As exciting as it is, the thought of retirement can be a scary one. By the time you reach retirement age, it seems like you have life all figured out. Now you’ll have to start all over again in the big, scary unknown. Why should you leave the comfort, income, and respect that you have in your career for a life of instability and the unknown? Listeners share their worries as well as their hopes for retirement in the practical planning segment and I discuss the sunk cost fallacy and how it pertains to retirement on the hot topic segment. Listen to this episode of the Retirement Answer Man to ensure that you don’t fall for the sunk cost fallacy.

What is the sunk cost fallacy?

Have you ever held onto a stock that was tanking? Even though you knew you should sell, you just couldn’t let it go for pennies on the dollar. Sometimes we feel that because we put money, time, or effort into something that we value more than it is really worth. The truth is we only have what we have today. What something was worth yesterday, last week, or last year doesn’t matter anymore. Listen to this episode to hear what the sunk cost fallacy has to do with you and your retirement.

How sunk cost bias can color your decisions to retire

We all have a sunk cost in where we live, where we work and in our status quo. It can be hard to let these things go and embrace the unknown of retirement. It's easier to just keep working, it’s the known thing, people respect and like you, and you have a steady paycheck. When you retire you give up a great income, friendships, and the respect of your colleagues. Don’t let the sunk cost bias influence your decision on retirement. Position your life so that it is where you want to be. Even though you’ll never feel 100% ready, retirement awaits.

Are you worried about increasing life expectancy?

Increasing longevity brings about an interesting paradox in retirement planning. On the one hand, living longer would be great, but on the other hand, how are you going to pay for it? Increasing life expectancy is actually one of the main concerns for many that are about to retire. People are worried that their money will run out before they do. Another concern for future retirees is health care, if you are interested in retiring before 65 then figuring out how to pay for health insurance is a big consideration. Many have even opted to just wait to retire until they are eligible for Medicare. What is your biggest retirement worry?

Pretirement can be a solution to many retirement worries

Increasingly people are looking to find a pretirement solution to ease their worries of too much freedom, not enough money, or health care woes. Pretirement appeals to those looking for more flexibility yet who are not ready for full-on retirement. One listener mentions that he’s not looking to retire by sitting on a beach in Florida. Retirement in this day and age is a whole different ball game. That’s why it’s comforting to have a tribe of people that are walking the same walk. Be sure to hop over to the Rock Retirement Club and get on the waiting list to join the club to help you ease your retirement worries.

OUTLINE OF THIS EPISODE OF THE RETIREMENT ANSWER MAN

HOT TOPIC SEGMENT

• [2:12] The sunk cost bias
• [8:14] You’ll never feel 100% ready to retire

PRACTICAL PLANNING SEGMENT

• [10:56] Wendy is in the pretirement phase of life
• [13:36] Pretirement is a great way to ease retirement worries
• [17:01] What do people miss about working?

THE HAPPY LAB SEGMENT

• [22:27] The Rock Retirement Clubhouse construction is going well

TODAY’S SMART SPRINT SEGMENT

• [24:31] Who is in your fab 5? Give them a call!

Resources Mentioned In This Episode

Rock Retirement Club

Roger’s YouTube Channel - Roger That

BOOK - Rock Retirement  by Roger Whitney

Ask Roger a question

Work with Roger

3-video Series: 5 Minute Retirement Makeover

Roger’s Retirement Learning Center

The Retirement Answer Man Facebook Page