For many, the idea of winding down employment and transitioning into retirement – the Third Age in life – is both appealing and daunting.

The appealing side: No more 9-5, no commuting, no more meetings, emails, or circling back later.  And for many who have been in their respective industries for decades, no more having to endlessly adapt to regulatory belt-tightening.

Now the daunting: What will you fill your day with?  Do you know how you will spend your time, and with whom?  And paramount on most people’s minds – do you have enough money to last?

Retirement is getting longer and longer.  Once fairly short, life expectancy post-retirement has increased over the past century and many retirees have decades of retirement instead of a few short years.  It truly is the Third Age and can last a lot longer than you might think to plan for.

Far from the “20-year vacation” that you see bandied about, retirement is a time when you need to stay active, motivated and engaged.  If you don’t use it (intellect and body both), you risk losing it.

It’s easy to get grand ideas about what you’re going to do in retirement.  But once it arrives, you’ll likely find the transition from full-time work to full-time ‘leisure’ challenging.  It’s easy to become listless and negative if you don’t have something, or several things, to work on and look forward to.

When you’re planning your retirement, don’t just think about the monetary side.  It’s important, yes, but you also need to think about how you will spend your time.  Try splitting things into three categories:

1. Things you can do by yourself: While you don’t want to spend too much time by yourself, it’s always worth carving out some “me” time among your other activities.  These may be little things like walks, art, puzzles, or even gardening.

2. Things you can do with your partner: While you both should plan to have your own interests and social outlets, it’s also nice to have things you can do or enjoy together.  These might be a sport, a hobby, or something as simple as wandering down to the local café for a standing coffee date.

3. Things you can do with friends or other social groups: A key to balance outside of you and your partner’s bubble are social outlets beyond your household.  This is where golfing with your buddies can come back in if you’re so inclined… in balance with your other pursuits.

You should plan your activities to offer a balance of challenge, relaxation and overall satisfaction.  Not everything has to be grand or complicated but pushing yourself a little bit every so often will do you good when it comes to keeping sharp as you age.

And when it comes to planning activities with your spouse or partner, remember that you likely have never spent all day, every day with them – and if that changes suddenly in retirement, you will both likely find it overwhelming.

On top of staying engaged, we need to stay active.  Movement is medicine, and even gentle movement can help us stay limber for longer.  Plus, the endorphins from exercise are good for our mental health.

Have you heard the phrase, “Go touch grass”? Going outside, being in the sun, and breathing that fresh air really does help in many ways.  Move and stretch as much as you can even pre-retirement and you’ll notice the difference.

Eventually we will reach a point where we do need to scale back on physical outlets. Injury and illness can come to us all.  Even more difficult than not being able to do something is the loss of control this represents, which goes against our very human need to believe we are in control of our own lives.  But the more we do, the longer we can put much of this off.

Like the seasons, transitions in life roll through whether we are prepared or not – and they don’t stop just because we’re retired.  There’s a whole lot more life (and life events) to happen.

As a financial adviser, I can’t offer much in the way of marriage counselling or health advice for anyone planning their dotage.  What I can speak to is the monetary considerations we touched on earlier.

In terms of how much you should save to reach retirement well prepared, this number is different for everyone.  To work it out you need to determine:

1. How much you may be earning in retirement (for example, casual work or forecast investment returns).

2. Be realistic about your total household expenses, including lifestyle allowances. For example, many rural residents may not fully appreciate the cost of living in town after spending their working lives on a rural property.  Consider areas where you could reduce costs in retirement, such as paying off debts while you're still earning or downsizing from a large family home to a more suitable space for you and your spouse.

3. The time your nest egg will need to cover.  As we’re all living longer, you should add a buffer to this and extend it.  Better safe than trying to conjure up plan B once your funds are gone…

My main message to anyone about planning retirement would be this: We cannot predict what will happen in life, much like we cannot predict what will happen with the financial markets.  What we can do in either case is create a plan that will allow for the worst and aim to capture the best.

If you’re looking for hobbies to take up in retirement, try linking up with local groups or consider learning a skill you’ve always wanted to have.  If you’re looking for unbiased advice and a financial plan that takes your unique situation and goals into consideration, sit down for a face-to-face chat with your trusted local financial adviser.

·         Nick Stewart (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāti Waitaha) is a Financial Adviser and CEO at Stewart Group, a Hawke's Bay-based CEFEX & BCorp certified financial planning and advisory firm. Stewart Group provides personal fiduciary services, Wealth Management, Risk Insurance & KiwiSaver scheme solutions. Article no. 370.

·         The information provided, or any opinions expressed in this article, are of a general nature only and should not be construed or relied on as a recommendation to invest in a financial product or class of financial products. You should seek financial advice specific to your circumstances from a Financial Adviser before making any financial decisions. A disclosure statement can be obtained free of charge by calling 0800 878 961 or visit our website, www.stewartgroup.co.nz