Bouncing off the walls is a bad retirement plan - opinion

• Published date: 07 January 2021
• Author: AARON KATSMAN
• Date: 07 January 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

In addition to that call, I have had multiple Zoom's recently which were all about clients in their late 50s and early 60s reviewing their finances to make sure they are on track for a financially secure retirement. Throw in the fact that in our family this is birthday season, and aging has been on my mind. My father, who should be well, is about to turn 91, and my sons are turning 12 and the big 18. Oh, and my dear wife who will soon be celebrating her 29th birthday once again.

For many, retirement is the culmination of decades of hard work and a new beginning of a life of leisure. Though as a financial advisor my main job is to help individuals fund their retirement, I have found that more and more the job entails getting them to start planning and thinking about how they want to spend their time when they no longer need to punch a clock. With much longer life expectancy, we no longer work until we drop. You'd better think long and hard before you retire, on how you plan to fill up 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for what could easily be 20-30 years!

Not like on TV

A few years ago I wrote, "Earlier this week, my seven-year-old wasn't feeling well, and it was my turn to stay up with her. At around 3 a.m. there was a show on TV about a retired couple from somewhere in the UK looking to buy a vacation property on some sunny island. They were going on and on about how they just want to relax in the sun for their retirement. My blood pressure started to rise and I told my seven-year-old that I bet they'd go stir-crazy after about two or three months, and that their dream of retiring in the sun will turn out to be somewhat of a nightmare. She looked at me and was clearly wondering why I was getting so upset and talking to myself out loud, because it was clear she had no idea of what I was talking about!"

When questioning potential retirees about their future plans, the most common answer I get is "We are going to travel." That usually means a couple of trips a year (in non-corona times) for maybe two to three weeks at a time. That comes to one or two months. So I then ask what they plan on doing the rest of the time and I am usually met with a "deer in headlights" kind of look.

Burnout

"The White Coat Investor" Jim Dahle writes about how he recently did a retirement practice run, and spent six weeks straight traveling in the US. He...