Key Takeaways
- Many retirees discover that travel becomes even more enjoyable when time is no longer scarce.
- With intentional retirement travel planning, regular travel can become part of your retirement lifestyle.
- Your wealth manager can help ensure your travel goals are incorporated as part of your overall financial plan, giving you the freedom to explore the world with confidence.
Retirement travel planning is less about choosing destinations and more about making sure your financial plan can support the travel you want, for as long as you want.
If you’re like many soon-to-be retirees, finding time to travel throughout your working years may have been difficult. You likely had to plan around client meetings, work deadlines and school schedules, all while trying to manage a limited number of vacation days. Even when you manage to sneak away, you may find yourself checking in on work emails and responding to urgent calls.
However, once you retire and leave the workforce behind, the stress and obligations of a busy career melt away, and your calendar opens up. Time, once a scarce resource, becomes abundant. You suddenly have the flexibility and freedom to explore the globe.
Creative Planning Advisor Insight
“Retirement travel works best when it’s treated as part of the financial plan, not as an exception to it. When travel is built into your income strategy and reviewed alongside taxes, withdrawals and long-term goals, it becomes easier to spend with confidence.”
— Stacy J. Marshall, CFP®, Wealth Manager, Creative Planning
The Freedom to Travel on Your Own Terms
For many travelers, limited time away means pressure to fit everything into a short window. This often leads to choosing destinations that deliver maximum impact in a few days. It could also mean moving quickly, checking boxes of things to do and coming home exhausted.
When time is no longer limited, you have the flexibility to take a more relaxed approach. It’s possible to plan longer stays and establish a slower pace. Rather than rushing from one activity or tourist stop to another, you can sit back and enjoy the daily rhythm of your location. You may discover favorite restaurants, meet some locals and relax into a routine. In this way, your trip stops being a break from your normal life and becomes part of it.
Retirement Travel Planning Still Matters
While a lack of time constraints can lead to significant freedom to explore the world, practical planning remains important. Extended travel introduces new challenges that require additional consideration:
- Financial impact –Longer trips can impact your spending patterns. Some costs (e.g., housing, meals and transportation) may increase, while others (e.g., certain household expenses) may decrease. It’s important to consider how these spending fluctuations may impact your retirement income projections, investment portfolio, cash flow and withdrawal strategy.
- Healthcare –It’s important to plan for your healthcare needs as you travel. Medicare typically doesn’t cover care outside the United States, so you may need supplemental travel insurance or an international plan. It’s also important to have a plan to navigate prescription refills, in-network healthcare providers, chronic conditions and mobility challenges as you travel.
- Estate planning documents – While you’re away, it’s important to ensure trusted individuals can access key documents should something unexpected happen to you. Powers of attorney, healthcare directives, beneficiary designations, wills, trust documents, etc., should be stored in a secure location where your loved ones can access them. A great option for many retirees is to upload these documents to a secure online vault, such as the one available to you as a Creative Planning client.
- Home and risk management – Before leaving for extended travel, make plans for home security and maintenance while you’re away. Consider who will care for your home, how mail will be handled and what security measures are necessary to protect your property.
The Fulfillment of Life Goals and Retirement Dreams
For many retirees, travel becomes less about escape and more about fulfilling life goals and retirement dreams. Retirement travel offers an opportunity to build deeper connections with loved ones, satisfy your cultural curiosity, engage in physical challenges, experience deep relaxation or simply be present in beautiful places.
You may discover that the most fulfilling travel plans are guided by the same principles as successful financial planning: clarity surrounding your vision and priorities, an honest assessment of your challenges and constraints, and a long-term approach. When time is no longer a factor, travel can become an expression of your values and the reward for many years of sacrifice and hard work.
Travel With Confidence
The freedom to travel without time constraints is one of the primary benefits of leaving the workplace behind. With some advanced planning, travel can evolve from something squeezed into the margins of a busy life into a key element of your ongoing lifestyle.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Medicare cover my healthcare while I’m traveling internationally?
Medicare typically doesn’t cover care outside the United States, with limited exceptions. Many travelers add supplemental travel insurance or an international plan before an extended trip.
How much should I budget for travel in retirement?
There’s no universal figure. Longer trips push some costs up and others down, so a useful step is reviewing your travel goals against your retirement income plan rather than against a benchmark.
What should I handle before an extended trip?
Confirm how your healthcare will be covered, make sure trusted individuals can reach your key documents and arrange care for your home and mail while you’re away.
