Health Is More Important Than Money In Determining When You Should Retire

Financial planners are fond of saying that you are ready to retire when your retirement savings balance is such that four percent of it will cover your expenses for a year.  Anyone who has seen the price of a dozen eggs since the omicron wave subsided knows that most of us will never reach this financial goal, even if we adhere to a very modest lifestyle.  The rest of us are preparing for retirement by spending down our modest assets in an effort to qualify for Medicaid nursing home care in the event that we need it.  No matter when we retire, we will not be able to spend lavishly.  Glitzy golden years were never our goal, however; true wealth is not in your bank account but in the health of your body and your personal relationships.  Should you retire sooner, to enjoy your good health, or would doing so be counterproductive?  There is no mathematical formula to determine the ideal age for retirement.  An Orlando estate planning lawyer can help you build your plans for retirement, even if you are of modest means.

Does Staying in the Workforce Keep You Healthy?

Professions that have a mandatory retirement age are the exception, rather than the rule.  Some people take the attitude that work is for chumps and that the true goal is to spend as many years on earth as possible in which you are not beholden to job-related commitments.  If you can find a way to make ends meet with your Social Security check, your retirement pension, if any, and annuities or some other source of fixed income, then this path could be for you.  If you own your home free and clear or live in a rent-controlled apartment, then early retirement is feasible.

How healthy is all that rest and relaxation, though?  Studies in several countries have shown that seniors in the workforce are physically and mentally healthier than their retired counterparts.  These findings apply even if you do not include those retirees who left the workforce because they were no longer healthy enough to work.  In other words, retiring early so that you can enjoy more years of good health can backfire.

You Can Plan for Retirement, but Sometimes Life Has Other Plans

If you already have a chronic illness, you should be realistic about it when planning for retirement.  If you are healthy, though, you should make a best-case scenario plan and several backup plans.  Health is too unpredictable for you to assume that you will enjoy a long, healthy retirement or that you will still be capable of working at age 70.

Contact Gierach and Gierach About Making Plans That Are Subject to Change

An estate planning lawyer can help you prepare for a long retirement or a long career as a healthy senior with a job that is too much fun to quit.  Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

nytimes.com/2023/04/03/well/live/retirement-age-health.html