You’ve probably been preparing to retire for years. It requires a lot of preparation and anticipation. When that day finally comes, you’re probably looking forward to getting up a little later than usual and relaxing day after day. You’ve earned it!
Unfortunately, just because you retire doesn’t mean there aren’t things you need to do. Make sure you take time to relax, but you also need to make sure you do these things.
Get Your Insurance in Order
It’s extremely important to get your insurance in order. If you’re ahead of the game, you’ve probably already looked into Medicare. When you turn 65, you might also want to consider supplemental insurance if you worry about paying for medication or the care that comes with certain medical conditions.
You also have to consider car insurance. Senior drivers sometimes pay more for car insurance because they’re more likely to get in an accident, and medical costs associated with an accident are usually higher. However, if you drive a safe car or you modify your plan for low mileage driving, you could end up paying the same or less than you did before.
Don’t forget about life insurance! If you don’t have it already, you may want to consider getting it to help cover costs for your family when you pass.
Feel Confident in Your Finances
You’ve likely been planning for your retirement for decades by saving as much money as you can. Although you may have a plan in place, you never really know how it’s all going to work out until you actually start living on that money.
Keep track of your expenses after you retire and compare them to how much you receive each month. Don’t be afraid to make tweaks to your budget, if necessary.
Working with a financial planner can be very helpful. They can understand the details of your retirement accounts and provide you with suggestions to get the most out of your money.
Get Involved in the Community
After years and years of getting up and going to work every day, you probably want to take some time for yourself by sleeping in and relaxing on the couch. There’s nothing wrong with living at a slower pace after you retire, but eventually, you should find a way to get involved in your community. Getting involved will ensure you continue making friends and feel like a useful member of society.
Volunteering is a great way to get involved, but there are other ways to get involved in your community that include:
- Sign up for a class, like a cooking class
- Go to the gym and take a senior fitness class
- Apply for a part-time job
- Become a regular at a local shop
- Join a club, like a book club
Gather a Support Group
Loneliness is a huge issue for seniors. A whopping one in three seniors is lonely, and that’s often because they spend all their time at home and don’t reach out to friends and family. Even if you have let your relationships slide in the past because you were busy, you should reach out when you retire.
It’s important to have friends and family you can talk to. That might mean talking about serious topics and worries, but it doesn’t have to! Grabbing lunch with an old friend or going shopping with a sibling or a cousin are great ways to have a little fun and feel less lonely.
Don’t have a lot of friends or family? Make some new friends! Spend more time in the yard and get to know your neighbors or go to a local senior center and start playing card games with other seniors.
Do Something Fun!
Retirement is supposed to be fun! While you still have your health, you should take advantage of all the time you have on your hands and do something you’ve always wanted to do!
For many seniors, that means traveling. There are many things you can do to make travel affordable, and there are plenty of ways to make it safe now that you’re older too.
Always wished you could go to a morning movie during the week? Never been to your local museum? Now is the time to go!
When you retire, another door opens. Make sure you walk through that door with confidence by considering the last decades of your life very carefully. Plan your insurance, find ways to get involved in your community, and more.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
