USA Today, in its November 23, 2004 edition, ran a feature article on planning for the social and emotional aspects of retirement as seen through the eyes of several recent retirees.
One retiree observed, “We went from a very structured world—a world really that had been structured since we were in kindergarten—to one in which the structure almost totally disappeared. You have to have a lot of discipline to manage the time and space without just idling away the days.”
The article stresses that retirees need to remain open to the possibilities. Nancy Sclossberg, a psychologist and the author of Retire Happy: Finding Your True Path in Life (the book on which the article was based) says, "Think of retirement like career development, like college. Some kids come to college and know what they want to do, but many don’t. They go through a searching period. Same with retirees.”
As a part of the article, they ran the following retirement readiness test. You’ll need a relative or friend who knows you well to help you grade your responses. There are no right or wrong answers so be as honest as possible with yourself to determine whether you’re really ready or how to better prepare yourself
