WHAT ARE THE HALLMARKS OF A HAPPY RETIREMENT?

There is no absolute answer to that question, but there are some factors that may make retirement more rewarding.

  The more control you have over when and how you retire, the happier you may be. In surveying retirees for their data-grounded book The Retirement Maze, authors Rob Pascale, Louis H. Primavera and Rip Roach learned that 69% of people who left work when they wished, retired happy, as opposed to just 36% of those forced to retire. Having a retirement income plan can certainly reduce some uncertainty; though recent Ameriprise research shows just 52% of pre-retirees have developed one. So can talking to your spouse before retirement about where you want to live, how you want to spend your days, and how much “alone time” you need.    

 Twenty-five percent of employers (according to a Transamerica survey) now let employees phase into retirement by allowing them to work reduced hours, recognizing that working a little (or even a lot) can promote retirement satisfaction. Part-time work, an encore career, or volunteering can help you stay socially engaged. Keeping in touch with your kids or grandkids is definitely a plus, and the greatest asset may be good health; in an Age Wave and Merrill Lynch survey of 3,300 pre-retirees, health ranked first among the keys to retirement happiness.1

CITATIONS.
1 - forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2016/03/27/the-9-keys-to-a-happy-retirement/ [3/27/16]