Retirement

Answer 1

Retirement Planner

Do you know what it takes to work towards a secure retirement? Use this calculator to help you create your retirement plan. View your retirement savings balance and your withdrawals for each year until the end of your retirement. Social security is calculated on a sliding scale based on your income. Including a non-working spouse in your plan increases your social security benefits up to, but not over, the maximum.

Answer 2

Retirement is the stage of life where one stops working full-time and relies on savings, pensions, and investments for income. It provides an opportunity to enjoy leisure activities, travel, spend time with loved ones, and pursue hobbies. Planning for retirement involves setting financial goals, calculating income needs, and making informed decisions about investments and retirement accounts.

Answer 3

Many of us spend the bulk of our working lives looking forward to that golden moment when we can retire. Ironically, we also spend remarkably little time planning for it. Sure, we may have vague ideas of playing Golf or traveling more. But the average retiree has absolutely no idea what's going make up an average day in his or her "new normal."

That's not necessarily a bad thing. It becomes so when we get stuck in the transition, lost in depression, and spinning our wheels wondering what we're supposed to do with ourselves now that we're not going in to work anymore. Here are some tips to help the recent or impending retirees make the most of the next phase of their lives:

* Remember, you're retiring from a job, not from life. For hard-working folks, especially those who put in long days, the idea of drifting along, living spontaneously and in the moment sounds ideal. And it can be. For about three weeks. Then we start spooking around the house, calling old co-workers to chat, and fiddling with stuff that doesn't need fixing. These are often the spouses who end up hanging around the house driving their mates crazy.

* Speaking of which, just because you've retired from your job doesn't mean you are taking over your spouse's, especially if your spouse worked from or at home. The clich here is a guy who starts questioning the way his wife loads the dishwasher, reorganizing the closets until she can't find anything, and making "helpful" suggestions. If you want to be a more active participant in the running of the household, awesome. But discuss it first and come to a place of agreement.

* Some of us are free spirits who thrive on spontaneity and whim, but most of us do better with a little structure. If your job is no longer there to provide a framework for your days, it's easy to feel lost and at loose ends. Plan specific activities on specific days, as anchor points within your week. No need to overschedule yourself or stay busy every moment. But make sure you have something to do that you enjoy, and put it on your calendar. Otherwise you'll keep meaning to get around to itand you won't.

* Consider another job. Truly. One of the most basic human instincts is to feel needed, that our lives have meaning and purpose. This needn't be a paying job (unless you need the cash), but many retirees are happiest when they have somewhere to go and something to do that serves others or their community or the world in some way. Whether you're greeting customers or tutoring first-graders in reading, it feels good to connect with the outside world.

And, finally, don't forget to enjoy yourself and be present in the moment in a way it may not have been possible to be while working. Beauty abounds in everyday life: the way the morning sun shines off the coffee pot, the smell of damp earth after a rain, the graceful innocence of children's chalk drawings on the sidewalk.

The transition from working to retirement can be a profoundly satisfying one, with a little planning, some flexibility, and an open mind about what the future may bring. Make these yearslike all the ones that came before themcount.