Retirement Planning Includes Considering Changes in Your Finances, Social Life, Emotions, Spirituality, And Physical Health
Congratulations on your retirement in Mission Hills! You’re ready to enjoy every second of your remaining years. The possibility of eventually needing caregivers most likely hasn’t crossed your mind.
Many individuals don’t think that a decline in their health as they mature is part of retirement planning. They focus on their finances and buy health insurance. As well as finances, retiring affects you socially, mentally, spiritually, and physically.
The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry
There’s always something, however, that escapes your planning. Conditions that have affected the financial planning of retirees include:
- Adult children or grandchildren that need help
- Elderly parents that need help
- Serious health issues
- Major uninsured losses
- Downsizing or forced early retirement
- Unanticipated taxes on retirement income
- Death of a spouse or family member
- Divorce
Few of these can be anticipated and can derail the best financial plans.
Retirement today is more about you than your money. Some experts believe that planning for the non-financial aspects is more important than financial preparation. You may not have considered the other facets of retirement such as your:
- Social life
- Mental and emotional well-being
- Spiritual growth
- Physical health
Although having enough money is extremely important, a good retirement depends on many factors.
Starting retirement planning at an early age and consulting a retirement planner helps. That’s a big part of adequate financial planning. But you also need a “life plan” to help make your retirement as enjoyable as possible.
Their jobs are the basis of identity for many people. Without a job to go to, many retirees start feeling unappreciated. If you don’t have a meaningful activity to replace your work, depression can set in.
It’s easy to fall into a rut. You start neglecting your personal grooming. You opt to watch TV all day rather than try to stay active.
In the years that you were working, you may have let things slide with your spouse. Now that you’re together 24/7, one or both of you discover that the affection is gone. Divorce is a consequence of retirement for all too many couples.
Many retirees discover a huge change in their social life when they’re no longer part of the working world. Interactions with co-workers cease to exist. Conversations with friends who are still employed become infrequent and less satisfying.
It can be difficult to form new social connections. You discover that you have to reach out to others to avoid sitting home alone. Ways that others have successfully created a satisfying social life after retirement include:
- Planning date nights with their spouse and rediscovering each other
- Forming a new relationship with someone if they’re single
- Repairing relationships with family members
- Taking a class in something, anything
- Joining a club or group
The one thing that many retirees consider the most helpful is volunteering. There’s no end to people who can benefit from your volunteer efforts.
Retirement leads to giving thought to their mortality for some people. Part of that is looking at what your life has been so far. You may start searching for ways to make the next years more meaningful in a spiritual sense.
There is no spiritual one-size-fits-all. Developing your spirituality or making your life more meaningful is intensely personal. However, retirees who tend to their spiritual life are better able to:
- Think more positively about the ways in which their life has changed
- Give up wishing they were still young and accept their present stage of life
- Discover who they truly are inside rather than a person defined by their job
As their spirituality grows, retirees are less discouraged by unexpected setbacks and more trusting of the universe.
Declining Health Overshadows Everything Else
The physical changes in their health are one of the biggest hurdles retirees face. You may have planned well enough that you have the resources to do everything you dreamed of. But suddenly you’re taken down by health issues.
Health problems can stop you in myriad ways. Injuries from accidents can leave you disabled. The vagaries of aging can destroy your leisure plans.
Pegasus Home Health Caregivers in Mission Hills Can Help You
You may not need caregivers now. That’s good, and Pegasus professionals in Mission Hills sincerely hope you remain healthy and able-bodied. But if any level of assistance becomes necessary, we’re here for you.
Pegasus is a licensed Home Care Organization and a Joint Commission Accredited Home Health Care organization. We have been helping individuals remain safe and independent in their home since 1994. We’re recognized as an industry leader because of the consistently high-quality care we provide.
Aging is part of retirement and being able to age in place is beneficial. Having caregivers visit you in the privacy of your home makes that possible. Contact us to learn how we can help you continue to enjoy your retirement.
