Lifestyle Planning in the Transition to Retirement.

Abstract

Background: There is a further need to examine the types of planning people do for their lives in retirement and to examine goals and challenges in relation to planning efforts.

Objectives: This report summarizes highlights from a study that examined retirement planning and explored personal retirement experiences.

Design: An online survey included quantitative and qualitative questions about retirement preparedness and satisfaction and open-ended questions about retirement goals, fears, challenges, and advice.

Participants: Canadians (n = 748) fully or partly retired responded to questions.

Results: Quantitative results determined that while both financial and lifestyle planning were significant predictors of higher perceived preparedness, only lifestyle planning was a significant predictor for perceived satisfaction. Qualitative comments highlighted the importance of goal-setting, including planning for meaningful time use and strategies to address anticipated or existing challenges.

Conclusions: Lifestyle planning is an essential component of planning for the transition to retirement.