Transition into your Retirement Easily with these 5 useful tips

I believe that retirement is not the end of your life but the beginning of your new one.  It was just that it was seen negatively as it is associated with old age.  We all could retire at any age as long as we have secure financial capabilities like living on passive income or savings.

However, a lot of people lack the capacity to quit one’s jobs and cease to work to fund a new lifestyle especially now.

According to the most recent census data released by the U.S. Government Accountability Office in 2017  nearly half of households headed by someone aged 55 or older had no retirement savings in 2016.  And in a post-pandemic survey by the Federal Reserve, there is just about 36% of working adults who are financially on track to retire.

If you plan to retire soon or even later in life, it all boils down to having the best retirement planning and you should do it while you are ahead, young and able.

Financial experts gave these 5 things you can do to secure a successful retirement:

 

1. Create an emergency fund

This fund that you can access easily is equal to at least three to six months of your living expenses. “There are going to be constant surprises in life that you’re not expecting when you’ll need access to funds, whether your basement floods, you need a new roof, or you have a health emergency”, says Volpe Financial retirement planning specialist Mike Volpe. An emergency fund will prevent you from having to rely on credit cards or loans that will come with high-interest rates that will quickly erode any of your savings.

2. Keep 20% of your income for your retirement

Before paying any bills, loans, buying a new gadget, or splurging on food or anything else, never forget to put 20% of what you make into your retirement.

3. Create a will

Two sure things in life is death and taxes. Do your heirs a favor and make sure that your intentions are clearly spelled out. Death is already a stressful enough situation that the transition of your wealth should be as smooth as possible.

4. Estimate your retirement expenses

There’s no way to figure out how much you’ll need to save for retirement until you figure out how much you’ll be spending. This is one of the best retirement planning tools I found online that will help you come up with an actual number.   It takes into consideration your current expenses and income and don’t forget future taxes and expected inflation.

5. Set a retirement date

Just an approximate of the age you want to retire will keep you on track.

Life during retirement

A smooth retirement transition is never a guarantee.  It will take time to be at ease with not doing the same routine you have.  Just take it one day at a time and don’t stress it.  The more you stress the less you enjoy your retirement.  Don’t just rush into doing everything on your retirement bucket list.

Try to take on a hobby that will just get you to enjoy your rest days.   Go through your stuff and find things to dispose of, give away, donate, sell or fix or restore or learn more.  When I quit my normal work force this is the first thing I did was a home purge.   I stumbled upon old photos and films from my old cameras and got my best disposable camera pictures developed.   It is now hard to find a place to develop films so maybe you can learn to develop them on your own.

Retirement is not the end of your life.  Retirement is the end of living your life for others and starting living for yourself by doing the things you love and want.