Welcome to the third age! Gone are the days of working until you drop. Now that we’re healthier and living longer, there’s more time for you to enjoy your golden years in retirement doing what you love most, or taking on new adventures that you didn’t have time for previously.
Forget your 20/30s personal growth period, it’s now the third age where you can really enjoy getting to know your interests, and being truly and unapologetically yourself, free from external pressures.
What is the ‘third age’?
The third age, also known as the “golden years” of adulthood, or the age of fulfilment, is defined as the period of active retirement.
It’s when you have the most time and energy to life live to the fullest, focusing on what matters to you.
After all:
We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing – George Bernard Shaw
It’s time to focus on you
Living the retirement dream
What does retirement look like for you? You’ve worked hard to get to where you are today, so retirement is your window of opportunity to play hard, exploring a new type of freedom. This can look very different to different people. For some, the retirement dream might be taking on a renovation project, going travelling, or volunteering.
And, it’s not to say that you need to stop work if you don’t want to.
Retirement now looks completely different from what it was for previous generations. For mental stimulation and social engagement reasons, many people lengthen the transition between the traditional 9-5 workday and full retirement. Rest Less, a digital community for over 50s, predict that workers aged 65+ will likely be responsible for at least 50% of all UK employment growth in the next ten years. So, retirement doesn’t mean hanging up your boots completely.
Set yourself goals
The key to getting what you want out of life is to set yourself goals, and this shouldn’t stop at retirement. Now that you have more time on your hands, you can focus on those previously unattainable goals. Say you’ve always wanted to go travelling for months at a time, but you couldn’t do it whilst working, well, now’s your time.
It’s often the case that people fear they’ll lose their sense of identity or purpose once they retire, and it can be incredibly daunting, but this is also what’s so exciting about the third age; the endless possibilities and opportunities.
Here are a few key questions you should ask yourself when setting personal goals for retirement.
Make sure you have enough
Many people in retirement don’t have such a sense of security and financial wellbeing, either because they’re concerned they won’t have enough in the later stages of life, or that they’ll leave too little behind. Yet, with less responsibility should come more freedom, so the last thing you want is money worries holding you back.
That’s where good financial planning comes in.
The job of a financial planner is to take these concerns away, giving you the confidence that your finances are in safe hands, setting you free to enjoy retirement to the fullest. And beyond the structuring of your finances, financial planning also has significant emotional benefits that all help keep your peace of mind.
How to make the most of your retirement
Here are some examples of retirement goals that our clients have set for themselves:
- Get/keep fit – walking, cycling, running, yoga
- Help children get onto the property ladder
- Spend as much time as possible with grandchildren
- Be an active part of the community
- Buy a camper van and spend several months a year travelling in it
- Move out into the countryside
- Build a studio for painting
- Meet up with friends more
- Continue studying and learning
For more inspiration, you can take a look at our previous blog on ten big ideas for your retirement. And if you’re in the Nottingham or Derby area, here are some hidden gems that you can add to your list of fun days out now you’ve got the time.
Ultimately, your retirement is what you make of it. Just know we’re here to take care of your financial affairs so that your golden years in the third age can be even more enjoyable, leaving you feeling truly fulfilled.
Remember, there are no expectations, just the ones you set for yourself. So, enjoy the freedom, and keep your goals in sight.
If you’re already retired or planning to retire soon, then you won’t want to miss our recent webinar with the brilliant financial planner, Tina Winter.
And if you would like to discuss your retirement plans or an existing financial plan, then please get in touch with us and speak to one of our financial planners.
