11 Things I Know For Sure About Retirement

I have talked to thousands of retirees about their retirement. Here is what I learned.

3 min read.

After being retired from my 38 year banking job I suffered from retirement shock for about a year.

As I tried to find a cure, I read all the retirement books I could get my hands on and listened to countless seminars/podcasts on the subject.

I also talked to thousands of retirees people about their own retirements – what was working for them and what wasn't.

From all that plus drawing on my own retirement experiences I’ve made the below list of the things I know for sure about retirement.

Retiring will not solve all your problems.
Just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you are going to have a great retirement.
Satisfying our fundamental needs is key to our overall well-being and if we can’t find a good way of doing that we are going to struggle in retirement.
You better have something good to retire to.
Happy, positive, optimistic retirees are healthier and live longer.
There are a lot of health benefits attached to working part-time in retirement. Working part-time provides a “margin of safety” and will help you avoid a lot of sleepless nights worrying about inflation and what the stock market is going to do.
Retirees are more capable that they think – they just haven’t been tested in a while.
Retirement happiness is a choice. If you believe retirement will be awful it will but if you believe it will be the best time of your life guess what you will be right again.
When you help others you also end up helping yourself.
Having strong relations with family and friends is a key happiness ingredient and will help slow age-related decline.
Retirement rebels have the most fun.

Having a great retirement isn't just something that you fall into. It does require some thought, effort and the right attitude.

So if we are now going to have twenty to thirty years in retirement, what better investment of time can you give yourself than to plan for how you want to live it?

About the Author

Mike Drak is the Author of the best-selling book Victory Lap Retirement and Retirement Heaven or Hell - Which Will You Choose. Along with being an Author, Mike is also an award winning blogger, retirement coach and public speaker and has made appearances on BNN, CBC Radio and iHeart radio. He is a thirty-eight year veteran of the financial services industry and lives with his wife Melina in Toronto, Canada. You can contact Mike through LinkedIn.