If you've ever researched retirement, you're probably aware of the five common stages of retirement (Planning, Honeymoon, Disillusionment, Refocus, New Normal). But is it a given that you will go through all five stages? Even before retirement I had my doubts.
Let's start with a summary of the five stages. There are many resources on this topic and although the stage titles may vary, the descriptions are similar. For this post I used the video, The 5 Stages of Retirement: What Every Retiree Must Know.
Stage One: The Planning
This stage usually starts 1-2 years before retirement. You may not even be aware that you are planning to retire yet. But in the back of your mind you're starting to ask yourself questions. "How much money will I need to retire?" "What are my monthly expenses?" "What will I do for health insurance?" "What will I do all day?"
Stage Two: The Honeymoon
The honeymoon starts on day one of retirement. You no longer have to get up and go to work. You can sleep in if you want. You don't have a fixed schedule. You have plenty of time now for hobbies and doing the things you enjoy. You can spend more time with family and friends. There’s nobody to tell you what to do. It's kind of like an extended vacation. Many travel during this time.
It's fun. For a while.
Stage Three: Reality Check (aka Disillusionment)
But you can only play so much golf and watch so much TV before you start to wonder, "Is this all there is?". For some, it's enough. But for others... you're bored.
Which brings us to the Reality Check stage. This is where the initial euphoria of retirement starts to fade and disillusionment sets in.
You miss your routine. Whatever work identity and power you had is now gone. Your work friends may be gone too. And after a lifetime of saving you now have to get used to spending that money. It’s hard.
Retirement can also change your family relationships and not always for the better. Open communication and a willingness to adapt are key.
Many can get stuck in this stage.
Stage Four: Refocus
This is the stage where your real retirement begins. This is where you reevaluate and readjust your expectations about retirement. Time for a new purpose, a new routine, and possibly new social connections.
This is when you start thinking about what makes you happy? What activities give you joy? What goals do you want to achieve? What is your purpose? What do you want your legacy to be? How do you want to be remembered?
You may decide to volunteer or go back to work part-time. Perhaps a fun or low pressure job that gets you out of the house and around other people. Or you may form your own business. Or do consulting work, taking advantage of your expertise. Or you may start a blog.
Stage Five: The New Normal
This is the longest stage. If you were successful in the refocus phase then your new normal should be a time of contentment and stability. Hopefully you're comfortable and fulfilled with your new routine. You've adjusted your lifestyle to fit your budget and you're successfully managing your expenses.
Personal Experience
It’s my opinion that if you have a good plan and realistic expectations before you retire, you can jump right into a fulfilling retirement. (The Five Stages of Retirement (and How to Skip Three of Them))
“Sounds good, Tracie. Tell me more.” Well, prior to retirement I did a lot of soul searching and I knew myself well enough to know that I would need some kind of purpose when I was no longer working.
What can I say. I'm a type A, goal-oriented, overachiever, and I knew I couldn't just turn that off in retirement. Plus I had watched a lot of retired lawyers continue to come into the office because they had nothing else. That wasn’t going to be me.
So I did a lot of research and discarded a lot of scenarios before I came up with the blog idea. I wrote a few practice articles to see if it was something I really wanted to do. Turns out I did. After that I couldn't wait to retire and get started on my new life and career.
I have pretty much stuck to my original retirement plan (including a 6 month honeymoon phase before I started blogging). And okay, I admit, I can be a bit regimented. So having a detailed plan worked for me. I felt prepared, and I don't recall any major surprises or feelings of disillusionment during my transition. But what worked for me, may not work for you.
Everyone’s retirement is different and you don't really know how it will affect you until you experience it for yourself. So if your plan isn't working, tweak it, make a new one, do whatever it takes to make it right. This is your time.
In closing, to my friends and family who doubted my brilliant retirement plan, I offer a humble and respectful message – I TOLD YOU SO!
Do you have a plan? What was your retirement transition like? Any advice?
Check out my other retirement articles:
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