Retirement is an exciting milestone, but it also takes thoughtful planning. This article shares a personal retirement story and outlines three key areas to review before making the transition: your financial readiness, your lifestyle and healthcare plans, and the timing and paperwork needed to retire smoothly.

By considering these areas early and using CSS Pension Plan’s retirement resources, you will feel more prepared and confident as you decide when and how to take the next step.

Over a year ago, I was fortunate enough to jump into a phase of life many of us look forward to with anticipation and excitement. And, if I’m being honest, a dash of anxiety too since retirement is a new phase of life that looks different for each of us.

Here’s my background story: I had a career that spanned 35 years – with many different employers. My husband and I were empty-nesters, our adult sons were busy with their own lives and careers, and I was eager to tackle a few home projects and try new hobbies – on my own schedule. And of course, my husband and I felt confident in our financial projections – knowing our pensions and savings would support our retirement lifestyle.

If you’ve been thinking about your retirement for a while now, we encourage you to review these CSS retirement resources:

• Retiring section of our website – an overview of the steps to retire

• Ready to Retire booklet – a detailed guide to understanding your options when it comes to your CSS pension

• Reaching retirement FAQ info sheet – answers to the most asked questions CSS members have about retirement planning.

Are you ready to take the leap?

We’ll take a closer look at the three areas of retirement to help guide your decision – to ensure it’s the right one for you.

Addressing each of these areas will give you greater peace of mind as you venture into retirement.

• Your financial readiness — Review your pension, savings, debts, along with expected retirement income and expenses to ensure your financial picture can support your retirement.

• Your retirement lifestyle and healthcare plan — Think about how you’ll spend your time, keep social connections, manage health coverage, and adjust emotionally to the transition from work to retirement.

• Your retirement timeline and paperwork — Select your retirement date and then follow your employer’s notice requirements and pension timelines. Understand any tax implications and be clear on what forms your employer or pension provider will need to ensure a smooth transition.

Step 1: First, you’ll need to assess your financial readiness.

About two years before making my decision, my husband and I reviewed our financial situation regularly. We also met with our financial planner to review financial projections based on a few different retirement dates. While I was fortunate to have contributed to a pension plan for over 12 years, we also had other savings. We had recently paid off our mortgage and while I had a credit card, I paid it off monthly. While I was ready to retire, my husband wanted to work for another two or three years.

As a member of the CSS Pension Plan, you can access member-friendly resources to help assess your financial readiness for retirement.

Our CSS Advisory Team recommends you access these online planning tools and a retirement webinar as described below:

• myCSSPEN Compass® Retirement Income Planner – this helps you see whether you’re on track to meet retirement savings goals and if needed, suggests actions to help you meet your goals

• Pension Projection – this tool estimates your monthly pension if you choose a guaranteed lifetime income at retirement

• Variable Benefit Illustrator – this tool estimates your potential Variable Benefit payments if you’re considering monthly or annual withdrawals from your CSS account at retirement
• Retirement Income Options sessions – these sessions are live webinars for members nearing retirement, led by CSS Advisors, covering CSS retirement income options, investment choices, and how needs may change over time.
  
  

Step 2: Next, you’ll want to dive deeper into your retirement lifestyle and healthcare plan. While a lot of retirement planning resources tend to focus heavily on retirement finances, these two areas go hand in hand with your finances.

When it comes to your retirement lifestyle, there are a few questions to consider. Do you have a clear vision as to how you’ll spend your free time? If you’re no longer working, what will you do to fill those forty plus hours you spent working each week? What will give you purpose? Do you have the financial resources to support your planned retirement lifestyle?

Admittedly, I was anxious whenever someone asked how I would spend my time in retirement. In my mind, I planned to spend more time gardening, golfing, visiting my elderly parents more often, entertaining friends and family and having lunch/coffee dates with friends and former co-workers. I was fortunate enough to spend time doing all of this and more during my first six months when the weather was warm and sunny.

