Written by: Caroline Tapken, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Retirement Planning for Expats is a specialised area that goes far beyond financial planning. There are considerations that stationary mortals would never need to engage in, yet when you Google ‘retirement planning’ it is all about the finances, and rarely about life!
You need to PLAN your future life! It will not plan itself!
Do you really want to spend the first couple of years trying to figure out who you are, what you are going to do, and where you want to do it? Or do you want to hit the ground running, with a plan in place and the motivation to make it work?
There is no such thing as a traditional retirement these days. Many expat retirees are younger than their non-mobile counterparts, thanks to the age limit of working visas in many countries. You will not be content with the allotment or sitting in the rocking chair watching the grandkids play.
Where should you start thinking about Life-in-Retirement? I have developed the Five Ps for Life-in-Retirement Planning, to get you started!
The Five Ps of Life-in-Retirement Planning
Passion
Your passion will need a review. It has probably always been your work, your family, the challenge of international life. What happens when that comes to an end? What excites you? What motivates you? What have you always longed to do, if only you had time? The time to ignite your passion is before you are counting the days to retirement! Invest time in a hobby, try out different things, find something that motivates and excites you. It is this passion that will have you looking forward to retirement with joy, rather than dreading the day.
Purpose
Who will you be when you no longer identify as an expat, an active participant in a mobile workforce of like-minded people? Without your title or position in life, how will you introduce yourself? Without a purpose in life, a reason to get up in the morning, the realisation that no one is relying on you any longer can hit you like a tonne of bricks. Your purpose may be linked to your passion, or something totally separate such as part-time work, setting up your own business or volunteering. The time to work this out is NOW.
Physical
When planning your retirement, you need to be realistic with your expectations of what can be done ‘at your age’. Regardless of how young you are when you retire! If your passion in life is to climb Mount Everest, then you’d better plan it well before – and tackle that first! Leaving it ‘until you’ve settled into retirement’ will probably not work so well.
A tiered plan to stay physically active is a great idea, starting off with the energetic adventures and gradually winding down to tending the allotment when that time comes – rather than starting to work on the allotment and thinking you can climb Mount Everest ‘later’!
People
What sort of people would you like to be surrounded by? Do you want to be close to family, old friends, or have the opportunity to create new friendship circles?
As an expat, your social life will revolve around your work, your children’s friends’ parents, and other expats. But what about in retirement? What happens when you stop being an expat and have to integrate into a community unaccustomed to a constantly mobile network of people? This question alone could determine whether you chose to live in a remove village, or a vibrant city! Careful advance planning and a deep dive into who you want to be around can throw up some interesting alternatives!
Pastures New
This is a particularly important consideration for expats who have spent most of their working life overseas, moving around the world. The sudden need to base yourself somewhere, without the support system offered by your work or other expats can be terrifyingly complex. You might be planning a new destination for retirement, or a ‘return home’; each comes with its own set of considerations and complexities. The decision to retire overseas can seem exciting, and logical at first, but fraught with challenges as you get older. Lonely too, if the family are far away. Have you really thought through all the ramifications of your decision to choose a particular destination to retire to?
This is just the start of the discussion! Life in Retirement does not simply reveal itself in a couple of tentative conversations. It deserves some serious consideration, particularly as you hope to have a good few decades to enjoy your new life and freedoms.
When was the last time you gave it some thought?
Caroline Tapken, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Caroline works with Expats and Repats to help them plan their future, so they can enjoy the retirement they deserve.
She is a seasoned expat herself, with 35+ years of living and working in the Caribbean, the USA, Asia and the Middle East, and a marketing & communications professional with a strong hospitality and travel background.
Caroline is Mum to two third-culture-kids (TCKs) and a rescue Basenji-Saluki mix. She recently returned to live in the UK and is Listener-in-Chief at Joy & Purpose Life Coach.
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