'The Best Is Yet to Come' — Four Things You Gain in Retirement

"The Best Is Yet to Come" in white, large letters written on a road in the desert.

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You don't have to croon The Best Is Yet to Come to anticipate the salad days of retirement. Sure, some people bemoan the idea of getting older. But a well-planned retirement can feel like balm after a lifetime of hard work.

It’s easy to think of retirement as a period of loss — the loss of your paycheck, the loss of your identity, and the loss of the routine you’ve maintained for years. But there’s actually lots to look forward to in retirement.

Whether you decided to retire early, worked into your seventies or eased into the transition with a phased retirement, that excitement you feel is justified. Here are four key things you might gain once your career comes to an end.

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1. Financial freedom

Many people worry about not having enough money in retirement. But a recent Employee Benefit Research Institute survey finds that 67% of workers are confident they’ll have enough money to live comfortably once they retire. And 78% of current retirees feel the same way.

It takes a combination of savings and solid financial planning to feel secure in retirement. But with the right approach, you can gain a sense of financial freedom you may have never had before.

Kristen Beckstead, CFP, ChFC, vice president and financial planner at First Horizon Advisors, says that a clear plan is essential for retirees to attain financial freedom. And it starts with understanding what you want retirement to look like.

“Saving is part of it, but not the only important piece,” she says. ‘The bigger picture is about understanding your personal spending, having a flexible withdrawal strategy, and being ready to adjust as life and the market change.”

Beckstead says the first thing to do is understand your expenses.

“Ask yourself what your must-haves are each month — things like housing, food, insurance. Next, make a list of your nice-to-haves, like travel or hobbies," she explains.

From there, it's a matter of matching spending with your income, making sure the numbers align, and managing your savings accordingly. That means being careful with retirement plan distributions and not withdrawing too aggressively, given your life expectancy and investment mix.

"A good rule of thumb is the 4% rule, but that may not work for everyone," Beckstead says. "Everyone’s circumstances are different, and some people might need to be more conservative, especially if they retire early or want to leave money behind."

Beckstead also recommends a withdrawal strategy that's tied to market performance.

"Taking less in down years and more in growth years could help your money last longer," she says.

Another strategy that works is taking a tiered approach where you withdraw from safer investments early on and from more growth-oriented ones later.

"This idea aims to meet present spending needs while also planning for potential increases in future expenses, such as healthcare," Beckstead says.

2. Guaranteed income

You might think that earning a paycheck is a great way to guarantee yourself a monthly income. The problem, though, is that jobs can be eliminated without much warning.

The nice thing about retiring is that you may have access to several sources of guaranteed income for life. One might be a pension from your employer. Another could be Social Security, which many retirees with at least a 10-year work history or longer qualify for.

In fact, if your goal is to attain financial freedom in retirement, one thing you can do is delay your Social Security claim beyond full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later. Each year you delay claiming Social Security results in an 8% increase in your monthly benefits.

Delayed retirement credits for Social Security stop accruing once you turn 70. But you may be able to boost your monthly benefits by 24% by waiting until then to file, thereby locking in more guaranteed income for the rest of your life.

3. Time

When you’re tied to a job, your time is not your own — at least not while you’re on the clock. You might spend the bulk of your day at a desk, and you might spend a good chunk of your evenings and weekends following up on emails and chasing project updates.

In retirement, you get to reclaim your time and use it as you see fit. That means if it’s a glorious day weather-wise and you don’t feel like being stuck indoors, you can go for a hike, have a long picnic lunch by the lake, or spend hours on the phone with your grown daughter if you’re in the midst of an engaging conversation.

Similarly, if you have places you love traveling to, you can book an open-ended ticket and see where your various journeys take you. There’s no need to rush back for meetings or deadlines.

4. A new perspective

When you're in the midst of your career, you may be focused on things like climbing the corporate ladder, upgrading to a larger home, or finally buying the nice car you've always dreamed of owning. But in retirement, your perspective can change, and sometimes for the more positive.

A recent Transamerica survey found that retirees' top priorities are enjoying life and being healthy. Many also prioritize time with family.

Retirement is a great time to take stock of your life and figure out what’s most important to you. And you may be surprised — in a good way — at how much your perspective changes.

Retirement might also help you see yourself in a new light. A lot of people spend their entire lives getting to know themselves. When you’re not rushing to work or worrying about paying the mortgage, you can focus on being the type of person you want to be for yourself and those around you.

Maurie Backman is a freelance contributor to Kiplinger. She has over a decade of experience writing about financial topics, including retirement, investing, Social Security, and real estate. She has written for USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, and Bankrate. She studied creative writing and finance at Binghamton University and merged the two disciplines to help empower consumers to make smart financial planning decisions.