Then my first winter of not working rolled in and reality hit me. Most of my friends still had full-time jobs and limited leisure time. As for my retired friends, they had retired spouses leaving me the odd woman out. The retired couples were free to travel to warm destinations around the globe. I turned to decluttering our house over the winter months, but I couldn’t shake feeling bored and lonely.

I’m sharing this to remind you to seek out activities or hobbies that not only fill your days and give you purpose but allow you to connect with others. Often retirees say they miss the people they worked with because of the social aspect.

How we spend our days in retirement varies from person to person. You may find yourself working part-time, volunteering, or joining a sports group and/or hobby group or travelling with family and friends.

As for me, I realized I was looking for more structure and connection in my life. In late spring, I joined the CSS team in a term position doing the same work I did before I retired. It’s the perfect fit for me! The role allows me to do the kind of work I truly enjoy while offering me greater work-life balance. And now my husband and I are working on a plan to have a more aligned retirement. So, for what it’s worth, take comfort in knowing not everyone’s retirement plan goes according to plan.

This leads me to touching on the topic of healthcare before and after you retire.

Are you fortunate to have healthcare and dental benefits through your current employer? If so, you may want to consider healthcare aids, such as a hearing aid, or dental work, prior to your retirement.

Most of us have never had to think about the cost of health and dental benefits. If you’re like me, you’ve worked full-time and were fortunate to have healthcare benefits for you and your family during your career. However, these benefits stop for most of us once we retire.

This leads to asking a couple of questions. What if your health status were to change in your retirement years? Will your retirement income cover changing healthcare needs as you age?

Depending on your employer, you may be able to buy extended health care benefits after your retirement. Or you may decide to buy benefits privately. Again, depending on your personal health status there are options.

When I retired, I looked at the cost of extended health care benefits. I was surprised at the cost. Fortunately for my husband and I, we still have health benefits under his employer. However, once my husband retires, it’ll be up to us to manage our healthcare benefits. To adjust, we’ve added this item to our projected monthly expenses in retirement – so we’re not caught off guard.

Step 3: And finally, you’ll need to decide your retirement timeline and complete the required paperwork. The earlier you start the planning process, the better.

Once you have a target retirement date in mind, work backwards from that date. Give yourself enough time to gather information, ask questions, and complete the paperwork without feeling rushed.

If you’re within three months of retirement, CSS recommends connecting with our CSS Advisors to begin the process and review your retirement income options.

If your timeline is less certain, plan to attend one of the CSS Retirement Income Options sessions. Or book an appointment with a CSS Advisor to understand what decisions are ahead of you.

Start by confirming your employer’s retirement notice requirements and asking whether there are internal forms to complete. You may also need to confirm your final day worked, vacation or banked time, benefit end dates, and when your final pension contributions will be sent. These details matter because your pension provider may need information from your employer before your retirement income or transfer request can be processed.

Next, gather the documents you may need, such as your most recent pension statement, government-issued identification, banking information for direct deposit, beneficiary information, spousal information, if applicable and any forms needed for the retirement income option you choose.

As you complete the paperwork, take time to review each form carefully before signing. Make sure your personal information is correct, your retirement date is consistent across forms, and your selected income option matches your decision based on your projections.

If you have a spouse, there may be other consent or waiver requirements depending on the option you select and the pension rules that apply to you.

Finally, keep copies of everything you submit and note any confirmation numbers, contact names, and follow-up dates.

Before your last day of work, confirm who to contact if you have any questions after you retire and when you can expect your first payment or transfer to take place. A bit of organization at this stage can help make the transition feel less overwhelming and much more manageable.

Final takeaway

Retirement is a big change in life, and the more prepared you are, the more confident you’ll feel when the time comes. By reviewing your finances, thinking honestly about the lifestyle and healthcare needs you may have, and giving yourself enough time to complete the required paperwork, you can make decisions that support the retirement you want. Whether you’re ready to take the leap soon or still exploring your options, CSS resources and Advisors are available to help you plan your next chapter with clarity and peace of mind.