Kicking back in a hammock with a lemonade in hand during your retirement sounds pretty great, right? But sadly, it’s a bigger change than you might expect, and there’s a whole lot you might not have thought about in this chapter of your life. Here are 18 things you’ll miss out on when you’ve entered your golden years and why.
Goodbye to Work Benefits
Once you’ve stopped doing the 9-to-5, you’ll miss out on all those work benefits, like health insurance or free workshops. You might not think they’re much, but we’re sure you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Now, you’ll have to find new ways to cover these on your own, which can be a bit of a hassle and definitely not as cheap.
Tougher Loans
Getting a loan for a new car or a beach house is a lot harder once you’ve retired. Without that steady paycheck, banks might be a bit skeptical about handing over the cash. You’ll need to get creative with how you prove that you’re good for this loan, which could involve getting a cosigner or showing off your retirement savings.
Catching Up on Saving
If your savings account looks a bit thin now, just wait until you stop working, as it’s a lot harder to beef it up then. Those years of earning more and saving more are behind you now, meaning that playing catch-up with your retirement funds isn’t as easy as it used to be. You’ll have to find new ways to put in some money.
Moving Homes
Moving to a new place sounds fun enough, but the hassle of packing and hauling is enough to make it a nightmare. And then you’ve also cost the cost, which is a lot to manage when you don’t have a workplace relocation package or the physical strength anymore. Choosing where to retire becomes a huge decision that you may not be able to make so easily anymore.
Big Home Projects
Similarly, any big kitchen remodels or rooms you want to add to your house can be a real challenge in retirement. Even if you ignore the costs, the mess and stress that come without it might be more than you can handle since you won’t have the same amount of energy anymore. You’re not only managing your budget anymore but also your energy and expectations.
Technical Difficulties
When you’re retired, keeping up to date with the latest technology isn’t as easy as it once was. There’s no IT department to help you out, and figuring out which apps or software to use becomes a headache. And considering how quickly technology changes nowadays, it can get quite overwhelming without the training sessions you had at the office.
Drifting Away
All those industry drinks and conferences helped you stay in the loop with your colleagues, so it’s a lot harder to keep in contact when you’re not bumping into them at the office. You’ll need to put in a lot more effort to keep those connections because you’re not seeing them every day. Don’t be surprised if you start drifting away or quit talking to them completely.
Less Adrenaline
Those activities that used to get your heart pumping, like mountain biking or playing competitive sports, may take a back seat in retirement. Your body might not recover so quickly from an injury, so you might start weighing the risks against the fun of doing them. Even your doctor might have something to say about those activities at your next check-up.
Entrepreneurial Risks
Starting a new business seems exciting enough, but you’ll need to think carefully about managing your money and creating a startup in retirement. You don’t have as much financial security anymore, meaning that any risky business moves may not be the right way to go. Your income is fixed now, and any financial consequences are going to be far more significant.
Finding Mentoring
With all your experience in the workplace and your personal life, mentoring can be quite rewarding. Unfortunately, since you don’t have the natural connections from your daily work life, those opportunities can be scarce. No matter how much you’ve got to offer, finding the right venue to share it takes a whole new kind of effort.
Your Retirement Account
Once you retire, your employer will quit making contributions to your 401(k) or your pension plan. Your savings will stop growing unless you put money in yourself, and those handy tax breaks will become history, too. Losing that tax relief and those contributions is a bigger change than you might think.
Fixed Income, Fixed Budgets
Your income will generally stay the same unless you have investments paying out, meaning you can say goodbye to any salary hikes. You’ll need to get smart with your budget and really stick to it because you’re not getting any extra earnings to cover any unexpected costs. Learn to budget or find someone to do it for you, or you’re going to struggle.
Volunteer Work
You might have visions of spending your retirement building homes or traveling overseas for volunteer work, but the reality can be quite different. This kind of volunteer work requires a lot of physical demands and travel, so many retirees end up looking for less challenging ways to give back locally. You’ll need to change your volunteer efforts, so you’re not giving too much of yourself away.
Sleep Patterns
Many retirees also find they can’t sleep as well as they used to since they don’t have a regular timetable anymore. You may need to find a new routine or create a consistent schedule to adapt to this new normal. After all, a bad night’s sleep or lack of sleep can cause plenty of health problems.
Fewer Interactions
Retiring usually means you’ll have fewer daily social interactions. At work, you’re naturally around people all the time, and when you retire, you’ll need to make some extra effort to keep talking with people. This might involve taking part in community activities or even making regular plans with other people, just so you can fight off any loneliness.
Professional Identity and Purpose
You can say goodbye to that professional identity you’ve been building up for ages when you retire, which can change your sense of purpose more than you might expect. Finding new ways to define yourself without a job title or daily responsibilities can be a shock to the system. But it’s absolutely worth it.
Professional Achievements
When you retire, keeping track of your progress also becomes a lot harder. After all, you won’t have any annual performance reviews or awards anymore, so you’ll need to find new ways to measure your personal growth and success. It’s quite a big shift from the structure of traditional career achievements, and not everybody’s ready for it.
Continued Training
All those corporate training sessions and professional development workshops aren’t on the agenda anymore. If you want to keep learning new skills or stay updated within your field, you’ll have to look for those opportunities yourself and perhaps even pay for them. The motivation to do them alone is difficult enough.
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