Working Wounded: Planning for Retirement
Dec. 22, 2006 — -- DEAR WOUNDED: I really want to retire. But I'm not sure if it's a smart move.
ANSWER: During the last election, three dead candidates won at the ballot box, according to the News of the Weird. The Alaska school board, Texas legislature and North Carolina county soil and conservation board all elected dead people. Sam Duncan ran such a low-key race in North Carolina, that many of his backers were surprised to learn that he had died months before Election Day.
Dying was a good career move for these politicians. But for most of us it isn't. That's why it's so important to have a plan for your retirement. I've listed some questions below to help you sort out your options. For more, check out "The Savvy Part-Time Professional" by Lynn Berger (Capital, 2006).
Will you feel comfortable without a regular income? My eyes glaze over when someone starts talking to me about putting a plan together to determine how much money I'll need to retire. But it's very important. I've met a few people who live frugally and were able to retire in their 40s. The key is to have an idea about what you'll need and to invest and spend wisely.
Will you have interests that you can see yourself spending time on or expanding if you retire? This is the big thing that most people overlook. Retirement is not only a financial decision, it's also a question of how you'll spend your time. What are your interests? Retirement can be the best time of your life, but only if you have a great way to pass the time.
Are there new areas of interest you would like to pursue? Even though you are older, it doesn't mean that you can't develop new interests. Yes, there is life beyond shuffleboard. Explore classes, online resources and talk to friends.
Do you have friends with whom you can socialize on a regular basis? This is especially important in the time of the Web. Many of us are limiting our human interaction to two-sentence e-mails and a lot of surfing. Human contact is important.
Is your partner in agreement about your decision? It's tough when one partner stays in the grind of work while the other wants to travel and hang out. I'm not saying that you have to be in lockstep on this, but it is important to talk about each of your goals and how to blend them together into a plan that suits both of you.
What was the main thing you got out of your job? Did you work mainly for the money? Or was it for the social contacts? Prestige? It's helpful to look at what your major motivators were in your working days to help determine how you'll approach your retirement.
Follow these suggestions and your retirement won't just be the time before your die, it'll be a time when you really live life to the fullest.
Online Ballot and Contest
Here are the results from a recent workingwounded.com/ABCNEWS.com online ballot:
Working Wounded/ABCNEWS.com online ballot question: What do you think is the reason you didn't get the last job you applied for?
Winning Strategy
Our winning strategy strategy for not getting the job is from R.C. in Vancouver, British Columbia:
"I think that in a job hunt you can't take anything very seriously. You've got to adopt the attitude that you're going to outwork everyone else. And if you do that, rejection will be a constant partner. But eventually the numbers will work to your favor and you'll get a job you like."
List of the Week
Late for work -- 90-Year-Olds Still on the Job:
From: CareerBuilder.com
Bob Rosner is a best selling author, speaker and internationally syndicated columnist. He'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic, especially if you have better ideas than he does. His books include: "The Boss's Survival Guide" and "Gray Matters: The Workplace Survival Guide." Send your questions or comments to him via: bob@workingwounded.com.
ABCNEWS.com publishes a new Working Wounded column every Friday.This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.