What do you do if late career professionals need support transitioning to retirement?

Tailoring support to each individual's needs and preferences is crucial for a successful retirement transition. By offering comprehensive guidance and resources, late career professionals can confidently navigate this significant life change. Inclusive of assessment and planning, financial guidance, skill development and training, health and wellness, emotional support, networking and community engagement, phased retirement options, legal and administrative assistance, continued learning opportunities, regular checking.

The monetary trick to a happy retirement is not to concentrate on amassing an abnormal amount of wealth, but to determine how much money will make you feel secure. In other words, how much money do you need to enable you to live and fulfill your visualized retirement lifestyle. In a practical sense, how you spend your retirement time determines how much money you will need. What you don't want is to envision a retirement you realistically cannot afford. By creating a retirement that is realistic and affordable, you gain satisfaction and peace of mind. Financially estimating your retirement plans is the key to determining the amount of money required.

Pension plans. RRSPs, estate plans and IPPs are one side of retirement. But what about a retiree's shrinking social network and the possibility of loneliness? Today's wealth managers and financial advisors are being called upon to offer their clients a more holistic and fulfilling approach to retirement - one that encourages exploration and direction beyond money questions. As a coach, an advisor has the power to help clients be successful. When a client succeeds, the feeling of achievement is one of the single strongest motivators. The partnership that results includes clients feeling understood, respected, and valued. Clients who benefit from a coherent, proactive retirement strategy have the largest transactional value.

When most people think about retirement, they imagine leaving a job, dropping out of the rat race and turning their back on the pressures of employment. They often see retirement as a welcome change or an escape to something more peaceful and serene. But retirement is not only about giving up your job and relaxing. It's entering one of the most exciting and challenging stages of life. It can be a time to draw upon your personal and professional experiences to open new doors of opportunity and education. It can be the time when you realize your potential and accomplish significant goals previously delayed by the responsibilities of working and raising a family.

Being healthy means having good physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Building a strong sense of wellness means spending time assessing your current state of health and asking, "What can I do to improve my wellbeing?" Obviously you need to get regular physical checkups and work with your doctor in developing a wellness plan that makes sense for your age and body. You need to create and follow a regular exercise routine. You also need to eat the right foods in the right proportions, and develop a healthy frame of mind. One area of planning which is often overlooked, is our spirituality. Spirituality is about our existence with our self, others and the universe.

Interacting with others is important at all stages of life, and especially as we age. Most people don't realize the extent to which co-workers help fill the basic need for socialization. When we retire, we leave many of these associations behind. It is important to replace, as best as possible, the shared times with other social activities that provide us with the fellowship we enjoyed while at work. You may consider joining a service club such as the Lions or Rotary, a special-interest group, a social club or Probus (social organization for those 55+). The important thing is to get out there and participate, socialize, meet new people, and make new friends.

Working: For some retirees, especially those who may not have sufficient savings or who love to work, being gainfully employed after retirement is quite attractive. For these people, paid work represents an acknowledgement of their self-worth and contribution, while for others it is an opportunity to have new colleagues and workmates. Though you may not wish to continue working on a regular basis, you may be open to part-time or seasonal work. One of the benefits of a paid job is the appreciation of leisure hours. With a paying job, there is a greater need to plan and manage your leisure time. Jobs help eliminate down periods and many retirees report the therapeutic value of keeping mentally and physically sharp.