Do you find yourself anxious about retirement instead of excited? This is a common problem that many people face as they start to approach the end of their careers. While retirement can be an incredible chapter in your life, it can also be daunting, because it is such a big change and many tend to worry about money. So, what can you do to alleviate retirement anxiety so that you can look forward to this period of your life?

Visualise your retirement

Retirement can be a source of worry for some people, as they may not know how to fill their newfound free time. It can be helpful to spend some time thinking about what you want to do before retiring so that you can make plans and make the most of your time.

Some individuals may choose to travel the world, while others may prefer to spend more time with loved ones. Regardless of your retirement goals, taking the time to visualise and plan for them is a beneficial idea.

Get Your Finances in Order

As alluded to in the intro, it is often money that causes people the most anxiety in retirement. From having a healthy stream of income to none at all can be daunting. It can be easy to ignore, but the best thing that you can do is to go through all your finances and work out exactly what you have to work with.

Spend some time looking at your monthly outgoings, such as bills and food shopping, as well as any money you may need for hobbies or holidays. Then take a look at what retirement funds you will have;  if you find that it will not be enough to fund the type of lifestyle that you want to lead, you could look into an equity release mortgage as a way to free up funds. This is a common strategy used by people in retirement whether it is for home improvements, travel or simply to improve their standard of living in retirement. 

Prepare for ups and downs

Retirement brings with it an enormous amount of change and this inevitably means that there will be both ups and downs. Sometimes, you will wake up and feel like the world is your oyster, but other days you may feel lost and disconnected from society. It is very natural to experience a wide range of emotions throughout this period, so make sure that you have people to talk to if it becomes a problem.

Keeping yourself busy and active can be a great way to distract yourself if you are feeling down. So, if you wake up feeling lost, the best thing you can do is occupy yourself, whether that be going for a walk, meeting up with friends and family, or attending a class or group you are interested in. 

Redefine yourself

Following this, retirement is a great opportunity to redefine yourself. It can be easy to feel lost after giving up work, but this is a time when you can find new passions in life. For example, you could try new hobbies, spend more time with loved ones or start volunteering.

Strengthen your social network

Growing your social network is a great way to prevent feelings of loneliness during retirement. Why not join a new group, such as a book club, a golfing group or an art class? This can be a great way to make new friends with like-minded people and grow your social network. Furthermore, it keeps you busy and ensures you are socialising weekly. If groups and classes aren’t your things, try reaching out to old friends and having a catch-up or organising seeing your family and spending some quality time with your children and grandchildren. 

Talk to people

You should never bottle up any worries that you have about retirement, as this can lead to over-worrying and stress. Instead, you should speak to your loved ones if you have any concerns and lean on people for support if you need it while you adapt to this new chapter. There is also plenty of advice online, or in-person support groups that you can attend if you need additional support. 

Hopefully, the information in this post will help to lower any retirement anxiety that you may be feeling and help you to make the most out of this new chapter of your life.

Adam Mulligan, a psychology graduate from the University of Hertfordshire, has a keen interest in the fields of mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.