Retirement Questions That Have Nothing to Do with Money

Retirement can have many meanings. Preparing for retirement is not entirely financial. For some, it will be a time to travel and spend time with family members. For others, it will be a time to start a new hobby or begin a charitable endeavor. Regardless of what approach you intend to take there are many factors that play a part in retirement decisions.

Here are some non-monetary factors to consider as you prepare for your retirement.

What will you do with your time?

Too many people retire without any plan as to what comes next. It’s important to identify what you want your retirement to look like and what you see yourself doing. Would you like to take on a new activity or continue to enjoy a favorite sport or hobby? Maybe you love your career and can’t imagine not working during your retirement. There’s no hard and fast rule to your dream retirement, so it's important to be honest with yourself. A recent Employee Benefit Research Institute Retirement Confidence Survey shows that 73% of workers expect to work for pay in retirement, whereas just 25% of retirees report that they’ve actually worked for pay.¹

Having a clear vision for your retirement may help you align your financial goals. It’s important to remember that your vision for retirement may change.

Where will you live? 

This is an important factor in retirement. Do you prefer warm weather and beaches or lakeside living in the mountains? Do you want to surround yourself with family and old friends or live in a community where you can meet new people with similar interests or life experiences? If all this can occur in an area with good medical services and  a walkable community, all the better.

How are you preparing to get around in your eighties and nineties? 

The actuaries at Social Security project that the average life expectancy for men turning 67 is 84.8 years old, and the life expectancy for women turning 67 is 87.2 years. Some will live longer. Say you find yourself in that group. What kind of car would you want to drive at 85 or 90? At what age would you cease driving? Lastly, if you do stop driving, who would you count on to help you go where you want to go and get out in the world?² Is an important consideration a community with good mass transit and senior services?

How will you keep up your home?

At 45, you can tackle that bathroom remodel or backyard maintenance yourself. At 75, you will probably outsource projects of that sort, whether or not you stay in your current home. You may want to move out of a single-family home and into a townhome or condo for retirement. Regardless of the size of your retirement residence, you should expect to fund minor or major repairs, and you may need to find reliable and affordable sources for gardening or landscaping.

These are some of the non-financial retirement questions that no pre-retiree should dismiss. Think about them as you prepare and invest for the future.

1.      EBRI.org, 2025

2.      SSA.gov, 2025