5 Things To Plan Before Retirement

Disclaimer: This is a partnered post. At some point, everyone will get to an age where they will retire from working. In those twilight years, people can do all kinds of fun things they seldom had the time to do when working for a living.

But, aside from staying fit and healthy, one thing that some folks forget to do is plan their retirement. As you can imagine, retiring without some plan means you might end up leading a less-than-comfortable financial retirement.

The last thing you want to do is worry about the things you could have put into place well before your retirement. With that in mind, take a look at these five things to plan before you retire:

1. Travel Fund

The first thing you’re likely to do when you retire is to take some time to explore the world. However, you can’t do anything fun like that without a sizable travel fund in place. With that in mind, now’s the time to start putting some cash aside for the purpose.

When you start saving money, you should consider where you wish to travel and how you’re planning to do so.

Work out likely costs for flights or cruises, accommodation, vehicle rental, and, of course, spending money. You’ll then have a rough idea of how much to save. 

2. Downsize Your Family Home

When your family has grown up, moved out, and perhaps started families of their own, you’ll inevitably wish to live in a smaller, more manageable home. Before you can downsize, your existing home will need to sell first to fund your new one.

Of course, if you’ve still got a mortgage on your property when you retire, you won’t have as much money available to spend on your new abode.

Therefore, it makes sense to be mortgage-free by the time you reach retirement age.

3. Funeral Arrangements 

No-one likes to think about death, yet it’s sadly a significant part of every life cycle on the planet. The thing about funerals is they cost thousands of pounds, even for a basic burial or cremation.

One important thing to do well before your retirement age is to pre-pay your funeral. Virtually all family funeral directors allow you to pre-pay for your funeral arrangements, either upfront or as part of a ‘funeral plan.’

4. Life Insurance 

You can buy life insurance at any age, but if you purchase it nearer to your retirement age, the premiums you pay will inevitably get higher.

Life insurance allows you to provide a comfortable financial future for your spouse and loved ones. It’s possible to have several policies, such as one through your employer and another you privately arrange.

5. Health Insurance 

Lastly, one thing you should seriously consider taking out is health insurance. Yes, it does mean you’ll have an extra expense to pay each month.

But, it enables you to get treatment for various medical issues urgently.

Sometimes, NHS waiting lists can be several months long.

As you can appreciate, it’s not really a viable option if you have to live in pain for a long time when you could get surgery in a matter of days, for example.