Life change
Preparing for Retirement
Preparing for retirement is different from retiring. The transition hasn't happened yet, so there is still time to align a retirement date with Medicare timing, a spouse's coverage, and the protection that ends when work does.
What's changing
Here's what typically shifts.
Nothing has ended yet. That is the advantage. Preparing for retirement is the window in which a retirement date can still be aligned with Medicare enrollment, a spouse's coverage, and the workplace protection that will end — rather than reacting to those things after the fact.
Who does it affect?
Who else could this change affect?
A change for one person can move healthcare, protection, retirement, and legacy needs for someone else at home.
- A younger spouse's coverage is one of the items most often overlooked at this stage.
- Dependents still on the plan need a destination identified before the date is set.
- Household income needs, not just individual income, determine what should be protected.
- Legacy preparedness is easier to organize before a transition than during one.
What to consider
Start with what already exists.
- Employer retirement benefits and any protection features already elected.
- Retiree medical coverage, if the employer offers it.
- Workplace life and disability coverage, and whether it is portable.
- A spouse's employer plan and its retiree provisions.
A life change doesn’t always mean you need new insurance.
Portability & conversion
Before you replace it, can you keep it?
Before retirement ends workplace eligibility, review whether any current benefits include continuation, portability, or conversion provisions and note the deadlines that apply.
- Ask what happens to employer-sponsored life insurance at retirement and whether portability or conversion is available.
- Review voluntary coverage separately because its continuation provisions may differ from the employer-paid benefit.
- Confirm whether retiree medical coverage or another continuation option is available under the plan.
- Record election and documentation deadlines before the final day of employment.
Portability, conversion, and continuation provisions vary. Plan documents, the plan administrator, the employer, and the carrier remain the authoritative sources for what a specific benefit allows and by when.
What to consider next
Questions worth asking.
- How your intended retirement date lines up with Medicare eligibility for you and your spouse.
- Whether the household would have a healthcare gap between the last day of work and Medicare.
- Which workplace benefits end at retirement, and which can be continued or converted.
- How much of your retirement income you want to be predictable rather than variable.
- Whether existing life insurance still matches what the household would need.
- Whether beneficiary designations across policies and financial accounts are current.
Relevant solutions
Given what's changing, here's where we can help.
Healthcare
Individual and family medical, dental, and vision coverage for needs that may arise when workplace benefits aren't available, are changing, or need additional support.
Explore HealthcareProtection
Life, disability, supplemental benefit, and long-term-care coverage considered around the financial consequences a household may face.
Explore ProtectionRetirement
Insurance-based solutions that address income, longevity, and protection needs in retirement.
Explore RetirementLegacy
Protection and preparedness for what you want to leave behind — including life insurance where appropriate, beneficiary preparedness, financial-account organization, and coordination with the legal and financial professionals who may be part of the larger legacy picture.
Explore LegacyMedicare
Guidance around Medicare eligibility, timing, and how Medicare may interact with workplace coverage.
Explore Medicare
These are the areas that may deserve attention given what’s changing. You are not expected to work out which coverage applies to you from this list.
Get help from a Financial Relationship Manager
Preparing early gives you more options.
A Financial Relationship Manager can help you understand what your workplace benefits allow, what your household will rely on, and what deserves attention before your retirement date is set.
A Financial Relationship Manager helps you understand what is changing and what may need attention — so you don't have to figure that out on your own first.
A Financial Relationship Manager is a relationship steward and coordinator. The role does not by itself make someone an investment adviser, financial planner, attorney, tax adviser, or estate-planning professional. When a need calls for one of those disciplines, the role is to help you get to the right professional — not to substitute for one.
Talk With a Financial Relationship Manager™Life Change checklist
Preparing for Retirement Checklist
Line up coverage, income-protection, beneficiary, and professional questions before retirement begins.
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Helpful resources
Resources for this change.
Educational material worth reviewing if you want to keep researching on your own.
Perspectives
Retirement Is a Household Benefit Event
One person's retirement can affect more than one person in the household. Depending on age, existing coverage, employment status, and household circumstances, healthcare, protection, retirement income, beneficiary preparedness, or other needs may require attention.
Read InsightGuides & Education
Still Working at 65? What to Consider Before Making a Medicare Decision
Turning 65 while still employed does not automatically mean enrolling in all of Medicare. What matters is the size of your employer, how your coverage works, and whether a Special Enrollment Period will be available later.
Read Insight
Get help with what's next.
Tell us what's changing and we'll help you understand what may need attention — for you and for your household.