I retired as editor of this publication a year ago, and although I miss the writers and editors I worked with for many years — and the pleasures (and challenges) of communicating with readers — I was ready to hang up my editing spurs. I worked a year longer than I’d planned. Working an extra year or two is good advice if you have any doubts about how prepared you are for retirement, either financially or psychologically.
My extra year gave me more time to top off my 401(k) and fine-tune my financial plan. Plus, by the time I retired, I was just past my full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security benefits. My wife, Allyson, will continue working at least another five years, which is a major benefit financially and a mixed blessing personally (more on that below).
With one year of retirement under my belt, I’ve learned a few things, with a couple of outright surprises. Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Be a smarter, better informed investor. Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail. Ask for help I had the chops to come up with a pretty good retirement financial plan, especially with access to smart colleagues. But Allyson’s eyes would glaze over when I “mansplained” about our finances, so we shopped for a planner to referee.
About five year.