Entering retirement suddenly with no planning

In this edition

1. Feature: Entering retirement suddenly with no planning
2. Prime Time: The secrets to smart travel with Fiona Dalton
3. From Bec’s Desk: There’s a huge focus this week

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This week in ‘The Epic Retirement Club’ Facebook group Tom asked me to dive into the struggles that people have entering retirement with no planning. So I have. And I’ve suggested a path you can take if this is something you’re struggling with.

Entering retirement suddenly with no planning

We often think of retirement as an idyllic choice that everyone gets to make. But it's a hard reality to consider that only about one-third of people retire by choice. The majority find themselves thrust into retirement at the hands of life — brought on by retrenchment, exhaustion, frustration, the responsibility to care for a family member, or the need to battle health issues that force them out of the workplace. Astonishingly, two-thirds of people hit this intricately complex stage of life without any prior planning. And that can lead to loads of struggles.?

So if this is you, know you are not alone.?

So today I want to stop and point out the different places people can face those struggles if they haven’t planned and step through some ways you can move forward. Just knowing the things to think about can help you be aware of and potentially overcome some of those issues proactively.?

Stage 1: Facing retirement suddenly and reacting carefully: Buy yourself some time

When retirement drops on you suddenly it’s easy to find yourself in a panic. Your plans for an epic retirement might seem in disarray for many reasons. You might feel like you haven’t reached your financial goals and have been cut off at the final post, you might be facing significant health concerns which blur your vision of the future, or you might be managing the health needs of a loved one who is dear to you causing significant upheaval on all fronts. And any or all of these things need time and space to work through.? So the first thing most people need to do is to stop and set up a temporary strategy. They need to buy themselves some time to work out what the new normal can and will look like, and only then can you reconsider what epic means in the next stage.?

And the things most people do to set a holding pattern in place are threefold:?

• Build a holding-pattern budget

This means understanding where their assets and liabilities are at, and how much they need to service any debts. Then, building or updating their cost of living budget, and noting all the one-off costs they will face in the short-to-medium term that they need to be able to accommodate, like healthcare, aged care or even travel to see a loved one. They understand how their income sources will be impacted, and consider the availability of alternative income sources. And they consider how long they can continue on their short term strategy before they need to have a longer term financial plan in place.?

• Set some short-medium term goals

Goals play an important role during times of uncertainty and change. They help you see into the future, and set a flag you can move towards. And movement creates a feeling of progress even when you are treading water in a challenging time. You might consider goals for getting involved in alternative communities outside the workforce if you have been retrenched. Or set a goal to seek out new projects that you will find fulfilment in. Or, if you’re caring for a loved one you might set a goal for when you can reach recovery milestones together, or put a medium term care solution in place, and work towards that. Many people find a good place to start is to set some goals around creating new rhythms for your lifestyle, health and daily activities to replace those you’ve stepped away from. Goals are a personal thing. Without them life can feel aimless.?

• Start to reorient yourself: understand the transition process

The shift into retirement if sudden can be quite challenging. I urge you to think about it like a full blown transition which has three stage: the ending, the middle zone and the new beginnings. And each stage has its own process to work through. (More on this in my book and in the course).

When you’re dealing with the grief of an ending, even if it was you who walked out of your workplace, you can find it very hard to see what comes next. But by recognising that reorientation is a process that takes time, you might be more considerate of yourself and be able to recognise, get help and work through your feelings. Then, in the middle zone, you might start to seek out and try on new experiences to see what fits you. Only then can the new beginnings arrive.?

Stage 2: Move onto building your plan properly

If you’ve bought yourself time to work out ‘what happens next’ in your life, and taken some time to think about what you want in the next stage of your life and started working through your transition, it’s then time to become more methodical in building your real retirement plan, both financial and functional. I recognise for people who have faced a massive life shock this may be much harder than this article can serve.? But for those working through leaving a workplace more suddenly your planning process should consider all the elements I would normally walk you through:

