You work and you save. You plan and you prepare, but sometimes, when you get to your retirement age, you just realize that there are things that will catch you by surprise. When you have given up your job and changed your entire life around, this is not the time you want to have any surprises of this kind! So before anything else, here are a few things that retirees have found surprising that you should know about now!
Mortgage Problems
The biggest chunk of your expenses is likely to be housing. You may have hopes that you will be able to pay off your mortgage before your retirement age rolls around but in all likelihood, it won’t happen. Many retirees never thought they would be paying off a mortgage in their retirement, but it tends to turn out that way. In fact, it seems that housing is a lifelong expense in most cases. When surveys were carried out on different retirement groups, it was discovered that housing was indeed the top expense, even compared to healthcare. Unless you have a rock-solid plan on beating your mortgage, expect to retire with those costs and plan accordingly.
Post-Retirement Work
You may have planned your retirement out in a way where you won’t need to work or have any supplemental income. However, you can actually expect that you will work because you want to! Right now, you may be bogged down with work and feel like nothing could be better than being set free from your 9 to 5 prison – but when you retire, you will be working for different reasons. Doing something you enjoy can keep you feeling useful. It will help you feel like you are contributing and also help you develop a new interest and discover others. It will not be like the work you had to do to get to retirement. In fact, it is healthier to keep your mind active – and that extra income won’t hurt!
Failed Volunteer Promises
Roughly 9 out of 10 people who were asked about what they would do in their retirement responded that they would like to do volunteer work to be of help to those in need. However, it was found that in reality, only 25% of the people who believed they would engage in volunteering actually ended up doing so. Only a third of the people who had never volunteered before decided to begin volunteering in their retirement. What all of this tells us is that if you haven’t volunteered any service before your retirement years, it is unlikely you will start. And even then, the chances are that you won’t!
Loneliness
When you are looking at retirement from the outside in, you may not realize one very simple fact – there’s a chance you may be lonely in retirement if you are single. Studies were conducted to investigate how satisfied single men and women were with their lives in retirement. It was found that over 70% of single retired women were satisfied with the network of friends they had, while a disappointing 48% of single retired men could say the same. This means if you are a single man going into retirement, you can expect to feel the lonely bug bite! As a single retired woman, your chances are far lower but still possible.
Health-Related Issues
Your health can actually end up playing a huge role in your retirement. An illness or health-related issues can take you by surprise. As much as 75% of retirees admitted that their health issues emerged far sooner than they expected. When you plan your retirement while you’re relatively healthy, you can forget how quickly health deteriorates in old age. You’ll eventually find yourself easily tired, and you won’t have the physical capability or the inclination to do many of the things you thought you would do in retirement. Further, health care costs may catch you by surprise and force you to restructure your finances or cut out things you planned for. Plan for health care with a heavier hand than you think is necessary, and you will thank yourself for having taken the precautions!
Retirement is an idea so many have in their mind but so few get to truly enjoy. Your planning to be bulletproof but you can make it aa strong and sturdy one, especially if you have an idea of what curve balls may be thrown at you. Happy planning!