4 new year’s resolutions for clients who want to age happily

When it comes to clients having a happy retirement, a fat nest egg and good health are great places to start. Sometimes, however, an out-of-date attitude about aging can prevent them from enjoying what should be a rewarding and fulfilling time of life. Here are four New Year’s resolutions that can help promote healthy aging.

Resolution #1: Spend some of that cash. Retirement advice often centres on ensuring that seniors have enough saved to last throughout their post-working years. Walter Updegrave’s article in Money, however, details how “spendaphobia” can prevent retirees from thoroughly enjoying retirement. That said, there’s never anything wrong with saving on taxes. Dale Jackson of BNN offers tips for how to cut taxes through income splitting.

You might also like…

• 4 tips for a healthy mind and portfolio
• 42% of Canadians have had financial hardship from a health event* — build a safety net for clients
• 88% of retirees say: Take care of your health

Resolution #2: Make a new friend. Loneliness isn’t just a source of soul-sucking sadness as people age. Studies have shown that prolonged isolation is a health risk, too—equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes per day. This nextavenue article by Emily Gurnon dives into the research, the risk factors and what clients can do to avoid the scourge of loneliness.

Resolution #3: Move your butt (but do it safely). “If there was a pill that offered comparable benefits [to exercise], it would be a billion-dollar product and people would be all over it,” says Dr. Thomas Gill, a professor of geriatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. Interviewed by Judith Graham for The Journal Times, Graham details the positive effects of even small doses of exercise and offers advice to help clients get moving. For those who will be walking in icy weather, the Vancouver Sun’s Randy Shore advises walking like a penguin, among other safety tips.

Resolution #4: Follow a dream. Alessandra Malito makes the case in MarketWatch that retirement may be a good time to live out childhood dreams. It doesn’t have to cost the earth, either. Kate Hill of ABC News writes about how one couple have funded their Australian travels by becoming housesitters.