Most folks think stress-causing situations mostly stem from problems in the workplace. Besides work, they also think finances or family issues or health problems cause a lot of stress. While it is true that these situations can all be stressful, another circumstance that can lead to stress is retirement. Yep, retirement is up near the top of the list of stressful situations.

For those who haven’t done it yet, retirement is that big shiny pot of gold at the end of the 9 to 5 rainbow. Retiring will solve all your problems and you’ll relax with umbrella drinks on a beach somewhere. In reality, retirement for most is quite different.

Retiring from a long life of working is a huge lifestyle change, however good, and any lifestyle changes can be stressful until you’ve adjusted. Stopping your work routine means you are stopping the daily routines you’ve followed for years. You may feel a little lost until you’ve established some new routines.

Another area that changes with retirement is that of your social support system. No longer are you chatting around the water cooler with your co-workers, trading stories and sympathy for each other’s problems. Once retired, these social ties are gone. Before retiring is a good time to build and cement relationships with those outside the job who will be there once you retire.

After you leave your job you do have freedom to do what you want, but with this new-found freedom you also have big decisions to make… should you downsize your home, move to another state, buy a vacation home in a sunny locale, sell all and travel fulltime in an RV, or try a retirement community? Big decisions like these can be stressful for anyone.
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The Baby Boomer generation is on the move… this time from rags to riches to rags. How in earth did we get there? Fact: Many Baby Boomers solely counted on retirement accounts to fund their golden years. In the last quarter those same retirement accounts dropped 50% of their value. What is left? Working longer or taking a new approach and working smarter.

The Baby Boomer generation is finding challenges that they never thought they would and are going from rags to riches to rags again.

Retirement accounts over half full last quarter – Great! Recently Boomer Retirement accounts have lost 50% of their value this quarter – Now what do we do!

Whew! How did I get there… let me bring you up to speed. This generation is becoming one of the fastest growing segments of our population which will put a tremendous strain on Social Security and any retirement system. At the height of retirement there will be fewer workers contributing to those programs then the actual number of Boomers drawing from it.

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