RETIREMENT FROM WHAT?

If you are like my husband and I, you are continually seeing articles about how babyboomers are going to impact our economy, health care and even the "appearance" of retirement. I too believe that the sheer numbers of babyboomers will have a significant role in the future of retirement and retirement planning. However, I don't believe the doomsayers and their dire predictions of that role. I see that this influx of babyboomers will strengthen and enhance the view of retirement. I have always believed in the "safety in numbers" theory and I think that this is an example of same.

Successful retirement has never been simply a one size fits all picture. We are all unique individuals with our own personal needs and wants. The successful retirement requires each of us to be involved in our own future and to develop our own personal retirement plan, not the one that someone else has for us. Advice is always helpful, especially when it comes to the financial and estate planning. But I urge you to take all advice and make sure that it fits both you needs and wants; not what someone else thinks that you should do.

If you are already retired, we would love to hear your story. Did you retire early? Did you recareer to support your retirement? Did you move to a different community? Your story might be the tip or hint to help someone else move from not retired to retired. Let's start a collection of retirement stories.

If you are not retired but are exploring what you need to be doing, I would encourage you to take a look at an Early Retirement Book which might help you design Your Own Retirement Plan. Check this out: http://www.babyboomersandretirement.com/

RETIRED AND READY TO:________________(Fill in the blank, it's your life.)

HOW LOSING YOUR JOB CAN AFFECT YOUR RETIREMENT.

My husband and I know personally how your retirement can be affected by losing your job. Both he and others we know lost their jobs of many years because of a variety of reasons. Most of which had to do with down-sizing, budgetary cuts and change in management. Regardless of the reason, losing a job not only affects one's retirement but current lifestyle and self esteem. We will deal with those issues at a later time, but wanted to share the following article with you.
I know, just what you need, one more thing to think about in your quest for a successful retirement. But these are the things that everyone must think about when they are designing their retirement plans.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-yourmoney-1001journey,1,7896842.story?coll=chi -business-hed

PLAN NOW -- RETIRE EARLY!

WOMEN BABYBOOMERS AND RETIREMENT

Even though my husband and I retired together, I am constantly reminded of how many women are heading into retirement as a single woman. I personally know several women who are single and are babyboomers or already retired. I have a best friend whose husband died unexpectedly at the age of 56. She herself is still in her early fifties and still working a full-time job. I know that we never know what life holds in store for us; but I also know that there is a chance that she shall enter her retirement as a single woman. I feel a need to try to reach out to this demographic and try to bring articles of interest to them. I will also bring to their attention websites of interest.

I found this article about women and retirement that I would like to share with our blog readers.

A recent national survey of employed adults commissioned by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies revealed that many women are not as prepared as they should be for retirement. Women are lagging in total savings, averaging nearly $51,000 less than men. They are also underestimating how much they need to save for a comfortable retirement, with estimates nearly $300,000 less than those given by men. The survey, however, found promising opportunities for women that might be easily overlooked but can significantly improve their chances for a more secure retirement. To read the rest of the article, please go to this link: http://www.dentalplans.com/Dental-Health-Articles/Six-Retirement-Tips-Every-Woman-Should- Know.asp

I would love to have any women who are babyboomers and/or in retirement to add comments about the value of this article. I will follow up with more articles and websites of interest

Retired and Ready to: (Your choice).

WHAT DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT RETIREMENT?

One of the things that I have enjoyed since we started this blog about early retirement is doing the research on baby boomers and retired people and those who "want to retire". Just when I think that I won't find something new, I come across the information that you will find when you go to the link provided at the end of this post. It is interesting to see how much of the media is jumping onto the babyboomer bandwagon. To me this is a good thing. The more we discuss the issues, concerns and worries and the joys of retirement; the more we will be able to find the solutions to the questions we have. Also it will mean that consumer marketing might better reflect the fact that we are not all alike, whether we are baby boomers who haven't really thought about retirement all the way to already retired and wondering how we can sustain the lifestyle of the retired.

I ask you to go to the following link from an MSNBC Special they are doing on Baby Boomers and take the quiz. You might be surprised at either how much you DO or DON't know about retirement.

Once you take the quiz, please leave a comment or two about what you thought.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13089081/

PLAN NOW -- RETIRE EARLY!

RETIREMENT STUDY

From the time that my husband and I started even thinking about retirement and also in our work with aging programs for so many years we have seen so many "studies" about retirement.

I, myself, started to get skeptical about all of the surveys. But after we retired and started to think about how we could help people who were interested in retirement and especially early retirement and with the baby boomers; I started paying more attention to them. This is one study/survey that I found interesting and thought that some of you might as well. You must keep in mind that any time that you read one of these you need to remember that they are usually conducted with a specific purpose in mind. But, also keep in mind that the people being interviewed don't know what that specific purpose is.

As always, we are very interested in what any of you who read these posts on our blog think about the information that we include. Any comments are welome. Heres to a happy, healthy and hearty retirement for us all!

seniors : US: New Merrill Lynch Retirement Study [TheMatureMarket.com]

Retired and Ready!