Retirement - there's more to think about than money.

When you think of retirement, what comes to mind? Is it those extra rounds of golf, spending a few months each year basking in the sun, and relishing quality time with your grandkids? Or do you find yourself worrying about your pension funding, fearing it might not be sufficient to cover all your dreams and aspirations?

As financial advisers, we understand the crucial role we play in alleviating these financial worries. Our daily mission is to help clients build robust pension funds that enable them to live their retirement years on their own terms. However, our commitment goes beyond just finances. We believe in helping you adopt a holistic view of retirement, ensuring you thrive in all aspects of this significant life phase.

Let's assume that together we've successfully addressed the financial side, ensuring you have the means to enjoy your retirement fully. What else should you consider?

Be aware of your partner’s space

Imagine waking up on the first day of your retirement. There's no alarm clock; you wake up at your leisure. Your spouse, who may have been at home full-time, continues with their usual routine. How do you fit into this new dynamic?

The transition requires careful consideration. Avoid assuming that everything changes just because you’re now around more. Your partner may cherish their routine and prefer minimal disruption. At the same time, they need to understand the significant shift in your life and the potential struggle you might face in establishing a new routine, encompassing both individual and shared activities.

Communication is key. Discuss your expectations, respect each other’s space, and collaboratively plan your days. This mutual understanding will make the transition smoother and more enjoyable for both of you.

Avoid empty, long days

Retirement brings a significant increase in free time. Your working day, often including commute time, might have occupied 11 or 12 hours daily. Now, you need to find fulfilling ways to fill these hours. Will you play golf, take up a new hobby, or engage in volunteer work? Perhaps you’ll finally visit all those places you’ve longed to see.

Planning is essential. Fill your days with activities that interest you and promote a sense of accomplishment. Keeping your mind and body active is crucial. Avoid the trap of monotonous days spent napping in front of the TV. Instead, pursue hobbies, volunteer, travel, or study. A well-structured plan will make your days fulfilling and enjoyable.

Look after your health – mental and physical

During your working years, the simple routine of getting up and going to work contributed to your overall health. Now, with more free time, it’s vital to maintain and even increase your focus on healthy habits. Incorporate regular physical exercise into your routine, whether it’s taking brisk walks or visiting the gym. Many gyms offer fitness programs tailored for seniors, ensuring your activities are safe and effective.

Physical exercise benefits your mental health as well. It boosts your mood and keeps you feeling good about yourself. Stay mentally sharp by engaging in activities like reading, solving puzzles, or learning new skills. Social interaction is also crucial—spend time with friends, join clubs, and participate in community events.

With more time available, you can also pay greater attention to your diet. Take the opportunity to prepare healthy meals from fresh ingredients. Transform cooking into a hobby, experimenting with new recipes and enjoying the process of creating nutritious dishes.

You still have a lot to offer

Retirement can sometimes bring a perceived loss of value. In your working years, your company and colleagues relied on you, providing a sense of purpose. Now, you might feel this is gone. However, your value extends far beyond paid work.

Your experience, expertise, and time are invaluable. You can continue to contribute meaningfully through volunteer work, coaching, or mentoring. Choose areas that interest you, work on your terms, and at times that suit you. This approach not only allows you to give back but also provides a profound sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.

Having your finances in order is undeniably crucial for a happy and satisfying retirement. However, it’s the non-financial aspects that truly enhance your quality of life. Cultivate a balanced approach that includes meaningful activities, maintaining your health, and nurturing your relationships. By doing so, you can enjoy a fulfilling and vibrant retirement, living life to the fullest for many years to come.

How to improve your financial mindset

The most famous of all investors, Warren Buffett once said, “People seeking riches never have enough. Wealth is a state of mind. Wealthy people always have enough.” To him, riches are a monetary amount and never satisfy you. On the other hand, wealth is a journey and a set of actions that lead to a more fulfilled life.

So, as we try to apply this to our own finances, we’ve identified a set of principles of actions for you to consider, to help you build wealth in a fulfilling way, as opposed to just seeking to grow your bank balance.

Have a “Why”

Start by identifying and being able to articulate why you want to grow your wealth. Is it because you want the security and comfort of being debt free by the age of 50, or maybe you want a certain lifestyle in retirement – being able to live in a warmer climate for 3-4 months of the year? These are real life goals, as opposed to a meaningless number of Euros in your bank account…

Know how much is Enough

Some people end up living fairly unfilled lives, judging their success or otherwise by comparing their riches to their siblings / friends / anyone, or by aiming for a random bank balance. And what happens when they achieve that figure? They get back on the treadmill and seek a higher number, dissatisfied unless they achieve that.

On the other hand, some other people decide on their goals in life, and with the help of a financial planner, thy identify how much they need to fulfil those goals. And when they achieve them, they enjoy them, living the life they want in a fulfilled and satisfied state of mind.

Pay yourself first

You’ve likely heard us talk about this one before! That’s because we believe it is the key to successful saving. Let’s assume you’re paid on the first day of each month. Lots of people pay their bills, live their life, and look to save whatever is left over at the end of them month. And yes, they usually get to the end of the month with a zero bank balance, as their lifestyle consumed the available cash. 

