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Retiring well questionnaire
Answer these questions to help you proactively plan for the quality of life you desire in retirement.
Some people spend a lot of time and effort saving for and planning for their financial well-being in retirement yet fail to consider other aspects of the quality of their lives. The following provides questions that can help you think about relationships and contribution, living comfortably, recreation, health and well-being. You can download a fillable Retiring well questionnaire | PDF or read through the content below and reflect on or record your answers.
Relationships and contribution
- List the people you most want included in your life after retirement.
- Beside each person’s name, write what you can contribute to their life, like laughter, a meal, help around the house and more. Also list what they can add to your life.
- List people you’d want to reconnect with when you have time. This can be childhood friends, current colleagues or distant family.
- Consider an expanded contribution to your family. What could you do for them that maybe you couldn’t offer while working? Perhaps it’s gardening, babysitting, traveling, cooking, visiting or renovating. You have skills to share that would benefit them.
- When you retire, you may both value and require the help of others you didn’t need before. Learning to express appreciation for this help is more likely to encourage people to continue. Different people respond to different expressions of gratitude. Think about the people closest to you. Offer or ask them which of the following approaches they’d most value:
- Gifts – money, homemade gifts, crafts, baking
- Favours - running errands, doing chores, providing care
- Attention – spending time talking and listening
- Praise – saying thank you for what they have done and how it made a difference to you
- Affection – hugging, holding hands, saying “I love you”
- List skills you acquired over the years and consider how you might contribute these to volunteering, caregiving, mentoring and other activities.
Living comfortably
- Consider the sustainability of your current living arrangements from several perspectives, like:
- Upkeep
- Financial demands
- Physical demands
- Access to transportation
- Proximity to family and friends
- Access to healthcare
- Apply well in advance if you’re considering moving to a retirement residence. Some have waiting lists of several years.
- In addition to providing a sense of purpose, you may wish to augment your income to live more comfortably. List skills you acquired over the years and consider how these might be applied to future part-time, casual or consulting work.
Recreation
- List activities you’d find enjoyable on your own. Maybe it’s playing solitaire, walking, traveling, having pets – there are lots of options.
- List activities you’d find enjoyable with others. Euchre, hiking and horseback riding are just a few suggestions.
- List activities you’d find mutually enjoyable with your significant other, like dancing, dining out, gardening or cycling.
Health and well-being
- Consider what daily routines you’d continue or start to maintain your physical health. When you don’t have to get up for work every day, maybe you’d like to take time for a healthy breakfast, personal hygiene, exercise and more to kick off your day.
- Consider what daily routines you’d continue or start to ensure your ongoing mental health. When you’re not rushing to get to work every day, there’s time to try activities like practicing gratitude, mindfulness, puzzles and yoga.
- Think about how you want to feel most mornings when you first awaken. Imagine how you want to feel when you open your eyes each morning. You may want to write down the list of emotions, like gratefulness, joy, excitement or serenity. You’re more likely to experience the emotions you desire when you’re aware of them.
- Think about how you want to feel most evenings when you’re ready to sleep. Imagine how you want to feel when you close your eyes each night. You could note what you’d like to feel – for example, satisfaction or peacefulness. You’re more likely to feel the way you want to when you’ve identified the specific emotions.
Share this with anyone who is anticipating retirement.