Getting Psyched To Retire

摘要

Will you be hiking the Himalayas? Learning to sculpt? Volunteering at the local food bank? Working part-time as a consultant? The more specific your plans, the easier it will be to gauge just how much money you'll need and how enjoyable your retirement years will be. "People spend more time planning a vacation than planning retirement," says John Nelson, who is creating retirement education materials for federal employees that focus on three areas of preparation: finances, health, and happiness. Nelson and others are designing programs to help pre-retirees find ways to replace the intangible benefits they get from work. Experts say many people retire only to discover that work provided key sources of psychological fulfillment, such as status or a sense of purpose, that aren't easy to replicate. "Many struggle when they retire," says Lisa Severy, director of career services at the University of Colorado. "A lot of our identity and sense of purpose are tied up in work. The big question is: 'How are we going to continue to engage the world when we stop working?'"