10 Elements of Retirement Success

In retirement, there isn’t really a standard for success. Retirement is just life. But what if you could measure your retirement life in the areas that matter most? Would it be worthwhile to provide structure to your annual and long-term life goals in retirement? At Corient, we have identified 10 elements of retirement success:

1. Work
2. Family
3. Home
4. Growth
5. Leisure
6. Social
7. Giving
8. Money
9. Aging
10. Health

Retirement can be a tapestry of these elements, where each can positively or negatively impact the others. For example, poor health might be a cause of early retirement, and the stress of work might lead to health issues. However, when elements like health and work are in balance, we believe they can enhance life in retirement.

The two sides of money

Each element of retirement can be impacted by two sides of money: the technical and the personal. The technical is the math and strategy of money—what you have, what it costs and how we utilize it. The personal side is your emotions—how money relates to your sense of meaning, purpose and satisfaction.

For example, there are technical benefits to charitable giving, such as tax deductions and estate planning. On the personal side, there is also how it makes you feel when you help others. We believe that the happiest retirement is one that balances the technical with the personal.

Let’s get started

Here are three steps you can take right now:

1. Identify the three elements that you would like to focus on this year
2. Answer the following questions for each element: 
   • What would success look like at the end of the year?
   • What hurdles could prevent you from succeeding?
   • How can your wealth be used to enhance this element?
3. Let us know how we can help

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