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Retirement Adjustment Stages

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adjusting to retirement

I get out of bed at 7:00 a.m. instead of 4:45 a.m.  Instead of driving 30 miles one way to work, I don’t go anywhere unless I want to.  I am home alone most days instead of in a public high school with 1500 people.  In the evenings, I can do whatever I want instead of grade papers or plan lessons.  I can even stay up late watching a movie. When I read the newspaper, I read for  personal information instead of cutting out relevant articles to instruct my business/marketing students.  I can see friends and family, go to the store or do housework when I want, instead of just on the weekends or during school holidays.  I have a sign in my home’s entryway which reads,

“I don’t want to.

I don’t have to.

You can’t make me.

I’m retired.”

Retirement is a different life.  A life I entered into June 1, 2015 and one I have had difficulty adjusting to.

In The Retirement Maze:  What You Should Know Before and After You Retire, the authors would say I am experiencing one of the “…four  phases that deal directly and specifically with retirement adjustment: 1.  The Honeymoon, 2. Disenchantment, 3.  Reorientation, 4.  Stability.”  One year after receiving a glass retirement clock from my employer, I believe I am living in the reorientation phase of retirement.

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Kiplinger’s Social Security Strategies

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Social Security Strategies if You’re Widowed

“A survivor benefit is worth up to 100% of a deceased spouse’s benefit.

You’re eligible for a survivor benefit based on your deceased spouse’s earnings. You can claim this benefit as early as age 60, or 50 if you’re totally disabled. The amount is based on your late spouse’s benefit when he or she died. If your spouse died before claiming Social Security, the benefit will be based on 100% of the amount due at your late spouse’s full retirement age.”

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Social Security Strategies if You’re DivorcedSocial Security strategies

“Meet certain criteria and you may qualify to claim a benefit off an ex-spouse’s earnings record.

…In order to claim either spousal or survivor benefits, you must have been married for at least 10 years and not be entitled to a higher benefit based on your own record. In addition, you must be at least 62 and unmarried.”

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Social Security Strategies if You’re Single

“There are steps singles can take to boost their benefits.

…Single retirees who never married don’t need to concern themselves with survivor benefits — benefits will end when they do. That gives single beneficiaries a less compelling reason to postpone claiming benefits after full retirement age, says Marc Kiner, co-founder of Premier Social Security Consulting in Sharonville, Ohio.”

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Social Security Strategies for Married Couples

“Spouses can boost their benefits by coordinating the timing of their claims.

Married beneficiaries can claim benefits based on their own earnings record or choose to receive up to 50% of the amount for which their spouse is eligible at full retirement age.”

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All four of these articles are by Sandra Block, from Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, January 2015.