One of the scariest things when approaching retirement is not knowing if you are indeed ready for it. Sometimes, even the most secured senior can have doubts months before the actual retirement day which is only understandable considering the very unpredictable nature of the economy today. Yes, apparently, the financial side of retiring plays a much larger role than one could ever imagine!
Financial stability is important. Without it, you can never fully retire. Recession, for one, was able to kill many “almost perfect” retirement plans. Some of my senior friends who are scheduled to retire, sadly, have to delay their plans and now foreseeing 5-10 more working years. These are responsible, hardworking people, mind you, and did a great job securing their retirement but as the economy has it, no one is ever secure these days.
..and there are those who are just plain paranoid about retiring. To tell you the truth, anyone can retire at any age. My nephew declared retirement at the age of 30 and have never regretted his decision. He just went on and left the rat race to those who are willing to do it, packed his bags and settled somewhere far, building his own farm from scratch. I envy him, for I don’t have a heart as brave as his but what I am trying to say is that with the right frame of mind, peaceful retirement is possible, with or without enough money on your pocket.
However, here are some signs to know if you’re ready for retirement:
·    Assess your nest egg. Calculate your supposedly daily or monthly allowance by subtracting your age to ninety (as this is the average life span of a healthy senior) then dividing your nest egg to the number of retired years. Don’t forget to set aside an ample amount to cover your health needs. This will determine if you still need to maintain a part time job during your retirement years.
·    You are finally debt free! As much as possible, never enter retirement while you still have debts to pay for. Your nest egg can never make it ‘til ninety if this is your case.
·    You are flexible enough to divert your allocated allowances to other important things. I know that retirement involves travel allowances but sometimes in a senior’s life, you may need to cut back on “leisurely” activities to make way for more important things like your health.
·    You know where your priorities lie. Your priority now should be yourself and your nest egg should be spent on your terms and needs, not anyone’s.
·    Your health coverage is fully functional.  There should be no problem when the time comes you need to use them.