Recently my father-in-law retired after many years with the same employer and it got me thinking a little bit about plans for retirement. Not mine, though, I’m still a good 25-plus years away from that stage of my life.
Retirement can be a fun time for you, but there can also be some unknowns to go with that. Are you really ready for retirement and the slower pace of life? Are all your finances lined up? How about a succession plan for the business you are running, or a plan for someone to fill your role when you’re gone?
Those are just some of the questions that come to mind when one starts thinking about retirement. Let’s tackle a few of those questions.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PLAN
The first order of business if you are even thinking about retirement is what do you want it to look like? Do you want to fully retire or do you want to still keep one foot in the industry somehow?
If you think you’ll get too bored sitting on your recliner in retirement and want to stay involved in the business or industry, there are many ways you can do that. You could join an industry-related association and be involved that way. Another option is to explore opportunities to drop down to part-time work at the job you are at and ease into full-on retirement slowly. A third option is to retire, but offer to be available to help fill in as needed, if you’re able to.
There is no right or wrong way to go. Each of those options — and there are many more out there too — come with advantages and disadvantages that you’ll have to explore on your own. Every person is going to be different and want different goals in retirement.
Take time and talk to your co-workers, your supervisor, a spouse or anybody that will listen to bounce ideas off of them. Talking to them might drive you in one direction or the other.
PLAN YOUR EXIT STRATEGY
Now that you have an idea of what you want to do in your retirement, or how you want it to look, it’s now time to plan your exit from your job.
This can be a stressful time for not only yourself, but also your employer or your staff if you are in a leadership position. There are some simple steps you can take to ensure its not as stressful:
Start training, as early as possible, someone that will take on your position when you leave.
Start preparing a manual, of sorts, that a replacement can follow of tasks you had to do and how you did them. It can include maintenance schedules that you handled, software programs you used, anything that could be of help — and less phone calls for you later.
Give them advance notice. You should always try and give your employer, or staff, plenty of notice of your retirement. Two weeks prior won’t cut it. Make it a few months out or even a year before. The more time for them to plan, the better.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED
Are you already in your retirement years or currently working on it? What tips or suggestions would you have for others to make it easier on the transition? Email me at editor@digdifferent.com. I would love to hear your suggestions.
Enjoy this issue!
