Engage Wealth Management explains how retirement is about more than money

Life after work is where most of us are heading. It’s why we’re working now, saving diligently. But there is more to the financial aspect of moving into retirement.

As financial advisers, we have encountered thousands of people leading up to and beyond retirement. Often our clients’ focus is on ‘Can I afford to stop working?’ or ‘Are we investing enough?’. Most people overlook the enormous transition into a new phase of life.

We are not fans of the word ‘retirement’. It often doesn’t fill people with joy and excitement. But it should! So, today, we will call retirement ‘life after work’.

This helps with visualisation. No longer is it ‘retirement’, but you’re just moving onto a different stage in life. A fantastic step where, with careful planning, you can do everything important to you. You could travel, spend time with grandchildren or adult children, start a new business, work part-time, volunteer or do whatever it is that makes you happy.

Let us clarify: You WILL be moving to this stage of life. You will leave that business behind one day, if you run a business. 

Many entrepreneurs, and employees, get caught up in an endless pursuit of growth. Or squirrelling away funds for their life after work. But then what…?

Your identity and a sense of purpose

For most of us, work is our identity.

‘I’m an IT consultant/lawyer/accountant. I run a business doing X or providing X.’

Whether you love your work or not, work often provides a sense of purpose. This could involve collaborating on projects to get them over the line, helping clients achieve their goals or taking care of employees.

This identity and a sense of purpose disappear once you leave the workplace.

Yuval Noah Harari’s book Sapiens (highly recommended) discusses the definition of happiness. Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman studied people’s everyday lives and found a paradox in most people’s views of their lives. Take raising a child, for example, which usually involves a persistent lack of sleep, changing nappies, dealing with temper tantrums and endless tidying up. Yet most people claim their children provide their chief source of happiness…

One way of looking at these results is that happiness is achieved through a sense of purpose. Raising a child, building a business, or building a career are all challenging pursuits. But that sense of purpose – that you’re making something great for you and your family – drives most people.

What can you do to prepare for this new stage in life?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Start preparing now

When planning for this life stage, it is important to visualise what life after work looks like. How will you spend day 1/day 100/day 1000?! Be specific, from the moment you wake up until bed that evening.

This planning can start early, and it  will change. 

No longer will you be doing the school run, morning commute, logging on and chatting to your co-workers about the weekend.

Writing a bucket list before retirement will help you visualise this time and ease into this new stage of life.

2. Have a routine

When work stops, the routine it provided will leave a gap in your life.

Try to establish a new morning routine. Whether this involves a morning walk, yoga session or breakfast with a loved one. Establishing a routine is essential for a healthy life after work stage.

3. Have a celebration

You’re about to achieve that moment that most people dream of. You no longer NEED to work. So celebrate this!

We celebrate many other life stages such as graduations, a new job or launching a new business venture. So why not celebrate your new life stage?

You could take an extended family  trip abroad and organise a ‘life after work’ party.

This helps with the psychological shift and provides an opportunity to gather friends a family together before changing your lifestyle.

4. Social circle

This is a crucial point. For some people, your social circle will change entirely if this has been formed around the workplace. Or perhaps you’ve moved home to afford retirement.

Take note of who is within your social circle and make an effort to deepen these relationships. This is important for people with little or no family nearby.

5. Stay healthy

Our top tips.

Gardening, walking, yoga or swimming are great ways to ease into exercise. Or crank it up a level by joining a cycling club, taking up kite surfing, mountain biking or running.

This keeps your body and mind healthy and helps to form social relationships. Many people have stated that health is more important than financial security during life after work.

Finally, remember that you have one shot at life on this planet. Make sure you enjoy it. Life after work is an opportunity to do the things you’ve always wanted, help the people you’ve wanted to, and make the most significant impact on this world.

One final point. we have helped hundreds of people retire successfully and had thousands of conversations about life after work. The happiest and most content people we know living life after work now spend their days exercising and socialising. Exercise provides routine, identity, social circles and staying healthy in one hit.

Engage Wealth Management provides financial and retirement planning to successful business owners & busy professionals. If you’re approaching your ‘life after work’ stage and confused about the financial aspects, get in touch.

Website: https://engagewm.co.uk

Telephone: 01273 076587

Email: hello@engagewm.co.uk