Special Report first published in 
The final countdown: Are you really ready to wrap up your practice?
Jill O’Donnell and Ronnie Rusk
Retirement means different things to different people. Whether it’s a new career, going back to school, volunteering or taking up a new hobby all depends on who you are.
As an advisor, you have spent a career focusing on your clients’ financial well-being and making sure they had adequate money for their retirement years. But now it’s time for you to retire and there are a number of issues beyond a financial plan that need to be considered as you wind down your career. Are you really ready?
How will you spend your time?
Frank, a Toronto-based advisor, always dreamed of owning a bed and breakfast in his retirement. He and his wife spent endless hours discussing this dream and when they saw an advertisement in the paper for an established B&B in Niagara-on-the-Lake, they decided it was time to pursue it.
As soon as they saw the property, they were smitten. The price was right and the location was perfect, so Frank and his wife Hazel put in an offer that was accepted.
Since Frank still had his practice in the city, he began to refer his clients over to other advisors in order to eventually work full-time at the B&B. In the meantime, Hazel moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake to operate the business. Frank stayed in the city winding down his business Monday to Friday and drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake to work weekends with Hazel, as they were fully booked all summer.
Neither Frank nor Hazel anticipated the amount of effort required to make the operation work. Hazel was a great homemaker but she was not a business person. Frank spent every weekend paying bills and balancing the books and had little time to enjoy life with Hazel.
By the end of the summer, they decided the hospitality business wasn’t for them. But had they spent more time researching and investigating before jumping into this new venture, it might have turned out differently.
Whether it’s a new business or going back to school, deciding how to spend your time once you’ve retired requires serious due diligence and personal reflection to ensure it is a good fit for you. One of the most important aspects of this process is knowing yourself.
Who are you?
To help guide you through this process, ask yourself the following questions:
- Who am I and what is important to me?
- What are my personal values and what motivates me?
- What makes me feel most secure or challenged?
- With whom do I feel most loved or esteemed?
- Where have I experienced my greatest sense of belonging?
- When do I feel most valued for who I am?
- In what situations was I most able to use my talents or pursue my greatest interests in a satisfying way?
Try to find your own niche. Put in writing what is most important to you; where you find fulfillment, what you want to avoid and what you hope for. Collect information. It’s not just the cost and financial resources that matter; it’s the people you associate with, the environment you surround yourself with and the access to key resources that give you a start in planning your retirement.
Think ahead about the possible effects of aging. Selling your house to buy a hobby farm where you think the extra capital can increase your nest egg and allow you to rent the land out for supplemental income sounds like a great idea. But even keeping a few animals can be a lot of work. Will your body and mind be able to cope with the stress and strain of managing such an operation?
Age changes happen. Decreased energy — physical and mental — impacts everyone at some point in life. We all think, “It won’t happen to me.” But in case it does, have you thought about how you will handle those changes?
Location, location, location...
A study at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario determined that the three most important things to older adults are:
- Closeness to a cardiac unit.
- Closeness to public transportation.
- Closeness to higher learning.
The idea of being close to a cardiac or other specialty unit is very real. By-pass surgery is commonplace today and if you are stricken with a heart attack, you will need to be near a well-equipped emergency room.
Your automobile is a great form of transportation but you should have alternate forms of transportation available for visiting friends, attending appointments and to do basic shopping.
Being close to an institution of higher learning not only gives you the option of taking courses, it also increases the likelihood of ongoing arts, sports and cultural events.
Today’s dreams, tomorrow’s destiny
Considering what is most important to you in life can help you gain insights that will lead to wise decisions. If you have always dreamed of moving to the country upon retirement, maybe you need to consider why. Is it the notion of going “back to nature” or ofjust getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city?
What have you always wanted to do? What are your dreams? Customize your financial resources to help you balance and incorporate the non-financial components, such as age, health, energy, family commitments and personal desires. Investigate and research all options before you act because the most important thing to do when considering retirement is to plan ahead. Find out what suits you best and make it happen.
Jill O’Donnell, RiM, BA is the founder of Iris Consulting for Seniors, a private eldercare consulting service and co-author of the recent best selling book The Canadian Retirement Guide. Ronnie Rusk, BA, Cert. Gerontology is an associate at Iris Consulting for Seniors.
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