Most Common Retirement Myths
Working hard, expanding the family, helping children follow their dreams, and starting a new peaceful chapter after retirement is most people’s dream!
For many of us, retiring is a chance to live our life the way we want to, without any work pressure, overthinking, challenges, and time limits.
But the news is, things might not be that simple! Not being a part of the workforce and managing your life as a retiree could be challenging and stressful in a completely different way. So it’s essential to be prepared for it.
- How’s my life going to be after retirement?
- Can I afford the costs of living?
- What if I had to spend all of my savings?
- Is it even a good time to retire, or should I keep working?
These questions come to people whose retirement clock is ticking! And they can cause nothing but anxiety and overthink.
To avoid these stressful feelings, you need to make a good plan for your retirement, considering the possible financial crises, future medical conditions, the lifestyle you prefer to have after retiring, and ways of saving money after retirement. But creating comprehensive retirement plans is not possible until you get all of the information about the pensions, different healthcare insurances, the security plans offered by the government, etc.
The Most Common Retirement Myths: How to Not Fall for Them
Another thing that can help you with the challenging mission of retirement is to use others’ experiences. Sometimes it’s not enough to see who is doing better. It’s also necessary to find out who made mistakes, learn from them, and never repeat those mistakes.
Anyway, in the following paragraphs, you’ll read about the five common retirement myths some people unfortunately follow. You can do whatever you want after retirement, but remember to avoid living by these myths if you don’t want to end up desperate and bankrupt!
Myth No.1: You Don’t Need to Spend a Lot During Retirement
So many people think they will spend less, save more and pay fewer taxes; guess what?! It’s not going to happen! Even if the children have moved out and your health condition is perfect, you must not underestimate the possible expenses. You may want to start travelling and visit different places or start new hobbies, learn new skills or visit your family from time to time. These activities need more effort and money than one can imagine. Besides that, you should always have savings in case of any medical emergencies.
And we cannot forget about the taxes!
There’s no guarantee that the tax rates will remain the same in the following years. They may increase by the government in the future, and we can’t guess how much.
Myth No.2: Nothing Can Change the Arranged Time of Your Retirement
Generally, you can retire as soon as you become 65 and receive CPP plus OAS. Although, some prefer to remain a part of the workforce and keep the privileges. No law forbids you from working after 65. Unless! a severe health issue causes mental and physical damage and disabilities. You may find this hard to imagine, but many people have to retire way earlier because of health issues.
No one can predict the future, but it’s always better to prepare ourselves for the worst-case scenarios. Being skeptical is not good, but being cautious never hurts.
Myth No.3: You Don’t Need to Rush Saving for Retirement
While you’re still young and busy being productive at work, you may barely think about retirement and saving for it. Most people start to save for retirement after paying off all their mortgages and paying for their kids’ college. In other words, the saving process won’t get started before 50 in most cases.
Well, the fact is, we can barely afford to save that late! Due to the economy and medical care advancements, the average human life expectancy is longer than before. Hence, people nowadays live longer, which means they may live many long years as a retiree even after putting an end to their careers. This little fact means that you shouldn’t lose even a single day and start to save money for those long years as soon as possible!
Myth No.4: You Can Say Goodbye to Being Productive After Retiring
Some people tend to think that retirement equals full-time leisure. Well, the short answer is a quick no! We need to make the most out of the golden years of retirement,and sitting around is not what we need.
There is a common misconception that you don’t have to work after retirement. This wrong belief leads many people to feel bored and unproductive a few years after retirement. Suppose you’re healthy and not dealing with any severe medical conditions.
In that case, it is ideal to work part-time and have a source of income. Moreover, working helps you reach satisfaction from being productive once more. Besides its financial advantages, working in part-time jobs also improves your mental health and lowers the risk of anxiety and depression. So what are you waiting for? Use online job search websites to find the perfect post-retirement profession and fill a portion of your free time to combat boredom.
Myth No.5: There Is No Rule for Spending Your Savings in Retirement
There are two types of behaviours when it comes to spending money in retirement: overspending and underspending.
Both can ruin your life in different ways. Overspending your income and savings will most likely lead to bankruptcy and destroys your financial security.
On the other hand, the fear of running out causes nothing but underspending. Being too strict with spending your money might steal your happiness and ruin the golden years of retirement. Moderation is the key. Consult a professional accountant to make a reasonable and comprehensive financial plan for life after retirement.
Conclusion
We all spend some of the most incredible years of our life working hard to secure our family and future financially. So we deserve happiness and peace of mind to enjoy retirement.
In this unique chapter, we can choose a different lifestyle and experience new things. What makes us successful in achieving this dream is having a plan and preparing for what might come after retirement.
One of the most critical elements that will guarantee our success in planning is to lower the risk of failure by not mistaking the most common retirement myths for reality.
Do you know anyone who faced an unforeseen issue during their retirement? What is the most dangerous retirement myth in your idea? Please share your thoughts in the comment section!
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