Planning for the 4 Phases of Retirement: Middle-Retirement

of this series, we looked at the pre-retirement phase. In part 2, we looked at the period of biggest adjustment, the early retirement years. Once you’ve settled into your retirement, the adjustments settle down somewhat as well. You know the mental challenges and have probably put them behind you. And you’ve probably come to some sort of retirement rhythm. But there are still some things to consider.

Middle retirement

By now, you’re in your 70s and are very likely to have begun collecting Social Security benefits. What’s more, even if you’re still working by age 70.5, you’ll have started to take required minimum distributions from your retirement savings. Depending on how long you’ve been retired and how healthy you are, your travel itch may have subsided some as well. Here are some things to think about.

Key considerations:

· Make sure your insurance needs are keeping up with you. At this stage of life, you’ll no longer need term life insurance, for example, and there’s a much greater chance you’ll be invested in some sort of annuity for income. Do semi-annual reviews to make sure your insurance holdings match up to your needs.

· Make sure your will and estate plan are updated. Being in middle retirement doesn’t mean death is imminent, of course, but it does mean making sure you have an updated will and a plan in place should you become incapacitated.

· Live a little. On second thought, live a lot. Earlier in your retirement, you may have been concerned about possibly outliving your income, and perhaps rightfully so. But now that you’ve updated your budget and can better envision how much money you have remaining, loosen the reins a little. Take that extra trip to see the grandkids. Buy that new equipment for your recently discovered hobby.