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.