There is a conversation I've had many times over the years.
Someone comes to see me approaching retirement. We look at their pensions, savings and investments. We talk about what they spend, what they want from retirement and whether the numbers work.
Eventually, we get to the point where financially things look fine.
And then comes the sentence:
“I know the figures work. I just don't feel ready.”
I find that fascinating.
Because we tend to talk about retirement as though it is predominantly a financial event.
Build up enough money.
Reach a particular age.
Finish work.
Start enjoying retirement.
But human beings don't work quite as neatly as spreadsheets do.
Think about what work has provided for perhaps thirty or forty years.
Yes, it has provided an income.
But it may also have provided structure, routine, friendships, responsibility, status and a sense that people need you.
Then one day we're supposed to hand in our laptop, uniform, keys or security pass and effortlessly become “retired”.
For some people, that feels wonderful.
For others, it can feel surprisingly unsettling.
And quite often it is a mixture of both.
You can be excited about no longer setting an alarm and simultaneously worry about what you're going to do on a Tuesday afternoon.
You can look forward to freedom while wondering whether you'll miss being needed.
You can know your retirement income is sustainable and still feel uncomfortable spending money when a salary is no longer arriving every month.
None of those feelings appear on a pension statement.
But they matter.
I've become increasingly convinced that retirement doesn't begin on your final day at work.
It often begins much earlier.
Perhaps it's when a colleague retires.
Maybe it's a significant birthday.
A health scare.
A difficult period at work.
Or simply the moment you catch yourself thinking:
“Do I really want to be doing this for another five years?”
Nothing may have changed financially.
But something has changed emotionally.
Retirement has moved from being something that will happen one day to something you can actually imagine happening to you.
And that can bring excitement, doubt, fear and even guilt.
Sometimes all in the same week.
When I wrote Retirement: It's Personal, I wanted to make the point that a successful retirement isn't just about money.
Money matters enormously.
But so do your emotions and the life you're hoping that money will allow you to live.
Since writing it, I've wanted to explore those individual areas much more deeply.
And that's what I've been working on.
My next book is called:
Retirement: It's Emotional
The emotional journey before, during and after retirement.
It looks at what can happen emotionally before retirement becomes real, during the transition itself and in the years afterwards.
The doubts.
The fear.
The excitement and guilt.
Identity after work.
That strange first quiet week.
The retirement “honeymoon” — and the dip that can sometimes follow it.
Anxiety when the monthly wage stops.
Relationships when suddenly you're spending far more time together.
And ultimately, how retirement gradually begins to feel like your normal life rather than something you've just started.
This isn't a book about telling people they should retire.
And it isn't about telling everyone that retirement is wonderful.
It's about something much simpler.
Understanding what you may feel when one of the biggest transitions of your life actually happens.
Because perhaps being ready for retirement isn't about eliminating every doubt.
Perhaps it's about understanding why the doubts are there in the first place.
Retirement: It's Emotional will be available soon.
I'll be sharing more about it over the next few weeks.