This is an introduction and overview to a new retirement series. The series will be extensive. It has to be.

Retirement readiness is not just about “how much do I need” or “five tips to a complete retirement,” rather, individuals will experience entire life changes, gradually, or radically if redundancy eliminates your long-held job, or your health is threatened.

We will be covering the entire spectrum of successful retirement, knowing that your life after retirement will be new, different, exhilarating, or not. How it turns out is up to you.

It is a long road these days to retirement. If you are lucky, healthy, have longevity on your side and are mentally tenacious enough to plan — you will complete the journey in good form.

Not everyone is so fortunate. In our communal experiences there have always been individuals that we have known, barely in the prime of life, who never had the chance to grow up and grow old in the grace of God. Such is the randomness of life that they left us far too soon.

Regrettably, too, these events can derail the retirement plan for the family; divorce and widowhood being the worst for women back in the day — and not much better now. Women did not work then. The unanticipated departure of the male provider through either event left thousands of women and their families in precarious financial situations.

Because we are fortunate to still be here, while time is still on our side, it could be said that we have a duty to care for ourselves and plan for the rest of our lives.

It is my privilege in writing for you to provide you with as much relevant information as I can to help you achieve a successful retirement. The positive message for planning for our later years is this: focus on what you can do now for the future. Do not dwell on the mistakes of the past.

Rest assured this series will not be every week, unlike the 14-week Financial Review between August and November last year.

Yes, there are increasing large numbers of us getting close, thinking about, and worrying about some sort of retirement, so it can be argued that these articles take priority. However, our readers represent a complete cross section of our community and I have to consider their interests and needs as well.

Three beginning perspectives

Retirement comments to me over the years at the Moneywise column, and elsewhere, have focused pretty uniformly on three areas: a) worries about figuring out how much would be needed; b) health costs are torpedoing our budget; and, c) not surprisingly, not one comment-contributor had anything good to say about the Bermuda National Pension Scheme annuity distribution product.

A. Worries for a successful retirement? Comments so far have run the gamut: from frustration about inadvertent or impulsive life decisions, panic and regrets over no planning, to those who surprised themselves in realising that they had the intuitive judgment about where they wanted to be as “golden age men and women” to actually end up comfortably retired.

These individuals managed to plan for the golden event practically, with little or no interaction with any financial advisor. I think that is important to note that when it comes to money matters, we all have the capacity to plan shrewdly, intelligently, and conservatively, otherwise you would not be reading this article.

You should take inspiration also from our parents and grandparents. There was no universal Bermuda pension plan back then, the government old age teeny stipend barely existed. How did they manage? My father and mother, your parents, grandparents all coped somehow. You can too, and even better with planning ahead.

Probably the worst thing that people do is practice the age-old art of complete avoidance. “My life will take care of itself as my destiny is predetermined,” someone once told me. That could be true, just as the faithful feel strongly that the Lord will provide. However, it does not hurt to pay attention to how you think your retirement plan (and invested pensions and other assets) are accumulating — if nothing more than to make sure they are still intact.

B. Health costs are out of control. No point in stating more here until we dissect the section. Any comments from readers are welcome.

C. The pension annuity story. This will be a detailed series in and of itself. Our local economy, and the global one, have been in a low to negative interest-rate cycle for more than half a decade. Dissatisfaction with the limited pension distribution choices has been vented in social media, to me personally, and in newsprint commentary. Pension administrators most often are blamed for these choices, but they are not the real purveyors. They are simply adhering to the current Bermuda pension law. If you want these options to change, then you need to seriously lobby your MP. They were the ones who put this legislation in place; they are the ones who can effect change.

Feedback from all you readers has been wonderful. Thank you and keep those comments and questions coming directly to me. I will do my best to answer, provide references and sources to keep you focused on your goal to financial independence.

Here are a few retirement questions for you. Feel free to share with me confidentially.

1. How do you feel about retiring?

2. If you are already retired, have you had to change you lifestyle?

3. If you have not retired, are there obstacles preventing you from doing so?

4. Have you continued to work — in retirement?

Readers, the scope of the series and retirement index is very limited in this article. Why? My perspective is entirely different from the generic retirement planning advice promoted everywhere, plus readers tell me that they are tired of hearing it.

I will share my 25 years of professional experience in practical information with you in a gradual fashion over the course of the series. We will also feature composite cases on how individuals solved retirement planning issues.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and cannot be used for any personal financial plan, or investing purposes. I do not sell, or receive compensation for discussions of retirement planning or related products. My copyrighted processes and intellectual property are my own that I have developed over many years of professional service to my clients.

Martha Harris Myron CPA PFS JSM, Masters of Law: International Tax and Financial Services. Appointed to the Professional Tax Advisory Council, American Citizens Abroad, https://americansabroad.org/. The Pondstraddler* Life™ financial perspectives for Bermuda residents with multinational families and international connections on the Great Atlantic Pond. Contact: martha@pondstraddler.com