In this edition of our retirement podcast our guest is Ted Carr, a thoughtful and interesting blogger and podcaster on early retirement who we enjoy following. People often think of retirement as a single phase of life, but Ted describes how there are 6 distinct phases of retirement. He shares his personal experiences with the different phases after he retired early from a career in Silicon Valley. You’ll come away with an appreciation of why your retirement strategies should take the different phases into account if you want to retire smarter.

One of the big questions people face in retirement is where should I retire to? And that decision is often not a ‘one and done’ type of call as needs, and priorities change over the life course. Ted discusses the decision that he and his wife recently made to move to a retirement community and the key factors that led to their decision. Our conversation shifts to the importance of community in retirement and the risks of isolation.

Follow Ted Carr:

Twitter

Website

Check out his new podcast:

FIREwalkers

 

Wise Quotes:

On Retirement as a Stressful Life Event

“So, I think back to the time before I retired - the pre-retirement stage. What I found is that it's really, really essential that you have a detailed retirement plan and that it includes not only a financial plan, but also the non-financial side of retirement. And as we've alluded to already, the adjustment to retirement can be difficult. Now there's something that I've come across, I'm sure you've heard of it too. It's called the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. And on that stress scale, retirement comes in as the 10th most stressful event on that scale. Now, if that wasn't stressful enough, the other stressors that are on the top 10, shall we say, can occur at the same time as retirement - which only exacerbates the challenges around adjusting to retirement - and some of those things where you have divorce, separation, illness, loss of jobs.”

 

On Planning to Move in Retirement

“So, us being inveterate planners said, well, you know, we need to be intentional about our future old age. And so, we looked at some of these options and after looking at the CCRC model, we decided that that probably wasn't for us....And we're not near that age and the entering cost of buying into a CCRC is very expensive. And so, we just said there's other options that are coming down the road. Maybe we should take a timeout from thinking that way and look at something different. So my wife, who's extremely social, came up with the idea to look into a 55 plus community because her feeling, and I concur, is that where we live today, there's really not a sense of belonging. Like I say, she just doesn't feel that she's made enough friends over the course of nine years and she doesn't want to see the next nine to 10 years be equally as frustrating. So, we started looking at 55 plus communities.”

 

Resources Mentioned on this Retirement Podcast Episode:

The Holmes & Rahe Stress Inventory

What’s Your Retirement Personality Type?   By Dave Hughes - US News & World Report

 

Related Retirement Podcast Episodes:

Are You Ready to Follow Your Own Path in Retirement? – Bob Lowry

The Unique Challenges Men & Women Face in Retirement – Thelma Reese

 

Ready to Apply Some Wisdom to Your Retirement Planning?

Get our 13-page Free Workbook with insights and reflective questions on your next chapter.