A client was telling me about her retirement plans at our last meeting and mentioned that she wasn’t sure her husband would ever retire. He can stay connected with work even if they travel through his computer. This couple’s approach to retirement (one partner working and one not working) presents some retirement challenges.
Mary Lloyd of University Place, Washington is a local author who addresses the topic of “the important people” in her book “Super-Charged Retirement.” I like Mary’s book in general and I think she addresses the topic of relationships in retirement very well. She writes, “Simply put, you want more time with the people who energize you by their presence. You want less time with the toxic crowed – the people who drag you down with their whining and woe.”
Mary covers issues about parents, kids, grandchildren and, as she calls it, “the biggie”—your primary relationship with your spouse or life partner. As Mary points out, retirement has the potential to radically change your primary relationship and to enjoy retirement you need to “Think about it carefully and talk about what you both need and feel.”
Mary provides handy exercises in her book for various parts of retirement planning. One of the better exercises called “pinch points” gives the reader a way to start thinking about retirement relationships by asking the reader to rate statements like “My spouse/partner is awesome” and “My favorite times are with my spouse/partner.”
For more information, check out Mary’s website Mining Silver LLC.
Comments
Thanks for mentioning Supercharged Retirement, Steve. Even better, thanks for encouraging those who are serious about the financial piece to take it that important step further and look at the rest of what's involved in retiring. Relationships are a huge piece of getting it right but it's really easy to assume they will "just happen." Then, too late, you realize there was work to do!
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