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Five Questions from Retirement Reformation


In his book, Retirement Reformation, Bruce Bruinsma, poses a number of crucial questions to consider for retirement planning purposes. Here are some of them to think through. 

  • What are you going to do?  Potentially you will have 10, 20, or even 30 years of retirement. Will you design a new lifestyle, establish a new routine, set new goals? 
  • Where are you going to do it?  Many retirees downsize.  Others move closer to family. Some move to a retirement community. Some sell everything and travel in an RV or move to Mexico.
  • Who are you going to do it with? You need other people in your life. The author maintains that "As we grow older, our world shrinks. Friends die, move away or become incapacitated.  Expanding our community, not shrinking it, is a priority for aging."
  • How are you going to finance it? The author notes that "Surveys show that 75% of people in retirement age are anxious about money.  Some are anxious about not having enough.  Others are driven crazy by trying to manage and balance multiple streams of income."
  • What is most important to me in retirement?  "Retirement has given you freedom from many things.  What is retirement giving you the freedom to do, and how will you do it?  

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