By Allen Giese, CLU®, ChFC®, ChSNC®

When we talk about retirement planning, most people immediately think about money: deferred comp choices, pension options, DROP strategies, investment plan balances. But here's the thing, and I mean this honestly, money alone doesn't create a great retirement. It supports one.

Today, we're going to talk about the non-money side of retirement planning, the part that actually determines whether your retirement feels meaningful, healthy, and enjoyable.

So, if money is the support to your retirement, the real question becomes this: What are your days actually going to look like in retirement? Because a successful retirement isn't just about having enough. It's about having purpose and rhythm and something that pulls you out of bed each morning.

One of the biggest surprises for many new retirees, especially when we're talking about firefighters and police officers and corrections officers, is realizing just how much structure your job provided. There's your shift schedule, your squad, your station, your routines. All of that goes away the day you retire. And for some, it's liberating, but for others, it can feel a little disorienting.

The retirees that we see thrive are the ones who design their days with intention. Maybe they're picking up or focusing on a hobby that they haven't had time to do, or joining a class at a lifelong learning center. Maybe it's traveling and seeing the world from a whole new perspective. Or maybe just reading more. For some, it's simply building a daily routine that energizes them. But you need to ask yourself, what do I want my days to actually look like once I hang up the uniform? The answer matters more than any financial spreadsheet.

Purpose doesn't retire when you do. In fact, studies show that having a sense of purpose is strongly connected to longevity, as well as cognitive health and emotional well-being. For special risk retirees, purpose often shifts to things like mentoring younger officers or firefighters, or volunteering those skills that you've built over the decades of your career. For you, purpose could be serving your community in a new way, or maybe diving into a creative or intellectual project that never really fit into your shift schedule. Even just a little routine goes a long way, like a few anchors on your weekly calendar that give structure to your days.

Here's something we see all the time: Work provides built-in relationships, built-in camaraderie, built-in belonging. When that disappears, people can unintentionally drift into isolation. But it doesn't have to happen. And the solution is to build your retirement social network intentionally.

Ways to do that could be by joining clubs or meeting friends weekly. I know of a couple groups of firefighters who meet every week for breakfast and have been for many years. Other ways to keep social ties and prevent isolation could be traveling with others, or staying active in your community or faith group, or even doing part-time work or consulting if you want to stay connected to the profession. One thing many retirees tell us, they relocate not for tax reasons, but to be closer to the people that they care about. Connection matters that much.

If you're a firefighter, public safety officer, or corrections officer, you've spent a career in a demanding environment, both mentally and physically. Retirement gives you something the job rarely did: time to focus on your health.

A few things that you might want to consider doing that come with huge payoffs are staying active. Even just walking counts. Make sure that you're keeping your preventive health appointments. Prioritize sleep. After all those years of being deprived of it, your body and mind will thank you. Make sure that you're fueling your body with better nutrition and challenging your mind through reading and puzzles or learning new skills. And spend some time outdoors as much as you can.

Think of these as daily investments with returns that beat anything you'll ever see in the stock market.

Even though we're talking about the non-money side today, financial confidence plays a big role in emotional well-being. When you understand your income sources, your spending, and your long-term projections, you naturally experience less stress. You enjoy life more because you know your plan can weather whatever the market throws at it. And that's where good financial planning really pays off. It creates the space for you to focus on living, not worrying.

A truly great retirement isn't defined only by how much money you've saved. It's defined by how you use your time and how you nurture your health. It's defined by how you maintain relationships and how you pursue what matters most to you. Your financial plan lays the foundation, but your life plan is what turns that foundation into a home.

So, as you move toward your retirement date and beyond, take a moment to inventory both sides of your retirement readiness, the numbers and the non-numbers. And if you want help aligning your FRS benefits or DROP decisions or investment plan with the lifestyle that you're building, we're here whenever you need us.

Stay safe out there, and see you next time.

Contact us for your free FRS special risk retirement guide: info@northstarplanners.com or (954) 693-0030.