Six Non-Financial Steps for a Great Retirement

Here are six non-financial steps required for a great retirement according to the Wall Street Journal :

• Making Plans: If you want a great retirement, you need to give it serious thought, preferably starting at least five years before you expect to quit the work force.

• Finding Purpose: Retirees need a purpose, something they feel is both enjoyable and important.

• Staying Sharp: You need to replace the intellectual stimulation of work. Learning a language or a musical instrument might provide that. But intellectual stimulation is also a good reason to continue working part-time, even if you don't need the income.

• Keeping Company: The number one predictor of whether people have a successful retirement is the strength of their social network. The implication: Upon retirement, think long and hard before selling the house and moving to, say, Florida or Arizona.

• Talking It Through: As you sketch out your retirement plans, be sure to hash things out with your spouse.

• Staying Healthy: You want to ensure you live long enough -- and remain active enough -- to enjoy the fruits of your thrift. That means exercising regularly and eating healthily. As an added bonus, a healthy lifestyle should also keep down your medical costs.

This is an EXCELLENT list IMO -- gives us all plenty to think about.

Anyone out there already retired? If so, did you consider these issues before you retired? How have you done with them since retirement started?

Comments

[Kevin L]

Nice post. Money Magazine just featured an interview with the director of a Longevity Studies Foundation and she mentioned many of the same things. Here's the link:
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/28/pf/mom_mar/index.htm?section=money_pf

[Sally Parrott Ashbrook]

I think that's a great list. I tell my husband now (I'm 27 and he's 30) that I want us to have not only a long life together but a healthy one---and that requires keeping ourselves in gear starting now!

[Dianne P.]

I am eligible to retire in June '08 & my biggest concern is not retiring but jobs for those 50 & older who still want to work part-time or maybe even full-time doing something different than what they retired from. Great website, I have saved it to my favorites. Dianne P.