to being retired. The challenge most often highlighted is how an individual deals with moving from (usually) paid employment which comes with a busy work day, deadlines and pressures, teamwork and social interaction with colleagues, a sense of accomplishment, and of course a salary; to a retired lifestyle with less structure and predictability, more free time, different social interactions (perhaps much more time with your spouse!), and of course no more salary! The journey involves a lot of change – sometimes sudden change – and can be a difficult path for some retirees.
There is another challenge I come across quite often amongst the newly retired – the psychological hurdle of switching from saving to spending.
There are many people who have saved very hard over their working lives to build up a substantial nest egg to support their retirement. But flicking the switch to suddenly go from saving their money to spending their money once they have retired runs against the habits of a lifetime!
I see a number of people who live with a level of unnecessary deprivation in retirement. They have accumulated enough investment assets to enjoy a very comfortable standard of living, but often needlessly restrict their spending and “go without”. Sometimes this is down to not having a good understanding of how much they can safely spend during their retired years without running out of money. But it’s also often related to deep down being uncomfortable with depleting their retirement nest egg, which they have worked so hard to build up.
The solution is to firstly work out what a safe level of spending is for you in retirement, and then very consciously talk about and agree the level of spending you wish to have, and the implications of that – including what it means for your savings over time. Once you have got your head around the fact that your retirement savings are indeed there to fund your retirement, it can be surprisingly liberating! You may not need to put off that overseas holiday or new car. You’ve worked hard your whole life to be in a good position when you retire – now is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labour!
Dean Edwards