Retirement: The future at stake

How do you imagine your life in 10 years? In 20 years? How will you be and what do you hope to achieve in your retirement? Are you preparing for the future?

Throughout life, it is wise to establish strategies to achieve what is intended over the years. One of the greatest cultural achievements of a people in their process of humanization is the aging of their population, which reflects an improvement in living conditions. According to the projections of the United Nations, the proportion of people aged 60 or more should triple, reaching 2 billion by 2050 worldwide. In most countries, the number of people over 80 years old must quadruple to almost 400 million.

With Europe in a rapid aging process, planning for retirement needs to become a habit for all of us. Having that attitude is important so, when the time comes, don`t be surprised by not having an answer to the question: And now?

Many times, fright is the first reaction. Did I prepare enough for that stage of my life? Did I save enough? How do I pay the bills? Did I take care of my health as I should? Have I listened to my emotional and psychological questions to deal with aging? Did I forged strong friendships that will accompany me in this stage? Do I have a family that I can count on?

Retirement is, in many cases, synonymous of isolation, loneliness and abandonment. And it is up to each one of us not to let that happen, this may not be an easy task since you have to combine different issues. It is important to understand that retirement does not have to be stressful and that the initial roller coaster of feelings will calm down with the passage of time.

In addition to the financial aspect, it is essential to accumulate a taste for life, worry about maintaining a good state of health, foster friendships, pursue ideals, and have curiosity and concerns that make us more entertained with our life at this stage. All these aspects are of vital importance as pointed out by different investigations.

A good way to prepare for these feelings is to acknowledge well in advance that retirement responses are individual, personal and complex. In this way, you can find the solutions in advance and avoid feeling upset or sad about retirement.

Emotional preparation for retirement is a way of thinking, and while there are several aspects to consider, here are some important questions you should ask to prepare yourself emotionally to the next stage of your life.

How will I fill up all the extra time I have now?

When you think in terms of a working week of more than 40 hours, plus the daily commute, prepare for work every day, suddenly you have a lot of time available during retirement. How do retirees prevent boredom? Experts warn that it is important to keep busy. Some find volunteering projects or charitable efforts to fill their time. Volunteer work can be very rewarding, and retribution will feel up the need to make a daily difference that helps you stay active and feel useful.

How will I maintain my lifestyle?

According to a report by Aviva and Deloitte, each Spaniard must save a measure of 7,700 euros per year to maintain their standard of living to avoid financial problems when they retire, in addition to estimating that around 25 million Spaniards will retire until 2057.

That is why it is not surprising that one of the most frequent questions that retired people ask themselves is: Do I have enough funds to retire or leave my working life so that they last forever without negatively affecting my lifestyle?

96% of Spaniards believe that the pension system is not sustainable in the long term, according to an Inverco survey, and that is why savings plans remain one of the most sought after options to safeguard the future. The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, recently appealed to that very thing: "From the public powers we must encourage savings to think in the long term. A saving with a prolonged time horizon, which serves as a complement to the public pension but also to other vital plans ".

Will I get used to the family routine?

This question is forgotten by many people who are approaching retirement. It is common to enter into a routine, and part of that routine is the time we spend away from family members. A major change in that time allocation is something to consider and worthy of being prepared in advance.

Keep in mind that, just as you adjusted to the time you were away from your family while you were at work, you will have to adjust to being with your family full time. Many people consider this transition to be positive, but adapting is a process that requires work and patience: "It requires a time of adaptation, which can range from six months to a year," says psychologist María Dolores Ortiz, who goes further saying that "it is a time of risks, but also of opportunities."