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Retirement should be a vibrant stage of our lives where new found freedom allows us to enjoy life to the fullest and live the life we deserve. Yet, research suggests that three quarters of retirees will face uncertainty, fear and loss of purpose when they retire. The reason ? Lack of lifestyle planning. We asked lifestyle strategist, Ian Hutchinson of Life by Design® to outline a plan of action for people approaching retirement.

We associate retirement with freedom of choice, a time to stop working so frantically and do those things we’ve always dreamed about but never got around to. But ironically retirement is the 11th most stressful event in peoples’ lives. Rather than being an exciting time of opportunity and renewal, almost 75% of retirees feel ill prepared for this new phase in their life. Some studies have indicated a link between retirement and death and even suicide. This means that the vast majority of people approaching retirement are poorly prepared for the freedom they inherit and risk losing their direction and vitality.

The new retirement era

For today’s retirees, retirement means something completely different from that rosy notion that they were brought up to believe in. In previous generations, retirement meant taking it easy, maybe taking an overseas holiday and pottering around the garden. It was seen as a short haul to the ultimate exit of life, given that the life expectancy in retirement was about 5 years for men and 12 years for women.

Today, men and women are living longer and most retirees are looking at retirement meaning living another 30 years. That’s a lot of time to potter around the garden ! Expectations are also vastly different today. There’s greater social pressure on retirees to live the good life and be more adventurous in experiencing everything that life has to offer.

Peace of mind has a lot to do with peoples’ perceptions of retirement. We need to view retirement as a second phase of life, not simply an exit door. Retirement shouldn’t be an excuse to simply drop out. In fact, this behaviour, driven historically by social norms, is precisely why premature death and stress rates in predominate among retirees.

The new retirement era means thinking about not just finances and basic needs like housing, food and shelter, but more vital life-fulfilling issues such as purposeful contribution to the community, part-time or voluntary work, social networking, personal interests and family. Retirement is an opportunity for many people to fulfil interests they have been unable to experience during their "paid" working life. Think of these as your areas of happiness.

Lifestyle planning gives you focus

Typically, people focus on the financial aspects of their retirement. Sure, having peace of mind that your nest egg will support you when you stop full time work is important, but what happens when retirement day comes and you have to decide how to spend that nest egg ? How do you life a fulfilling life ? Most people would struggle to say they have really thought sufficiently to create a lifestyle plan or vision.

It has been proven in numerous studies that by having a clear focus and vision for the future gives you a sense of purpose, direction and meaning which reduces stress in life. Olympic athletes who have a clear vision for their future after sport perform better athletically than those athletes that don’t.

Research suggests that only 27% of retirees feel they have planned properly for retirement. And most of the planning for that 27% has been financial planning. But have thought about what are your life priorities will be in retirement ? Like sound financial planning, lifestyle planning is all about diversity and balance. Here are what I believe are the key areas to consider in planning your future life:

1. Health – Looking after ourselves continues to be a priority for people in retirement. Part of any lifestyle plan should be a clear strategy for staying active and healthy. Think about what type of regular exercise activity can you plan to keep you in good shape.

2. Purposeful work – 50% of retirees expect to do some sort of work, if only on a part-time voluntary basis. This can be great for mental stimulation, social interaction, purpose and giving people a sense of belonging. But make sure the work fits your values, skills, interest and personality type. Work gives us a sense of structure, identity and status in life which can be lost when we finish working full time. Work gives us a sense of structure, identity, and status – if we lose this security, our motivation to live can subside dramatically. This is a particularly critical issue for workaholics who have lived their whole life around work. For these people retirement can be a nightmare.

3. Family – 75% of Australians rated "being able to spend more time with family and friends" as very important to increasing quality of life. Family support can assist emotionally, financially and practically – and these things can be lost of undervalued if retirees sell up and move to the country or coastal living. Try allocating a regular day per month or more often to spend time with the grand children as part of your plan.

4. Love relationship – for many couples retirement can mean re-discovering their relationship, without the pressures of work for the male partner. But gradual adjustments are needed. For instance, men can’t assume that they can rule the roost at home after 40 years or so of the woman being the home maker. Try planning some weekends away together early in the retirement period or buying season tickets to the theatre.

5. Social – Men are traditionally poor at maintaining relationships outside of the workplace, so in retirement, cultivating new friends is often a challenge. A proactive strategy for men is to start developing some personal relationships outside of work now to ensure in retirement you have some established relationships to rely on.

6. Spiritual – retirement can provide the time to discover new meaning in life, as we have greater time to think more deeply about the world. Even the most ardent workaholics will benefit from questioning a spiritual activity in retirement. This isn’t necessarily religious either. It can simply be a time for personal space, like meditation or tai chi.

7. Contribution to society – For many people, retirement is a time to give something back to society. The experience and wisdom built up in the lives of retirees has enormous benefit for society. If you want to make a contribution, don’t be backward. Develop a target list of causes and the skills you could offer these worthy organisations. A friend of mine, a successful chartered accountant, is only 45 years and won’t retire for probably 15 years yet, but he’s got a plan to drive a truck for the Salvation Army. He’s visualised that goal and feels confident that this role will give him great satisfaction in later life.

8. Hobbies, interests and creativity – Developing interests or hobbies is a real growth area for retirement. Society has given permission to retirees to try their hand at virtually anything that their health will allow, from art classes, to outdoor rock climbing and even learning to fly aircrafts. The skill here is to identify you’re your full range of potential interests and build a plan that allows you to experience many different activities without necessarily locking in to one, as our previous generations have. Like the milk commercials, variety really is the spice of life!

9. Intellectual growth & learning – Why does society con us to believe that in retirement our brains go dead ? Thankfully, social changes have confronted this appalling untrue. I know a 60 year of lady who has gone back to University to study law. She may not finish until she is 65, but she is going to be 65 anyway. Maybe a full blown university course isn’t you but there are many ways of remaining intellectually stimulated and contributing to intellectual life. Build a plan!

10. Financial – Now to the inevitable – money! Every lifestyle plan needs to be based on a sound cash flow to ensure that your expectations can be met. This is where your financial planner should be proactive and specific in helping you define your lifestyle goals and relative costs. This is an area few retirees ever address and is probably part of the cause of why 75% of retirees are concerned about funding their retirement.

Summary

In conclusion, ask yourself if you are prepared to throw enough of your retirement time and energy into achieving your top life priorities. Set some short, medium and long-term goals for each of your top 5 areas of happiness from the list above. Also, ask yourself "what is successful retirement to me?" The answer will be vastly different for most people if they’ve thought through their lifestyle priorities and interests. Finally, enjoy your freedom. You’ve earned it and deserve to lead the life you chosen.

Ian Hutchinson (G.Dip.Psy, B.Bus, APS), Founder of Life by Design®, has built a reputation as Australia's leading lifestyle strategist. He has studied overseas with some of the world's leaders in lifestyle planning, and his lifestyle strategy work has been profiled throughout the media. His entertaining presentations are in demand throughout the world including Europe and the Middle East. Life by Design® can be contacted by phone on (02) 9979 4949, or visit www.lifebydesign.com.au.

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