Are you retirement ready?

While more and more Australians are delaying their final day at work, I think it is worth asking the question, have you taken all the right steps to make sure you are retirement ready when that big day does arrive?

It is easy to put off thinking about it but there are some key steps everyone should take ahead of formally retiring.

Firstly, you should practice for retirement by taking some time off. By that I mean if you are entitled to long service leave, take and treat it like a trial retirement by trying out all the things you think you might do in retirement.

Don’t make it jam packed by say squeezing in 30 European cities in 30 days or driving around Australia. Think it through and use this trial to see how you would spend your ‘normal’ days in retirement. That means playing golf or perhaps getting involved in your local communities. The sort of everyday things you can envisage seeing yourself doing in retirement.

Secondly, if you are close to retirement and have the option of working part-time, then you should. I look upon this as sliding into retirement, and it can be a great way of keeping a foot in each camp so to speak.

A lot of people find that just by doing this, the associated reduction in pressure at work and the increased leisure time, means they feel they can keep working longer, which is always a good thing.

It can also prompt people to look around as to what their options are in terms of working part-time. Just because you’ve spent the past forty years doing one type of work, doesn’t mean you can’t cast around at see what your options are.

Many people for example find working out of doors for the first time in their lives or working in roles where they are meeting lots of new people in a pleasant and caring environment. Both can be live changing.

Thirdly, think about all the things that you’ve wanted to do and the type of person you’ve always wanted to be.

Have you wanted to spend more time learning about music generally or perhaps even trying your hand at learning a musical instrument, for example. Or have you noticed that some people seem to live their lives in a particularly calm and centred way. Have you ever thought that’s how you want to live?

If there is anything like that in your life that you have always thought you would like to try or know more about, now is the time to do it. Don’t put it off.

It’s easy to find excuses. You don’t know where to start, it will cost too much money or the very worst excuse, that you are too old to try something new.

The truth is there has never been an easier or better time to explore new worlds and to look to new horizons. Not only will you enjoy your life more, it will make you more enjoyable to be around and that can only enhance your life.