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Discovering the Golden Years |
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This is the first sunrise of the New Millennium.
Gathering Other ViewsThere is quite a bit to think about when you retire, see the
discussion under “Retirement Decisions” for examples. And there are many
alternate approaches and philosophies to be considered. Perhaps you
remember the experience of your parents, aunts and uncles or close friends.
Ask them for their advice. They must naturally share a common background
and culture and their opinions will be very relevant to your circumstance.
Friends at work are also a good source of information because they share a
common employer and they may have insights into the details of your company
pension plan, health care options and possible reimbursements for unused
annual and sick leave. In some companies there is a best time of the year
to retire that results from some of these circumstances. These payments if
they are large can distort you income for year they are paid in. This would
be especially true if you took a lump sum payment of your retirement
savings. Another possible source of information is to choose someone
who you think seems to have had a very “successful retirement” and ask them
if they will share their secrets. I
think it is human nature to be flattered by such a request and I suspect
you will find that people respond very positively. With all the people that
you talk to be sure to ask them if they have any recommended sources of
information. They may have a favorite book, web site or person that will be
of help to you. Also if they know you personally ask them to advise you on
what they might guess you will have the most trouble with and ask them also
for advice on what kind of activities they think you would find gratifying
and enjoyable. Books are another good source of information and there are
many books of retirement. If you do a search on Amazon.com you can find out
which books are the most popular those might be the books that will be the
most helpful to you also. Amazon also now has the ability to allow you to
read book reviews and to read a few pages of each book so you can get an
impression which book(s) might most interest you. The same advice goes for
web pages. The way that Google works the pages with the most citations have
the highest ratings so it is automatically gives you a prioritized list.
You can also search for special topics such as “retirement financing” or
“retirement relocation”. In addition to generalized retirement help sites
there are of course the specific sites such as Social Security, Medicare,
and Pension web sites. And finally let us know what you learn from your research and
from your personal experience. Give us the benefit of your new knowledge;
write an essay or better yet several essays and send them to the
GoldenWatch at the email address below. |
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