Action plan for Retirement

Following up on the retirement planning requires focus and perseverance. A step by step action plan will help keep you on track. Developing new income sources after retirement may mean getting out of the comfort zone. New skills may be needed. After training, building a base of experience will take time. This could be the case with current employer as well.

The process could be very stressful and discouraging. The temptation may be to give up.

However, by building and following an action plan with expected timeframes and possible continguencies, you can adequately explore new directions and then make adjustments. What you find out will help you to decide whether to continue down the chosen path.

The assumption is that an additional income source is necessary. The top priority is to determine work options that will work best. Money making ideas are easy to list, but not always easy to carry out. The three possible options mentioned for possible action plans are:

1). Working for current employer.
2). Finding another part time job.
3). Building an online business.

Some people may think it best to withhold retirement intensions for as long as possible. If your direction is fairly clear and the Gap Analysis looks favorable, this may be ok. In most cases, it is prudent to give your employer enough time to adjust and respond.

Your plan needs to be pursued with enough time to determine if it is workable. You also need to leave time for training in case job responsibilities change. This is not something that can be left for the last week.

For purposes of illustration, assume that Option 1 is the top alternative. The plan could look like this:

Project plan for action items
Start End

Description Date Date Status People involved

Parttime with current employer

Discuss needs with family xx/xx/xxxx xx/xx/xxxx

Desired work hours?

Salary needed?

Review and modify

Inform Boss and explore

Specific timing

What are possibilities?

Review and modify

Build new job description

Specify training

Determine work relationships

Get agreement

Define training

Take training

Try expected work tasks

Review and modify

This is an action plan. Now the work starts. It will take courage to carry the plan out!!

The next employment option is finding a job with a different company. This may not be so easy. Retired employees are not usually the first priority for hiring companies.

This will make it harder to get retirement options hurdled. If I can stay within my field, employers may be more receptive. For many retirees, however, the desire is to do something new and refreshing. This will take significant time and effort. And the learning curve will be steep.

Here is a list of steps that should be considered:

Make a list of types of work that would be of interest.
Do research on what qualifications are required and what the nature of the work is.
Contact companies that may have needs in these areas.
Take initiative to get training.
Begin active job search.

This process should start as far in advance of retirement as possible. Even if employment with current company looks good, you will probably want to develop a backup plan.

At any rate, the effort to work through this option is not trivial. The more attention given to this early will make the transition easier and more seemless. Build an action plan similiar to Option 1.

It is easy to procrastinate and not get started. Reaching into the unknown can be scary. This could keep me from carrying out the action plan. If the plan is laid out adequately and there is commitment, you have the satisfaction and confidence that each option will be thoroughly tested.

Having the time to investigate new areas is very time consuming.The problem is that the current job and family responsibilities take most of the available time and energy. Exploring new job possibilities could require extensive research.

As you proceed, keep in mind the end goals. It is good to be honest with yourself. "Is this something I really want to do or am I just grasping for anything that will meet the need financially".

The above discussion addresses some of the issues pertaining to income and employment. On the expense side, considering money saving ideas can be just as challenging. The desires and needs of each family member will need to be taken into account.

This will take patience and understanding. There needs to be significant family discussion. There are unknowns that will need to be researched and then more discussion.

The following steps are helpful in overcoming the hurdles of getting ready for retirement:

Frequently review action plan. Make sure that direction being undertaken aligns with with spouse and loved ones that will be impacted.
Review progress against the plan. Are the new directions workable and meet the needs.
Brainstorm new options that may have come to light.
Make sure that preparation time is not adversely affecting the family.
Adjust current schedule to accommodate this new effort.
Don't be afraid of the unknown. Push forward to uncover issues.
Evaluate results together.

There are practical steps to actively follow through on action plans. The above steps will help you to keep moving through the process.

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