The number one question that every advisor hears from a client is when will they be able to retire? A number of factors will play into that timeline, but even if you are in a financial position to retire comfortably financially, are you actually ready to do that?

Everyone is different and we hear a wide range of answers, but typically you can group people into three categories. The first is someone who wants to retire as soon as they possibly can. The second is the person that will retire around that traditional age of 65. And then there’s the group that will delay retiring for different reasons.

So how do we determine the answer to that all-important question of when are you ready?

When we meet with clients for the first time, we work to get a better understanding of their retirement goals and needs, and that includes determining when they want to retire and what it will take to ensure they have the confidence they need to make that transition.

If we asked you when you’ll be ready to retire, do you know how you’d answer?

For that first group of people that wanted to retire yesterday, they’ll have a unique set of items they’ll need to sort through. How will you cover health insurance until Medicare kicks in? What about income while you wait for Social Security? And most importantly, do you have enough money saved? This is just the beginning of the conversation you should be having with an advisor to keep you from ever having to go back to work if that’s not something you want to do.

Now let’s talk about the people that have reached their ‘retirement age’ but don’t want to retire. There could be many reasons for this, good and bad. We’ve found that it could be a defense mechanism because they feel that they can’t retire for financial reasons. But they might also just love their career and have a passion for working and aren’t ready to walk away from that. And then there’s the person that is in a position to retire but lacks the confidence to do so because of a lack of planning.

Wherever you fall, it’s important that you build a plan that provides you with your ideal lifestyle. A customized retirement plan will do just that for you and your family so that when that big day comes, you’ll know for certain that you’re in the strongest position possible.