Five Stages: Anticipation

TheStreet.com, with AgeWave, Harris Interactive, and Ameriprise Financial, conducted a survey in 2005 in which they identified the emotional aspects of retirement and found similarities with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ On Death and Dying, which outlines the five stages of dying. It’s kind of creepy but the analogy is a useful one. The second stage of retirement? Anticipation.

So you’ve made it past Imagination and you’re firmly in Anticipation, the point where you’re confident about retirement, eager to get it started, and have your ducks almost in a row. This stage is also marked with a bit of worry as you don’t know what’s next in your life. Sure, you can fish and golf and do whatever for as long as you want but the fact of the matter is you are also unsure what’s going to happen. It’s also in this stage that you will find yourself aggressively planning for retirement, even though it’s a few years away, in part because it is only a few years away.

From the study:

72% of those polled say they are putting money aside in a 401(k), and 81% are putting money in a separate savings account for retirement. 62% have determined the income they need in retirement, and 40% have bothered to write a retirement financial plan.

Source: TheStreet.com


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