Going back about fifty years, retirement was considered to be the short gap between receiving a gold watch and the last rights!

Happily today retirement is accepted as the start of a whole new life adventure.

With the likelihood that we will retire with all our faculties intact and fully functioning and with a good number of years in front of us, we now need to take a little more time to plan our retirement years to make sure we get the absolute most out of them.

Whatever your retirement dream - from a home in the sun, a boat on a river, or simply pottering about in the garden - all of these things are possible with careful planning.

But have you ever wondered why so many of us constantly push the practicalities of retirement planning to the back of our minds while rushing through our lives complaining about the pressures of work and dreaming of the day when we can finally put our feet up?

What is it that causes this dichotomy in us?

I think that most of us would agree the two main causes are lack of time and reluctance.

And yet each and every one of us knows how important it is to plan and save for our retirement!

After all we are quite literally bombarded by the media week in week out with facts about the pension time bomb and the fact that many of us will apparently struggle for the price of a cup of tea let alone a beautiful villa in the sun when we get to 65!

So, with all that information taken on board what can we do to make our retirement a happy one?

Whether you’ve got a full 40 years to save and plan, or if retirement is just a few years down the road and you’re worried that it may be a little late to start any radical pension planning, this three part retirement planning roadmap should save you time, remove your reluctance and cover the three key aspects of retirement planning - namely our physical wellbeing, our financial wellbeing and our spiritual wellbeing in retirement.

In other words, read on for some practical tips to ensure that you retire healthy, wealthy and wise.

Healthy - Physical Wellbeing in Retirement

Every single day of our lives we grow, we mature, we develop and we grow older.

And when we’re very young we sometimes view retirement as something that equates to old age. We have images of old people in rocking chairs with blankets over withering legs rocking away the last days of their lives! No need to plan then - just throw me a blanket and I can do the rest myself!

But as we mature and grow older we soon come to appreciate that there can be a considerable amount of time between finishing our working lives and needing to settle into that rocking chair - and that that time is ours to enjoy to the full!

And while it is true that the body ages and that no man can turn back the tides of time, none of us has to get old unless we choose to do so!

Our bodies may age but we don’t have to!

So, there are really two considerations when it comes to the ageing process and welfare in retirement - namely the physical aspect and the emotional aspect.

The Physical Aspect

As ill health can smite any one of us at any age, we should consider our physical wellbeing throughout our lives; both from the point of view of prevention and the point of view of cure.

Prevention

When we actively take steps to encourage good health we are far more likely to enjoy longevity; and in taking such action we could make the difference between a happy healthy retirement and an old age blighted by failing health.

Keep active. Many of us have sedentary lives; we drive to work, sit in an office, drive home and then sit down to watch the telly. But keeping active should really be seen as a mandatory part of our lives, right through and into retirement.

While busy lives may make it difficult to find time for set exercise, there are always things we can do to improve our overall fitness. Consider parking your car two streets away from the office and walking the last ½ mile, take the dog for long walk (he’ll love you!), buy a bike, go on a walking weekend or weed the garden. Simply by adding a little physical activity into our working lives now, we will be pushing back the years and ensuring that we are able to fully enjoy the freedom that retirement will afford us when the time comes.

Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Enjoy nutritious food, adequate sleep, avoid nicotine and keep alcohol consumption within sensible limits.

Reduce stress. Everyone suffers from stress sometimes, and we are all well aware of the long term damage stress can do to our health. So, do everything within your power to reduce your stress levels. And if it is beyond your control to remove the stresses affecting your life, never feel embarrassed or afraid to seek help. If you can identify the primary reason for your stress maybe you can begin to see what you need to do to fix it. I know this is so often easier said that done - but please remember it is your health and your happiness at stake here and that has to be your priority.

Be Proactive. You know your own body better than any one else. Listen to it, and react accordingly when it is trying to tell you something. Don’t ignore potential symptoms, recognise them and get them treated.

Cure

In recent years health care costs have risen between two and three times faster than inflation and naturally enough health insurance has become more costly at the same time making it seem altogether too unattractive an option for some people.

But while the vast majority of us would never dream of driving our car uninsured or living without household insurance, we do exactly that with our own bodies! We trust our health to luck and good fortune!

Consider, if you will, the following facts: -

- The British National Health Service is stretched to its limits with up to a million people on waiting lists at any one time.