Catchinup,
Your aversion is normal in my circle of family and friends, including myself.
You are wise to name it and ask for feedback.
Without knowing your financial statement (especially debt service), your current health status, your insurance coverage, and your immediate family's take on your 'panic,' I offer the following generic suggestions, which likely you have already done.
I suggest you (and spouse or power-of attorney) meet with someone knowledgeable about finance, professional perhaps but not necessarily. Mainly knowledgeable ad trustworthy.
Make a prudent calculation of your foreseeable annual spending in retirement.
Review your asset allocation for peace of mind in the decumulation phase.
Estimate how much you will need to withdraw from your principal annually to supplement your pension-Social Security income, and the inflation factor, and your estimated remaining years of life.
Perhaps initially taking only dividends & interest from taxable investments plus the Minimum Withdrawal from tax deferred account(s) will be sufficient; if not, estimate the minimum you will initially need to withdraw from tax-deferred first and, if needed, from sale of financial assets.
If you have taken these steps and continue to have anxiety about reducing assets, I suggest you make an appointment with a licensed therapist and discuss what you have stated to be an irrational fear ("I'm sure I can retire if I want"), and do a bit of 'reality-testing' as a balance to your panic reaction. There may be other issues that need to be surfaced such as accepting the unavoidable diminishment that comes with aging, recalling that 'retirement' in our culture superficially signals end-of-life status.
Good for you in facing this understandable and common tension.
Peace
maj
P.S. How did I overcome it? I took my own advice.
Your aversion is normal in my circle of family and friends, including myself.
You are wise to name it and ask for feedback.
Without knowing your financial statement (especially debt service), your current health status, your insurance coverage, and your immediate family's take on your 'panic,' I offer the following generic suggestions, which likely you have already done.
I suggest you (and spouse or power-of attorney) meet with someone knowledgeable about finance, professional perhaps but not necessarily. Mainly knowledgeable ad trustworthy.
Make a prudent calculation of your foreseeable annual spending in retirement.
Review your asset allocation for peace of mind in the decumulation phase.
Estimate how much you will need to withdraw from your principal annually to supplement your pension-Social Security income, and the inflation factor, and your estimated remaining years of life.
Perhaps initially taking only dividends & interest from taxable investments plus the Minimum Withdrawal from tax deferred account(s) will be sufficient; if not, estimate the minimum you will initially need to withdraw from tax-deferred first and, if needed, from sale of financial assets.
If you have taken these steps and continue to have anxiety about reducing assets, I suggest you make an appointment with a licensed therapist and discuss what you have stated to be an irrational fear ("I'm sure I can retire if I want"), and do a bit of 'reality-testing' as a balance to your panic reaction. There may be other issues that need to be surfaced such as accepting the unavoidable diminishment that comes with aging, recalling that 'retirement' in our culture superficially signals end-of-life status.
Good for you in facing this understandable and common tension.
Peace
maj
P.S. How did I overcome it? I took my own advice.
Statistics: Posted by maj — Mon Jan 22, 2024 11:14 pm — Replies 5 — Views 377