Why Plan For Retirement

WHY ATTEND A RETIREMENT PLANNING COURSE The idea of retirement can take some getting used to. It’s a time when all major points in our life will change – our daily routine, our financial means, our role, status and identity are all affected. Preparing ourselves, understanding the time ahead and taking control are all key parts of the planning process.

Prepare Yourself Retirement can be a time of great upheaval – not just financially but emotionally, psychologically and physically. Stopping to plan for retirement helps us really start to think about the time ahead. It allows us to consider all the various aspects of our lives and the way that retirement will impact them. Once we are familiar with the changes that may lie ahead, then we are in a position to begin preparing for how we might handle any personal adjustment that needs to be made.

Understand your new life stage Retirement is the next stage in our lives and just like during other life stages it is important to have a clear idea about the direction we would like to take. Planning for retirement helps to ease the move from one life stage to the next. It lets us think about what will best suit our own individual situation and personality and helps us decide what we would like to achieve from our time ahead.

Take responsibility for your own time Often retirement can be longer than the time we have spent in the workplace. One major difference, however, is that our time is now our own and what we do with it is entirely up to us. To make the most of our time, it helps to give ourselves some focus by setting out clear milestones and personal goals. This provides a structure against which we can measure our success and achievements; it helps provide a focus for us and plays a vital role in preserving our feelings of self-worth.

Gain reassurance It’s not unusual for us to feel somewhat uncertain about our retirement. Taking the time to plan helps us to consider the opportunities that await and to believe that retirement can be a time of great adventure. Undertaking a group course, in particular, can provide great comfort as we realise that others are facing similar worries and are feeling the same way. Planning together to address these concerns goes a long way to eliminating them altogether.

It’s good sense and good practice Research has shown that those who plan for retirement live longer and are more content than those who do not. Our experience over the past four decades of helping people to plan for the changes retirement brings is such that we are certain a planned retirement is a more enjoyable and fulfilled retirement.

OUR COURSES Delivered by our team of experts, our courses help people understand what to expect from retirement and how best to begin preparing for the time ahead. Courses are professionally designed to be enjoyable, engaging and relevant. We deliver a range of group and one-to-one courses held in centres nationwide: Two-Day Open Course One-to-One Executive Course In-House Pre-Retirement Course Mid-Career Financial Course Career Transition Course We strongly recommend that spouses / partners attend the pre-retirement courses since they will also be affected by the changes that take place.

COURSE CONTENT Our professional courses address the lifestyle changes and financial implications of retirement. A typical course programme will cover the following key topics:

Identity Change:

How identity will change in retirement; how best to cope with those changes.

Health Diet & Exercise:

Looking after the food we eat, the nutrition we need and the importance of keeping active as we grow older.

Managing our Money:

Financial management, understanding investment options and how to manage lump sums.

Understanding Personal Taxation:

Taking charge of our own tax affairs in retirement.

Social Welfare:

How social welfare works and understanding our state pension entitlements.

Relationships:

The impact of retirement on relationships and the importance of human interaction and relationships.

Time management:

Managing our newfound spare time. Thinking about our hobbies and interests and planning structure and routine.

Personal Checklist:

Thinking about things like wills, safety and security and organising our general personal affairs.

WHO WE ARE Established in 1974, the Retirement Planning Council is a not-for-profit organisation. We remain wholly independent with a voluntary board of directors. We have worked with over 3,000 companies throughout Ireland and have almost 200 corporate members comprising private organisations, semi-state bodies and public sector. We are the leading provider of support, information and guidance to people planning for retirement. Having worked with organisations and individuals across Ireland for 40 years, we offer practical courses and seminars that talk through the financial and lifestyle changes retirement can bring. We help people prepare for the time ahead. Through our resource centre in Dublin we provide on-going lifetime support to all who participate in our courses and to the businesses with whom we work.

For further information please contact us Retirement Planning Council Pinebrook House, 72 – 74 Harcourt Street, Dublin 2.

Ph: 01 478 9471 Fax: 01 475 8565 Web: www.rpc.ie Email: [email protected]