On the other hand, astute savers identify their target saving amount and have this set up to automatically transfer to another account on the second day of the month. And they then live their life in line with the available funds in their current account. Of course, from time to time, they may have insufficient funds to see them through the month, and need to dip into their savings. But at least now, they have savings to dip into…

Recognise there’s no short cut to being wealthy

Building wealth is a long-term pursuit, achieved by lots of wise actions practiced over many years. The greatest destroyer of wealth is our own behaviours, that typically are the result of having short-term blinkers on. Acting on a hot stock tip or having a hunch that markets are at the top or the bottom, and selling or buying on this basis are usually routes to wealth destruction.

Instead, wealth creation will happen by consistently investing, and then letting time and compound interest get to work without meddling in the process.

Listen wisely… and with scepticism

Surround yourself with the right people. First of all, avoid being swayed by the latest ramblings of some so-called financial expert who is giving you a sure-fire way to investment success. It doesn’t exist… because if it did, he/she would keep it to themselves!

Likewise, be careful of listening to family or friends who come from the YOLO school of thinking – You Only Live Once! These people live life by the seat of their pants, and while they may enjoy some fun in the short-term, this usually turns out to be an uncomfortable place to be in the long-term.

Instead that friend who mentioned saving money in their teens and pensions in their 20’s is not boring! They have probably turned out be the wealthy people, living a financially stress-free life and having clarity about the life they want to lead… as they are on course to achieve it.

Our overriding advice? Think what wealth is to you – what does it mean in terms of the life that you will live. And then aim to achieve that, as opposed to a meaningless bank balance.

4 areas to plan for retirement

The word retirement conjures up different thoughts for each of us. Some think of growing old, others think of enjoying life in the sun. Some people think of the need to save money in pensions, others think of finally having that freedom from work and enjoying their financial freedom. Each view is valid, some just a bit more positive than others.

Our view is that retirement is a time to be enjoyed, the reward after many years of work. But like most stages in life, having a plan will help you make the very best of those retirement years, so here are four areas to plan that will help you achieve just that.

Everyday living

If your health is good, this is the most impactful area and is often the one in which the least attention is paid. What will you actually do every day? Yes, you might travel. But this will likely be for one or a few months of the year and maybe just for a couple of years. Yes, you might play golf, but hardly every day. And as someone recently asked a friend of mine who said he’ll play golf every day – what will you do with the rest of the day?

The bottom line here is that between working, commuting, and socialising around work, this likely took up maybe ten hours per day. That’s a lot of time to fill now… There’s a whole other article in how you might fill your time, but for now, we suggest that you just start thinking about how you are going to fill your days. It’s quite daunting but very exciting having all this time available to you. Pan to make the best of it. 

Staying healthy

We started the last section with, “If your health is good”. As we all know, so much of the quality of our retirement hinges on having good health. While some people are just plain unlucky in this regard and are afflicted by poor health through no fault of their own, most of us can have a positive impact on our health in our later years. Having a plan in this regard and the commitment to see it through will likely have an incredible impact on your quality of life.

It starts with planning to fuel the body well. Eating and drinking healthily will improve your health, increase your energy levels and have you looking and feeling better about yourself. You’re not rushing out the door any more, grabbing whatever is handiest to eat. Committing to making that bit of extra effort to prepare healthy food will have a big impact. Who knows, you’ve run out of road now in terms of excuses of not having the time to do that cookery course! Maybe there’s a gourmet chef hidden inside you – now you’ve the time to find out…

And of course, there is exercise. Build positive habits, doing things you enjoy. Whether that walking, playing golf, sailing or going to the gym, build exercise into your routines. You’ll feel better, will have more energy and vitality and will maintain your physical abilities for longer. Also, there are endless articles from august publications online that explain how strength and resistance training help to prevent the onset of dementia in older people.

Exercise is key, so have a clear plan of what you will do and when you will do it.

Financing retirement

We’re just going to touch on this one, as we speak to all our clients all the time about the importance of pension planning. Having money in your latter years gives you more choices and a nicer standard of living. This takes planning to achieve.

We help you to identify the life you want in retirement, and we’ll help you identify how much money you need to live that life. And then we’ll develop a financial plan to make that future life a reality through pension saving. Thankfully this task is made easier by the generous tax breaks available on pensions and the relatively generous state pensions that are payable in Ireland.

But financing the life you want won’t happen by magic. It takes a plan and then commitment over many years.

Leaving your legacy

OK, for some people this one sounds a bit morbid. But we don’t see it that way. Identifying the stamp you’re going to leave on the world, your community or your family around you and how you will share the fruits of your success is exciting and a really uplifting subject. What will you do and how will you do it?

For some people, it will be through their generosity of actions – this might be through charitable work, voluntary time given to a community or sporting organisation or simply through helping others. For other people, it might be through their financial generosity. Either way, they all leave positive memories behind them.

Again though, this requires planning. Without a plan, time will just slip away and good intentions will never happen. And without a plan, financial mistakes will happen and tax efficient opportunities will be missed, reducing your funds available.

Retirement is a time of life to be enjoyed. But to make the most of it, plan out each aspect of your life and then go and live your life to the full.