What to do when you've retired

Create a Retirement Plan

Creating a retirement plan is an effective way to ensure that you’re financially stable by the time you retire.

Remember, having a retirement plan is not just about having financial security. It’s also about supporting yourself so you can spend more time with people you care most about.

Safewill also has a separate blog post on creating a retirement plan which you can read. To briefly summarise, you want to consider the following when creating your retirement plan:

• Deciding where to retire;
• Determining your lifestyle goals for the future;
• Figuring out how much money you need to survive;
• Work out your superannuation.

Sorting Out Your Finances

A big part of retirement is the management of your finances. One of the things you want to consider when creating a retirement plan is figuring out how much money you need to survive.

You want to calculate the expenses that you will have once you retire. They include:

• Living expenses – such mortgage payments or rent, utility bills, internet bills;
• Car payments or expenses;
• Medical costs;
• Travel

Additionally, you also may want to start thinking about building generational wealth as well. Generational wealth is when assets are passed down from one generation of a family to the next. These can include:

• Financial savings;
• Stocks;
• Bonds;
• Property;
• Businesses

This may be something you want to consider because it can be helpful to the family you leave behind. Even though it is long term, it’s still a way to provide financial comfort for your future generations.

Choosing Where to Live

Deciding where you want to spend your retirement depends on a number of factors such as:

• Where your family and friends live;
• Community connections;
• Preferred lifestyle;
• Health and wellbeing requirements;
• Level of independence;
• How much money you have to retire on;
• Availability of facilities, opportunities, and accessibility of transport.

Then, you also would have to think about what home you would live in. You may consider the following options:

• Staying in your home;
• Staying with your children;
• Sell and downsize;
• Find a rental property;
• Move to a retirement village or aged care home.

Other Important Things to Do When You’ve Retired

1 – Get Involved in More Volunteering and Social Activities

There is this idea that retirement is when you sit around and do nothing. However, it doesn’t have to be! Retirement actually gives you more free time to learn new skills, pursue new passions, meet new people, or give back to the community.

2 – Look After Your Physical Health

Again, since you have more free time, it’s also a good opportunity to get more active and improve your health. Physical activity has many benefits, especially as you get older. It reduces the risk of any major disease or illness, and improves your mental health in general.

The amount of physical activity you do depends on your age and level of health. It is recommended that you speak to a doctor or a medical professional who can properly advise you on what activity you can do.

3 – Get Mental and Legal Support

Once you’ve retired, you now have different routines and responsibilities from when you were working.

First, it is important that you strive to maintain your mental wellbeing. Especially since entering retirement is a lifestyle change, it can bring out new challenges. Australia has different information and support form the following platforms:

• Beyond Blue – information and resources for older people, and you can also speak to a trained mental health professional.
• Lifeline – includes a 24-hour counselling service and crisis support.
• Mindspot – digital mental clinic for all Australians. They provide a free, anonymous assessment.

With legal support, it is important for you to know what your rights are. There are a range of services that can assist you with understanding your rights as a retiree:

• Seniors Rights Service
• Human Rights Commission

Planning for End of Life

Even though it’s not the most pleasant thought, planning for end of life can provide a peace of mind. End of life planning involves setting out detailed instructions to tell your loved ones how you want your final moments to look. They are centred around personal choices such as:

• Lifestyle
• Wellbeing
• Preferences around medical care
• Burial arrangements

These are the steps involved with creating an end-of-life plan:

1. Protect your assets
2. Decide what medical care you want
3. Plan your future living arrangements
4. Decide on funeral and burial arrangements
5. Write an obituary or death notice
6. Manage your digital legacy.

All these steps are expanded on Safewill’s blog post on end-of-life planning which you can read.

Ultimately, another important part of end-of-life planning is by making a Will. Making a Will can help reduce uncertainty and potential disputes with how your assets are distributed. It allows you to list everything you own, and how you want them to be distributed.

Safewill is an online Will platform that makes this process easy and affordable. They will help you create, update, and store a Will easily. You can get started with writing your Will today from the comfort of your own home.