The 4 "I've Left it Too Late" Regrets in Retirement for Our 60s, 70s and 80s

We have all heard Benjamin Franklin’s quotation: "If You Fail to Plan, You Are Planning to Fail".  More so in the UK, we hear it as “nobody plans to fail but everybody fails to plan”.

• That is a reality of life and as financial planners, it is drilled into us to plan, so it natural for us, but not natural to most.
• If you have a business, you will usually have a business plan for each year, quarter or even monthly that you regularly review and amend.
• If you have a business and want a bank loan, do you think you will get one without a business plan?
• If you are a bus driver, you have a plan of what routes you are doing this week.
• If you are a parent, you have a plan for preparing meals, after school activities, childcare and even school holiday plans, whether working or not.
• But so many people fail to plan with ‘one eye on the future’.

Life Planning

The most important thing in life, is not business, it is not our job, it is us and life itself.  In a recent survey, only 19% of people said they would seek the help of a professional financial planner.  Yet the masses will stay pay £00s if not £000s on cars, eating out and planning holidays.

Some people are sensible, do plan, do save, do plan their retirement and seek professional advice when needed.

I left it all too late!  If you have your health, you can live, get out, shop, go on holiday, socialise and much more in retirement but what is your ‘Plan B’ – Incapacity?

Personal Experience

Even the directors of this firm have had the same with ageing relatives: asking them 12 years ago to move nearer to daughter 1 or daughter 2.  They said they had a plan if things went wrong such as friends, taxis etc.  and decided not to move closer to either before it was too late.  Those same 'friends' are now old themselves or have died and many taxis can be unreliable or unhelpful when it comes to mobility issues etc.  "Fast changeover pick ups are key to fees".

• Today (Tuesday 17^th February): 12 years later:
• One relative is in a care home costing £1,900 per week.
• The other was in hospital narrowly avoiding serious illness this week, is in a wheelchair, and happily left emergency care yesterday to go home.
• Daughter 1 has dropped everything and driven 260-mile round trip, possibly losing a new job, to provide immediate care needs.
• Daughter 2 will take over on Thursday with a 600-mile round trip and may lose up to 5 days work.
• All because pleas to relocate were ignored, no plan for incapacity was made and now an admission of: "We left it too late".

Planning for incapacity should be your highest priority in your 50s and 60s, ready for your 70s and 80s.  Don't fail.

Don’t make the mistake of not moving to be near children or have any regrets before it’s too late.  Many of us feel immortal until it's too late. 

“Live for today but with one eye on tomorrow”.

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