We spend a lot of time at Magenta talking about retirement planning and setting objectives for when you aren’t working, or are working less.
When we talk about Retirement Planning – this isn’t about just when you turn 50, 60, or whatever your magic number is for reducing work – we believe this has to be a longer-term exercise and this needs to be forward planned and it continues after you ‘retire’ too!
Getting everything in order and taking simple, easy-to-understand, and well-planned steps towards your targets is vital, no matter what age you are currently at.
One of Magenta’s key roles as your financial planner is to work with you to marry together your financial means with your goals.
But what’s it all for?
“While one finds company in himself and his pursuits, he cannot feel old, no matter what his years may be”. – Amos Alcott
Having a purpose in life gives us all a sense of direction and provides meaning and it’s really no different when you are considering your retirement.
Why did you get out of bed today? If you’re working and younger it’s probably because otherwise the bills won’t get paid, but hopefully, you also get purpose, fulfillment, and some happiness from your job too.
For many people, working life plays a central role in their purpose. For those in full-time work, this generally takes up 70% of our daily tasks, has been a focal point since we started higher education, is a way to measure ourselves against our peers (and in society), and can be the way that we define ourselves.
Typically, when we meet someone for the first time, one of the first questions we ask is; what do you do? And by this, we mean for a job, not what hobby you love or what sport you play.
When you are approaching or entering retirement that changes. We know, from our experience as planners, that the transition to not working can be a really hard time, and it is necessary to think about new goals and aspirations.
Often we hear clients say that in retirement they are looking forward to more time to do, “what they like”, avoiding commutes, less stress, and more time to holiday or do sport. Whilst a few of these may be real retirement goals – most are actually short-lived wins that will be achieved by simply having more free time – these soon become the norm and forgotten about.
After a year or so of pottering in the garden, lie-ins, theatre trips, more golf/sport, or visiting friends you haven’t seen for some time, will this get a little boring?
Maybe the phrase “more time to do what you want” needs to be thought about in a little more detail!
By focusing now on what you’ll be retiring to, you can start to think about your purpose.
Maybe some of the things to consider could be:
Where you’d like to visit and why
Learning something new
Donating time or skills to charity
Starting a business
Consulting work in your specialist area
Spending time on your hobbies
Spending more time with family and friends
Getting more involved sport or clubs
Training others
For a lot of us, finding purpose in retirement is likely to be a combination of several different priorities.
But really thinking about these and considering what’s important to you in retirement can help you create a lifestyle financial plan with clear objectives, providing a sense of direction.
And of course, when thinking about this, it will always be easier to set out the big things!
Often clients say they have big holidays they want to go on, like to Australia, the Galapagos, or a USA road trip. Some instead want to complete work on the house or garden to have a space to enjoy now there’s more time to be spent there.
But what about the day-to-day? How will you fill your mornings, afternoons, and evenings? There’s only so much Sudoku or golf to be played!
The money to fund the purpose
Whilst your purpose and goals should be at the centre of your retirement plans, money will clearly play a role.
Part of our role at Magenta is to help you consider your requirements to achieve ‘purpose’ – alongside your pension and other provisions.
Having a Financial Plan and personalised cashflow forecast can help you with having confidence in the sustainability of your retirement, meaning you can be free to focus on what’s important without worrying about money all the time.
Pulling together and building your personalised cashflow takes effort from Magenta (data gathering, expert technical knowledge, specialist software) but equally, there is a lot of input from you, the client, really thinking about your objectives and needs, considering your longer-term retirement years and all that this could involve.
It takes time and a lot of consideration, but it really can make retirement years more enjoyable and relaxing.
If you want to discuss your purpose for retirement and how your finances can help you achieve it, please do not hesitate to call for a friendly initial chat.