Mention retirement planning and most Third Agers will think of money, but there is so much more to it than that!

Obviously your finances play a major part in allowing you to retire, but we will look at that as a totally separate issue later. Retirement is the rest of your life. You planned your working life for years so it makes sense to pay as much attention to the biggest change in your lifestyle since you started work!

Whether you are 50 or 65 and about to retire now or shortly, have you thought just how different life is going to be?

If you’ve been employed and tied to the 9 to 5 way of life for many years that’s all going to change. You are going to be your new employer. It is going to be up to you how you fill those hours and absolutely no one is going to insist how you do it.

There will be a million things which you can do now which you never got around to before because of work commitment. How often have you heard the phrase from a retired person: “I don’t know how I ever found time to work”?

For many what were once part-time hobbies have become full-time pleasures. You have around 40 hours a week to fill, it’s a whole new world, so grasp it and enjoy it.

Why not make a plan? A fitness plan, a gardening plan, a walking plan, a painting plan, a photography plan, a knitting plan, a writing plan? See what we are doing? Taking hobbies which you never had enough time for and turning them into your very own work replacement scheme.

You could even go back to schooldays if you wish and make a timetable, in fact further further education could be another plan all by itself. The beauty is that your plan will now always be flexible and you can build in as many holidays as you like!

Many retired people have become so absorbed in what was once a hobby that it has become a business. That’s fine if it’s what you want but make sure you are always in charge of it and not it of you.

Now, the finances. Our recommendation is that you sit down with an experienced financial advisor and make the most of your pension or pensions, your savings and any investments, either cash or material.

If you are even daring to think of retirement it is paramount that you tailor your leisure plans to your income. Without both parts of the equation there is no retirement and a great deal of worry to look forward to.

Through your working life you will have budgeted on your income from work and, unless you are very fortunate, that income is now going to drop. Make sure that you have all the state pensions and benefits that you are entitled to. You’ve paid for them, now enjoy them.

If there is a shortfall in your income compared to needs you might consider addressing it by a part-time job. Make sure though that your pay from any position does not reduce the benefits to which you are already entitled. A financial advisor or pensions expert should tell you exactly what you can and cannot do.

Over the coming months we will look at retirement financial planning in more detail, but remember, we will only speak in general terms and you should seek professional advice for specific products or companies.

Graham Smith for Third Age.