If you Google “retirement + plan” you will find lots and lots of information about stashing some of your cash in a safe investment haven so you can crack into it in retirement.

But there’s more to retirement than just the money side of things (even though that aspect is very important). Save with SPP took a look around to see how people go about setting goals for retirement – making use of the newfound time they now have, in abundance.

According to the Kiplinger blog, just as you may have created a financial plan for retirement, you also need to make a plan to live out your dreams, and to “make the next 20 or 30 years purposeful.” 

Sometimes, work slots us into roles that aren’t really aligned with what we think we are about, the blog explains.  “Many times, work is what you do and not so much who you are,” states Catherine Frank of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in North Carolina. “Retirement is an opportunity to create a life that reflects more closely who you are,” she tells the Kiplinger blog.

The blog quotes one retiree, retired professor Ronald Mannheimer, who decided to work on his fitness, and volunteer, but found he still had gaps in his day. “Keep open time to explore, to perhaps research what you may want to do next,” he tells Kiplinger “But you should be able to look forward to a calendar of activities.”

OK, so we want to spend time doing things that we have always wanted to do. What if we can’t think of any?

There’s a helpful list at Financial Advisor magazine. They suggest becoming a teacher’s aide, working in retail, working as a tour guide, being a driver, volunteering (or working for a non-profit), and athletics, among other ideas.

There are more ideas over at Marketwatch, including “taking up a sport,” getting a hobby, starting a business, and (of course), travel.

The Retirement Field Guide reminds us what not to do – don’t waste time “watching too much TV,” while “having an empty calendar,” or you will find you’ve become a hermit. They offer similar ideas for retirement activities, including learning new skills (say, music), being a mentor, joining or starting a club, and many more.

It’s very, very hard to visualize retirement while you are still working. Very hard.  It’s not like being on vacation. If anything, it’s like every day is the weekend. The advice from the various bloggers cited here is sound – take some time now, while you are working, to think about what you want to do with your hard-earned time. Talk to folks who are already over the wall and enjoying retirement, and you’ll be surprised how busy they have become.

Even doing only things you like often requires a bit of cash. A tremendous resource for creating retirement income is the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. The SPP is pretty unique – it’s an open defined contribution pension plan. You can contribute up to $6,300 a year towards your retirement, and SPP will grow your savings (with professional investing at a low cost) until that wonderful day when you move into fitness and hobbies full time. Then, you can collect those grown-up savings in the form of a monthly, lifetime pension cheque. Check them out today!

Written by Martin Biefer
	Martin Biefer is Senior Pension Writer at Avery & Kerr Communications in Nepean, Ontario. A veteran reporter, editor and pension communicator, he’s now a freelancer. Interests include golf, line dancing and classic rock. He and his wife live with their Shelties, Duncan and Phoebe, and cat, Toobins. You can follow him on Twitter – his handle is @AveryKerr22