• Exploring how long you might live and how long you need to build your life picture and plan to last for. This frames your vision, budget, goals and motivation I think.
• Building your detailed retirement financial plan, understanding your assets and liabilities, budget, income sources and layering, spending plan and phasing, and investments. You’ll want to consider how your superannuation can really support you, alongside the age pension if you’re eligible. And, consider the role of work in your retirement years. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.?You may also be able to lean on insurances if you are facing a health issue. And, you’ll probably want to get advice, when you’re ready too.
• Thinking about your health. This will see you think about two areas - the ways you can slow the ageing process leveraging the science of modern ageing health; and the ways you should and can prevent and detect chronic age related disease before it shortens your healthspan. Proactivity matters.?
• Considering your happiness and fulfilment. When you retire, you can be left with a gaping hole in your sense of purpose. And, many people who retire suddenly without time to work their way into new activities find this hole rather ugly. So your retirement plan should walk you towards things that you can do to find fulfilment, as well as some hedonic happiness to fill the shorter term gaps.?
• Building your travel and experiences bucket list. Aussie retirees love to travel, and for many, the joys of planning their travel are exciting too. You’ll want to work through your bucket list strategically, prioritising by your level of health so you fit it into your life in a way that maintains your options as your health declines.?
• And finally, take stock of where you live now, what you want from your home in the years ahead and consider the moves that might lie in front of you. I like people to be pragmatic about their housing needs in the future, as it’s a place many people can lose money with buying and selling decisions.?

And if that doesn’t help you enough, consider coming along to the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course.? Our Winter Edition kicks off on the 6th June 2024. And the Earlybird 25% off deal is still open for booking. Book here.

All of my focus is on our upcoming Flagship Course which is kicking off in less than a month. If you haven’t booked yet - there’s still time to take advantage of the 25% off.

Everything else is taking a back seat as we upload the new updated videos, wait for the new workbooks to arrive, and start to count down to launch. Less than a month to go.

We have more than 100 people locked in for our Winter Edition already and still nearly a month to go, so it’s setting up to be another big and action-packed event!

???? The Winter Edition kicks off on the 6th of June, so if you want to get your printed workbook in the mail beforehand, you need to book ASAP. ????

The course walks you through 14 modules of pre-retirement education. over six weeks.

Book now

And during the six weeks you’ll get access to:

?? 8.5 hours of high quality online video education - where I deliver 14 modules of content in 100 short bite-sized videos which you can watch in your own time. (People who’ve done the course say they love the bite-sized videos as they are easy to consume). This is dripped sequentially over 6 weeks.

?? 6 live Q&As with some of the most respected experts in the areas of retirement finances, longevity, fulfilment, and travel. I know our last course attendees really revelled in these sessions, being able to ask all their questions in a peer environment and learn from other people’s questions too.

?? A new, exclusive 150+ page workbook provided in print for you to work through the exercises.

?? The Epic Retirement Excel Budgeting template and detailed lessons into how to use it.

?? A community zone where you can chat with others in the program.

?? A group online session led by Bec Wilson on finding your sense of purpose.

?? Plus, a signed copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement delivered to you by Australia Post too.

There’s a 25% early bird discount for a limited time.

WINTER EDITION - 6th June - 17th July 2024 - BOOK NOW

SPRING EDITION - 8th August - 18th September 2024 - BOOK NOW

If you want to find out more or download a brochure which includes all the timings of our live events, you can do that here.

There’s so much to learn, not just from me, but also from our 6 expert live Q&A events over the six weeks.

I’m thrilled with how the event has helped people who completed the Autumn Edition, and can’t wait to kick off our next live program. Hope I see you in the course!

Until next week! Make it epic!

Many thanks! Bec Wilson

Author , podcast host , columnist , retirement educator , and guest speaker

In case you haven’t got a copy yet - you can buy How to Have an Epic Retirement, the book on Amazon and Booktopia and in many of the major bookstores.

Travel is something on almost every retirement bucket list, and everyone wants to know the secrets to travelling well, getting great deals and having amazing, life changing experiences, don’t they.

Today I chat with travel expert and industry insider?Fiona Dalton?for her top tips, tricks and secrets for travelling in our Prime Time.

Fiona Dalton has over 30 years of travel and tourism experience running some of the largest tour operators, river cruise brands and retailers in travel in Australia.?She understands the travel industry inside out, and over the years, the prime timers have been her main customers, so she going to tell us the secrets.

Fiona has just stepped into her own Prime Time, kicking off a travelling ‘gap year’ so she’s got plenty of information to share.

PS… The Epic Retirement Housing Survey is still running too… if you haven’t completed it, you can still have your say here . Thanks! Lot’s to come on this topic as the results are unpacked!