You’ve done a great job of working throughout your entire life and now it’s time for retirement. Just because you are retiring doesn’t mean you have to go it alone. Even if you have a spouse, there are still others that can play a significant role in helping you plan for your retirement…your adult children. They are a great resource of knowledge and abilities you should take advantage of and use to your fullest advantage as you enter retirement.
You’ve worked hard your whole life and are just starting to plan how you’ll spend your time during retirement. You may be surprised that your adult children are interested in being involved in helping you make the transition, according to an article from Next Avenue titled “How Your Adult Children Can Help You Plan for Retirement.”
While there are many ways your adult children can be of help to you, here are three ways your kids can help you if you allow them to and encourage them to participate.
- Talk about your hopes and dreams for retirement
You may have spent much of the last three or four decades listening to your kids express their wishes. Now it’s time for you to share your dreams and wishes with them for the last few decades ahead of you. Let your children know what you’d like to do and be as clear and specific as you can. The more they know the more they may be able to help you.
For example, with one family the discussion centered on what the parents specifically wanted to do when they finally retired. It included such items as when the parents wanted to retire, where they wanted to live during retirement, and how they envisioned spending their time. Questions such as what would add value to their life and what would take value away from it are good starting points. Would you choose to live in the same area as your adult children so you could be part of their lives and their children’s lives? Or would you want to retire somewhere in a different part of the country to be near other retirees?
The topic of grandchildren is a frequent discussion. Do you want to be a regular part of their day-to-day activities or are a few visits a year for holidays enough for you? These are the types of dreams and wishes that should be discussed as you plan for retirement.
- Can your adult children be part of your plans?
Many retirees chose to make being of service to others a large part of their retirement. Having your adult kids or grandchildren involved in the same organization as you, albeit on a different level, might make everyone’s life more fulfilling.
Regardless of what you want to do or how much you want them to be a part of your life, remember that communication is the key to making everything happen much easier. Communication with adult children is sometimes a challenge. Remember that you have to keep up your part of the dialogue and go out of your way to communicate these wishes and desires to your children…they can’t read your mind. If your kids are more comfortable with texts than with long phone calls, be flexible.
- Have the real talk about estate planning and caregiving.
Allowing your grown children to be involved with estate planning and discussing caregiving plans for later in life can allay a lot of general fears about aging and eventually death. It’s not the most fun conversation you’ll ever have. However, having these conversations now will make your later years more comfortable and less stressful for all.
Where do you want to live if you can’t live on your own? Do you want your children to take care of you or would you rather be in a care facility? Such questions around end of life care and disability care are important to have while you are healthy and active. This is where you can get much clearer thinking and make much wiser decisions.
Finally, if you haven’t already had an estate plan created that includes your will, powers of attorney and medical directive, among other documents, meet with an estate planning attorney to put them in place. Consider bringing your children to the appointment so they know what your plans and wishes are, both during retirement and after you have passed. When you get them involved early, you will have much stronger plans and much more peace of mind.