Written by: Caroline Tapken, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Retirement planning from an Expat perspective is fraught with complications. those who never left home cannot understand the additional considerations and perspectives to be examined. Nor can they understand the challenges you face when you return home after years of living overseas, but that is the subject for future articles! In this article, I look at 10 key questions to ask yourself – and if you have clear answers to these, you are well on your way to a happy retirement. If there is any doubt, then your planning is not quite ready, and maybe we should talk about that!
How many of these 10 questions have you addressed, discussed with your partner and/or family, and answered to your satisfaction?
1. Where do you REALLY want to live?
The location has a huge impact on your health and wellbeing. WHERE do you settle, after a life on the road, on planes, and working in lands far and near? Have you chosen this destination for the right reasons?
As Expats, we don’t simply stop working and stay in the same house, surrounded by lifelong friends and relatives. We actually have to decide where we want to live and what we want to do.
This really can open up a can of worms if where YOU want to be is not the same as where family thinks you should be – or even where your children want to be. BUT it is an opportunity for you to decide. Will you make the most of it, or cave into pressure from others?
2. What will you do all day long?
Up until now, work and children have probably dictated the daily pattern of your life. When the children have gone, and work is no more, what will get you out of bed each day? When there is no team waiting for you, no morning meeting, and no structure, life can seem to be without purpose. What will keep you motivated and active day after day, looking forward to the future with excitement and energy? Do not underestimate Purpose! What will yours be?
3. Do you plan to continue working, somehow?
Retirement from the overseas job does not have to mean doing anything but walking the dog and pottering about in the garden all day long. It is quite likely that you will want to continue doing something useful, and this is the time to shape your life exactly how YOU want it to look. It could be a new job, part-time, perhaps? It could be volunteering. What would you like to happen?
4. What Skills to you have to transfer to a new kind of working life?
Regardless of what your main career in life has been, you will have transferable skills, interests and passions that can translate into a new kind of life – a life you would like to have. Do you know what those skills are, and the direction you would like to move into? What skills can you put to good use, that have been hidden so far?
5. Who will you BE?
Your personal identity could well be intricately interwoven with your former job title. So, who are you when you are no longer the General Manager, Finance Director, Director of F&B? How will you introduce yourself to new people, when you are no longer the corporate guy? Who do you wish to BE when you retire and how do you wish to be seen? Do you want people to remember you as ‘the former general manager’, or will you be able to carve out a new identity for yourself?
6. What hobbies do you enjoy?
Being able to answer this question could be the first step in designing your future in retirement!
Whilst you have been busy working overseas, working to pay off mortgages, pay school fees, provide a great life for your family, you might not have had much time for your own interests. Retirement is the opportunity to change all that, but what interests do you have outside of work? If you don’t know what makes you happy, what hobbies you enjoy, or how to enjoy a day without having to go to the office, what will you do with all your time?
7. Are you still working out of fear of retirement?
What is holding you back from taking the next step? You might be able to retire financially, regardless of your age, but is something else preventing you from stepping off the expat merry-go-round until they push you out of the door? Are you afraid of missing something, or simply afraid of having nothing to get up for?
8. What will you miss?
Maybe retirement looks appealing. Perhaps you are tired of the constant networking, being on-call all hours, being responsible for a huge team, but how will you feel when these things are gone? Will you miss them?
Or is it the little things you will miss, like those impromptu lunches with colleagues? Having a PA to help with the admin side of your life? Or simply having a ‘commute’ to work each day, during which time you can switch gears and prepare for the day, or the return home? How will you handle that?
9. Are you and your Partner/Family on the same page?
Have you really talked through all your plans for the future? Have you come to a mutual agreement, or have you simply assumed that everyone else wants what you want? It is never too early to sit and discuss your hopes and dreams for the future, and to talk about the detail of your ideas for retirement with those you love; those who will be intimately affected by every decision you make.
10. When will you retire?
The Million Dollar Question! WHEN?
Do you have a date in mind, or even a year? Or do you intend to keep going until someone or something else makes the decision for you? Wouldn’t it help you sleep at night, to know that the timing is within your control, rather than dictated by circumstance, at a time that might not be right for you? So how are you going to take control of that particular decision?
If you are struggling with any of this, you can of course, reach out to me, and we can work through your plans together.
Caroline Tapken, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Caroline works with Expats and Repats to help them plan their future, so they can enjoy the retirement they deserve.
She is a seasoned expat herself, with 35+ years of living and working in the Caribbean, the USA, Asia and the Middle East, and a marketing & communications professional with a strong hospitality and travel background.
Caroline is Mum to two third-culture-kids (TCKs) and a rescue Basenji-Saluki mix. She recently returned to live in the UK and is Listener-in-Chief at Joy & Purpose Life Coach.
