Christine Benz is a director of retirement planning at Morningstar in the USA. She’s been fortunate enough to be able to take sabbaticals during her working life, and, like all good retirement planners, she is always on the lookout for lessons to be learned for her own retirement.

Its always good to be able to practice something before you do it properly, and a sabbatical is a great opportunity to have a practice at retirement.

Christine learnt a lot from her sabbatical (which she calls a micro-retirement) and for those approaching retirement, her non-financial lessons are useful:

Unscheduled Time Is an Underrated Luxury

Like most of us, Christine found that, during her normal working week, and even at the weekend, she was on a tight schedule. This prevented her acting spontaneously and she describes spontaneity as “one of the most delicious aspects of anyone’s retirement”.

Having a Purpose Is Crucial

Retirement researcher Michael Finke says wisely that “Relaxation is best when you’re relaxing from something.” So, if retirement is just like an extended weekend or vacation, you lose that sense of contrast and anticipation that made those breaks so joyful while you were working. Even more importantly, according to Benz, her best days in her sabbatical were the ones that combined productive activities with fun and relaxation. Veteran retirement columnist Scott Burns recommends that you should do some version of your life’s work, thus making use of the skills you’ve gained from a lifetime of work, rather than, say, stacking shelves in a supermarket.

Balance Is Hard!

As much as Benz tried to balance fun activities with things she wanted or needed to get done during her sabbatical, she consistently struggled to get the right mix. Her tendency was not to give priority to fun and relaxation. She learned that she needed to specifically schedule her leisure activities. If the leisure activity was open-ended or unscheduled, she was much more likely to put it off.

Find Your Microjoys

Benz’s sabbatical highlighted, for her, that the “small joys” were just as important as the big, “bucket list” pursuits. Whilst she enjoyed her trip to Spain (it sounds like she has good taste!), she found that she got at least as much joy from cooking, reading, and walking. Her sabbatical allowed her to do all three almost every day—and she found this a reassuring and valuable lesson from her “practice retirement”.

Not many people get the chance to have a practice run at retirement, and it’s great to learn from someone who has been able to do so. An extended break from work can provide the opportunity to ‘preview’ what retirement might look like without the commitment of permanently leaving your job. If you are given the opportunity to have a practice retirement, we can help you plan financially for the sabbatical and then help you to adjust your retirement goals based on the lesson you learn during that time.

Philip Wise | philip@sussexretirement.co.uk

Managing Director and Chartered Financial Planner

This blog is for information purposes and does not constitute financial advice, which should be based on your individual circumstances.