Most clients look forward to retirement as a time of freedom -- a time of fulfilling lifelong dreams of travel, pursuing passions, and spending quality time with family and friends. They work with professional advisors to make sure that they have the financial resources available to fund their retirement goals. Retirement income planning, Social Security planning, and investment planning are all part of the mix. Early in retirement, many of our clients don't pay as much consideration to the aging process. What can be done to insure that with successful retirement comes successful aging?
At The Center, we work with hundreds of clients at various stages of retirement and aging.
Observing the success stories, we’ve observed these three keys to successful aging.
- Positive Mindset/Attitude: Those that age successfully don't see themselves as "old" or "elderly". They don't dwell on the fact that they may begin to slow down or develop health issues. They focus on what they can do, not on what they might not be able to do.
- Plan Ahead: Those that age successfully plan ahead for their future retirement and aging. They make sure that legal and financial plans are in place in the case aging slows them down. They think about alternatives for housing, health care and long term care and they talk to their families about their preferences so when/if the time arises, plans are in place. This allows these clients to live in the now, knowing that they have things covered when/if needed.
- Take Action: Having a positive attitude and putting together a plan get you a large part of the way towards successful aging. The critical third step is to take action. Clients who age successfully take their positive attitude and use it to stay active, stay healthy and stay engaged. They make plans and put the important pieces in place so that they are ready to go as soon as the need arises -- they work with their financial planner to put together a team (including financial, legal and health care) for their successful aging. AND they make sure that the professional team is engaged with the family members and friends.
While we have often heard from clients that "getting older is no walk in the park," with a positive attitude, proper planning and appropriate actions, aging successfully is possible. Talk to your financial planner about what additional planning you can do to make sure you are one of the success stories.
Sandra Adams, CFP® is a Partner and Financial Planner at Center for Financial Planning, Inc. Sandy specializes in Elder Care Financial Planning and is a frequent speaker on related topics. In 2012-2014 Sandy has been named to the Five Star Wealth Managers list in Detroit Hour magazine. In addition to her frequent contributions to Money Centered, she is regularly quoted in national media publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Research Magazine and Journal of Financial Planning.
Five Star Award is based on advisor being credentialed as an investment advisory representative (IAR), a FINRA registered representative, a CPA or a licensed attorney, including education and professional designations, actively employed in the industry for five years, favorable regulatory and complaint history review, fulfillment of firm review based on internal firm standards, accepting new clients, one- and five-year client retention rates, non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered, number of client households served.
Any opinions are those of Center for Financial Planning, Inc. and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. C14-043035