Prepare for non-financial aspects of retirement.

By Barbara Bowes

I am sure there are many a baby boomers who remember having difficulty thinking about the word retirement during their earlier years. The word conjured up such a dull view of life, it was hard to think of putting money away for an event that was so far away.

Yet today, just as they did in their younger years, many baby boomers are literally counting the number of sleeps until their retirement date.

On the other hand, there is a group of folks who are quite confused about retirement and who are stewing about any and all aspects of this major life transition.

Why is the decision to retire so easy for some folks and so hard for others?

Frankly, I haven't seen any hard, factual research on this topic, so let me just give you my observations and opinion. Having met and worked with hundreds of individuals from shop-floor workers to farm families, professionals, mid-level managers, business owners and executives, the key difference I see is this: The conflicting thoughts about retirement are not about financial security for the most part; the anxiety and fearful thoughts are all about what to do with themselves when they are not working.

My experience suggests that people whose work includes more intellectual- and people-related pursuits such as reading, problem analysis and dealing with people rather than physical activity often have a harder time envisioning themselves in a retirement mode. Unless these individuals have hobbies such as sewing, cooking, gardening, golfing, curling and/or some other physical activity, they honestly don't know what they would do with their time. And this is frightening.

On the other hand, those individuals who engage in more physical work typically have hobbies and travel plans all lined up -- they can't wait to do something different. In addition, it might be suggested that those individuals who have trouble with making a decision to retire have their own personal self-concept too rigidly integrated with who they are at work. In other words, their personal identity is essentially their work. Their identity is their company or organization. Those individuals, who have more a technical bent combined with more physical activity, don't seem to have the same challenges in making a decision about leaving the workplace. Their identity seems to be held more closely to themselves rather than the organization.

No matter what, with the life expectancies of today, retirement represents a life stage of approximately 18-20 years, so it isn't something you can just let happen. There are definitely going to be life adjustments and you have to plan for it just as you planned for your career. So, where do you start?

Here are some guidelines to help you to objectively review a retirement decision:

Confirm your perceptions about aging and retirement -- What is your perception of retirement? If you have that old-fashioned negative attitude of being "put out to pasture" or "removed from the action" then think again. Today's retirees don't view aging and retirement as simply a time for rest and relaxation; they see it as an opportunity. They look positively on retirement as a time to try new things, engage in personal reinvention and renewal and finally having more time for a hobby they've always wanted.

Define your relationship between work and retirement -- No matter where you work or what your occupation, everyone has some sort of personal connection with work. The problem arises when your personal identity is too tied in with your work. Ask yourself, "who are you if you are not connected to work?" What will your identity be if you retire?