We always want to pay close attention to our financial plan but the time leading up to retirement really needs our full attention. That last decade of your working career is critical for retirement success and there are some things that should be at the top of your checklist.

On this episode, we’re going to list out a few of the priorities we have for our clients and explain why each of them is important. This won’t cover everything you need to be discussing with a financial professional, but these are the big things that should be sorted out.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what’s important to you? This question covers many things like where you want to live, your lifestyle in retirement, and where do you want to travel. But take the time to think through how you’ll spend your time because all of these answers help determine what planning decisions you need to make.

Most of the time, we don’t see people retire and then immediately start spending much more money the next day but your income spend isn’t going to go way down either. Knowing how you hope to spend your time each day shouldn’t be something you wait until retirement to discuss.

Another thing that’s very important during this decade is to know your numbers. Everyone has different objectives and needs so we need to figure out exactly what you have saved and what do you need that money to do. Everyone basically has three sources of retirement income:

1. Pension
2. Social Security
3. The money you saved

Is that going to be enough to generate the income you need to live? That’s what knowing your numbers means and why it’s so important to ensure you can achieve your goals.

Next on the list is getting a handle on healthcare and how you’ll cover it. The likelihood that someone who has lived within their means, done a good job with savings, and arrived at retirement in a strong position isn’t likely to run out of money because they suddenly go on a spending spree. The bigger risk of running out of money is from healthcare expenses, but it’s something you can get ahead of.

The last thing we discuss on the show is understanding how your needs are going to change over time. Financial planning isn’t set it and forget it. Life will bring changes and your plan will need to adjust for whatever is facing you now and in the future.

If you’re approaching this age and want to get a jump on these items, take advantage of our Money Map review to get the process started.

1:12 – What’s important for you in retirement?

2:56 – Have most people thought through retirement?

4:13 – Know your numbers

7:20 – Getting a handle on healthcare

8:25 – Understanding how needs are going to change over time