Matt's money: Preparing for retirement isn’t just financial

Retirement” (notice the quotes there) can have different meanings for different people.

For some, it will be a time to spend more time with family, travel. golf, fish, hunt, shop, garden, or take up a hobby.

However, for some, it isn’t that easy to adjust to not working.

How do I know? In the last10 years, I’ve had almost 40 percent of my clients retire. Some (not all) miss working. They miss the engagement, the socialization of the workplace, and a sense of purpose they are now having to redefine. Let me share some statistics about “retirement” that might surprise you.

1. Every day between now and the end of the 2020s, another 10,000 baby boomers are expected to turn 65. That’s roughly one person every eight seconds.

2. In 2018, people aged 65 and older accounted for 15 percent of the population in the U.S. By 2060, they are expected to represent more than one in four Americans.

3. Ernest Ackerman was the first person to receive a Social Security benefit. In March 1937, the Cleveland streetcar motorman received a one-time, lump-sum payment of 17 cents. Ackerman worked one day under Social Security. He earned $5 for the day and paid a nickel in payroll taxes. His lump-sum payout was equal to 3.5 percent of his wages.

4. 67 percent of retirees say they’re confident about having enough money to live comfortably throughout their retirement years.

5. People aged 65 and older account for 34 percent of all prescription medication use and 30 percent of all over-the-counter medication use. Nearly nine of 10 adults aged 65 years and older say they have taken at least one prescription drug in the last 30 days.

6. 59 percent percent of retirees were dependent upon on Social Security as a major source of their income. The average monthly Social Security benefit at the beginning of 2019 was $1,461.

7. In 1980, there were 32,000 centenarians (age 100 or more). Today, there are more than 86,248 and 79 percent of them are women.

8. The average person age 65-and-over spends four hours per day watching TV.

These stats and trends point to what you already know and have already heard a lot lately: The 65-and-older age group will continue to grow and yield far more influence than in the past.

You may have no problem with finding things to do. That’s great. As I said earlier, I do know many people who were surprised by how emotionally unprepared they were to not be working anymore – even though most were financially prepared. Why?

Work was their hobby. So, many of them never developed hobbies because work was their hobby. When that ended, it was a bit of a shock. What about you? If you’re not sure what you’ll do once you retire, maybe you shouldn’t. Personally, I love what I do. I can’t imagine retiring – at least any time soon.
Securities offered through Royal Alliance Associates, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC. Advisory services offered through Matt Montgomery, a Registered Investment Advisor not affiliated with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., 1504 E. Rusk St., Jacksonville, (903) 586-3494, * An Index is a portfolio of specific securities (common examples are S&P, DJIA, NASDAQ), the performance of which is used as a benchmark in judging the relative performance of certain asset classes. Indexes are un-managed portfolios and investors cannot invest directly in an index. Past performance is not indicative of future results.