The closer you get to retirement, the more excited about that milestone you might become. But also, you may find yourself growing increasingly anxious. And it's perfectly normal to experience both emotions at the same time.
There are a few key financial moves it's important to make if you're nearing retirement. First, assess your savings. But that doesn't just mean see how much money you have in your IRA or 401(k) plan.
Image source: Getty Images.
Rather, you should figure out what withdrawal rate you're comfortable with and see what annual or monthly income that gives you based on how much money you have in your retirement account. You may decide to use the famous 4% rule, or another withdrawal rate that works for you.
Another key thing to do ahead of retirement is figure out when you'll claim Social Security, and how much your monthly checks will amount to based on your filing age. Keep in mind that you won't get your complete monthly benefit without a reduction until you reach full retirement age, which is 67 if you were born in any year after 1959.
Once you have a sense of your monthly or annual retirement income, you'll need to total up your expenses and make sure the numbers align. Add up your housing costs, transportation, healthcare expenses like Medicare premiums, and more to figure out what you expect to spend while factoring in one-off expenses like home repairs and trips.
After going through these exercises, you'll hopefully feel more confident kicking off your retirement from a financial standpoint. But there's one non-financial exercise you can't overlook.
Think about what a typical day in retirement might look like
You may find it hard to envision retirement until you actually leave your job for good. And if you work a lot of hours and have a busy schedule, you may be looking forward to a slower pace of life.
Some retirees, however, end up getting bored pretty easily in the absence of having a job. And boredom could easily morph into more serious mental health concerns.
That's why it's important to picture a typical day in retirement before you actually resign from your job for good. What time will you rise in the morning? When will you eat your meals? And what exactly are you going to do in between? It's important to have a sense of how your routine might look so you can see if you're happy with it.
Better yet, if you're able to take some time off from work, spend a week actually living your expected retirement routine. That could give you an idea as to whether you'll be happy with a less structured and possibly very open schedule, or whether you're likely to get bored pretty quickly.
If you start to realize that you won't have enough to do in retirement, you'll have two choices at that point. You can either extend your career until you figure it out, or start looking into other things to do with your days before you find yourself with too many hours to fill.
Of course, working longer may not be optimal. But say you run through your anticipated retirement routine and find that you need more activities to be satisfied with it. Working an extra year could put more savings in your pocket, giving you the financial leeway to pay for more entertainment.
And if money isn't a concern per se but you're not sure you'll have enough to do in retirement, you can start researching options like volunteer organizations in your area, adult education classes, and community programs. A combination of these activities may be enough to fill those gaps in your schedule.
Make sure you're fully prepared
Most people know to make certain financial moves ahead of retirement. But it's also important to make sure you'll be content with your new routine. And the only way to get a sense of that is to actually think carefully about what your days will look like in practice.
