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How to Avoid the Six Major Retirement Mistakes
Jeri Sedlar
Sedlar & Miners
Special from Bottom Line/Personal
![M]() ost Americans see retirement as a purely financial goal. Once they have enough saved, they assume that they're ready to retire. For many people, however, that's not the case. The psychological transition from working to not working can be much harder than anticipated.
We interviewed more than 300 retirees and preretirees to learn what makes some retirements more satisfying than others. Among the most common mistakes that can sabotage a retirement...
![1]() Not realizing what you are giving up. Careers provide us with more than income. They can be a source of companionship and provide a sense of achievement and self-worth.
Example: Dr. Hill, a small-town physician, retired at age 75 because of the increasing paperwork involved in running a medical practice. Only then did he realize how much he missed being "Doc," the trusted friend on whom the community relied for medical care.
Give some thought to what makes your workday gratifying. You might not enjoy your retirement if you can't find a new source for that gratification.
![2]() Full-time travel and leisure. Many assume that retirement will be one long vacation or never-ending golf game -- but that loses its allure in as little as two years.
Be honest about how much relaxation you can handle. You might want to work part-time or seasonally.
Example: Andy, age 59, soon to retire from a successful career in sales, is looking forward to indulging his passion for fly-fishing. He's aware that it might not sustain him for the rest of his life, so he also plans to start a fly-fishing camp for kids.
![3]() Retiring for the wrong reason. Hating a particular job is not the same as being ready for retirement. Nor is it necessarily time to stop working simply because someone else's schedule says so. Don't retire just because you're offered an early retirement package or your spouse wants to retire.
If you're not certain that you're ready to retire, don't. Look for a new job -- you always can retire at a later date.
Example: Renee retired at age 60 from a career in education administration because she didn't like her new boss. Until the change in leadership, she had loved her job. Years later, she realized her dissatisfaction would have been better solved by finding a different employer.
![4]() Falling out of the loop. A retired executive I spoke with said that the hardest thing about retiring was not getting any phone calls. No one seemed to want or need his opinion anymore. He felt disconnected from his old life.
Five years prior to retiring, take steps to ease the transition -- mentor young executives so that they have a reason to come to you with future problems... look into becoming a consultant... join organizations or associations with an eye toward future leadership positions.
Example: When Jerry saw retirement on the horizon, he persuaded his company to name him its representative to the industry association. When he left his job five years later, he had enough friends in the association to win a term as president. The nonpaying position didn't demand much time, but it kept him connected to his old life.
![5]() Expecting to spend all your time with your spouse. With many couples, the wife manages the social calendar. The husband then expects his wife to keep him busy after he retires. But millions of women continue to work after their husbands retire. Even if a woman does stop working, she shouldn't be expected to plan her husband's day.
Example: One wife said of her husband's upcoming retirement, "I don't want twice the husband for half the pay." She had her friends and activities and wanted her husband to have his own friends and activities.
Before you retire, develop activities, separate from your spouse, that will interest you after you leave work.
![6]() Ill-considered relocations. People often move when they retire. The result can be loneliness and boredom.
Example: Dan, a former attorney, and his wife, Arlene, a former accountant, moved from New York City to a villa in France. They were back within a year. The couple missed their friends, civic groups, grandkids and even racquetball.
Before you sell your current home, rent in the region you're considering for several full seasons. You may love Florida in the winter, when the weather's mild and your friends are down for the season, but not in the summer when it's hot and no one is around.
First Printed: May 15, 2004
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