When speaking to a number of retirement age clients over the years, one thing I have noticed is how unprepared those people feel when they reach the final stages of their working life.

A big fear for most people at this point is purely financial. Understandably, retirement brings about a whole new set of challenges and running short of money during this stage is perhaps the biggest one yet.

Retirement should be the best time of your life, but if you’re always worrying about how you’ll make it through, it could, unfortunately, turn out to be a most horrifying experience.

Tackle Your Potential Retirement Issues Head on Beforehand

By addressing such issues well before you eventually retire, you allow yourself to tackle them head-on at a time when you have the time and indeed money to do so. All retirement plans need to take account of a reasonable timeline, the cost of living and potential health care needs.

There are two simple but important concepts which should be considered first when planning for imminent retirement. Here’s what you could do well with by focusing on right now:

How your spending may change after retirement: Most people find their expenses reduce drastically when they retire as they find themselves spending less. This can be significantly helped by getting your home into order now, paying off any outstanding debts and working out what expenses may await you when you do retire.

Whether your savings and pensions will accommodate your retirement: If you are relying on savings to get you through your retirement phase, have you done a calculation of what you will need to get you through this time, year by year? Alternatively, if you have a pension in place, will its total figure be enough to see you through your retirement adequately?