A “glide path” in the context of finance refers to how a portfolio of assets evolves over time. As an investor comes closer to a goal, like retirement, the mix tends to become more conservative, with, for instance, less equities and more bonds.
By making modest adjustments to your professional and personal lives in the months or years before to when you want to stop working, you may also construct a glide path towards retirement. According to financial coach Saundra Davis, executive director of Sage Financial Solutions, a nonprofit financial education and planning organization in San Francisco, retirement can be a disorienting transition, particularly if you haven’t set up ways to replace the structure, sense of purpose, and socializing opportunities that work can bring.
People are eager to quit their jobs, but once they do, they experience pressure to define who they are. stated Davis. “Now that I’m out of the job, am I still important?”
What kind of life do you wish to lead?
Davis advises individuals to begin by considering what they want out of retirement. This might include imagining your perfect day, including where you live, what you do, and who you spend time with. You may find out what “sparks pleasure” for you and what you want more of in your life using free programs like YearCompass and Unravel Your Year, according to Davis. You may think back on the recent past and make plans for the future using these tools.
“What have you been hearing calling to you? What fuels your body?” Asks Davis.
There may be obstacles in the way of your ideal retirement, such as a lack of funds, health issues, or the need to care for another person. But she said that figuring out how to achieve what’s most essential might help you find out what you actually want from this stage of your life.
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Don’t think that you are ineligible just because you may have certain constraints, whether they be physical, emotional, or financial, Davis said.
To “see whether you’re on the same page,” David John, senior strategic policy advisor at the AARP Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., advised talking to your partner or spouse about your retirement goals. Before either of you leaves your jobs, you should talk to your significant other about their views on when to retire, where to live, and what they want to do with their time.
When we haven’t had a formal conversation about anything, we often presume that other people share our opinions. This might be problematic, according to John.
What part will your career play after you retire?
Some firms provide phased retirement plans that let employees work fewer hours or just part-time while still receiving a salary and benefits. According to Joe Casey, a retirement and executive coach in Princeton, New Jersey, and the author of “Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy,” other companies don’t have formal plans but may be willing to accommodate an employee who asks, especially if the employee is a high performer.
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Phased retirement plans enable employees to gradually transition into retirement while giving businesses time to find a replacement, according to Melissa Shaw, a wealth management consultant with the Palo Alto, California-based financial services company TIAA.
They still have more flexibility to enjoy and make plans for the next stage, according to Shaw. It is a smooth transition.
If phased retirement is not a possibility, Shaw noted, working a part-time job or doing consultancy work might help individuals maintain some level of employment as they plan their post-work lives.
How are you going to keep informed and sharp?
Not only can loneliness affect the amount of your days, but also their quality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation and loneliness dramatically raise a person’s chance of dying young and are linked to a 50% greater risk of dementia, as well as higher rates of despair, anxiety, and suicide.
According to Davis, many individuals undervalue the social relationships that employment offers. They could also be unaware of how their social networks might become smaller over time when individuals pass away or move away. To buck this tendency, Davis advises cultivating acquaintances from many generations. She mentioned volunteering and engaging in hobbies as two methods to meet potential acquaintances.
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Finding friends or role models among those who have retired, however, may also be helpful, according to Shaw. Other places to look for prospective social interactions include senior centers, social networking websites like Meetup, and the Connect2Affect program offered by the AARP Foundation. Before retiring, one of Shaw’s customers connected with a group of retirees at a gym, fusing his desire to maintain a healthy lifestyle with an informal support group, according to Shaw.
Having people close by who have retired and who can provide support, advice, and ideas is incredibly beneficial, according to Shaw.
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