Have you been thinking about retirement, but unable to take that step? Is something holding you back? Despite having planned your entire career for this time of life, it is not unusual to struggle in actually making this transition, particularly when there is no forced retirement in your work. It’s ironic that something you’ve looked forward to for so long seems scary and uncertain when the time comes. Of course, the pandemic may have brought some financial concerns to the topic of retirement, but there is so much more to consider.

There is a little known secret that can help you now. Retirement coaches! We are specially trained and certified to assist you with the non-financial factors surrounding retirement. These include things like replacing your identity at work, hobbies, relationships, spirituality and so much more.

If you’ve been wondering if you’re ready for retirement, or what your retirement might look like, the pandemic presents you with an opportunity to do a ‘trial run’ with retirement. I worked with a client several years ago who had this issue. Despite being age-eligible for retirement and having all financial issues in line, she was resisting taking that step. Something in her was keeping her from being able to actually leave her job. One of the factors we identified was what to do in all that suddenly available time. We worked through the concerns and decided she would take a leave of absence from her job. This time would allow her to look at her life as though she were in retirement. She spent the three months rediscovering hobbies, connecting with friends and family and discovering that her retirement could be fulfilling and enjoyable. The result? She confidently set a retirement date and has now been happily retired for some time.

You can use this time for a similar exercise. You may not realize what factors are holding you back from retiring, and that’s where an assessment comes in. With the help of your coach, you can identify the issues and establish a plan to evaluate the factors that are preventing you from retiring. With luck, we won’t have 3 months of the pandemic, but you can use what time is involved to test the waters. Develop or rediscover hobbies as my client did, look at volunteer or part-time job opportunities, decide with your family what time commitments will look like. Following the trial run, you and your coach can evaluate what you discovered, make whatever adjustments are necessary, have a much clearer idea of what life will look like post-career, and perhaps, set that date!
 
Andrea is a career, life and retirement coach, certified by the Neuroleadership Institute and Retirement Options. She works with individuals to help them live their dreams throughout their career and into retirement.
 
 

I recently posted an article on LinkedIn about how important it is to have something to say about how you used this time. Check it out at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/so-what-did-you-do-during-pandemic-andrea-cole/?published=t