This week, I’m talking about navigating life’s important transitions before and during retirement. 

Today, I’m talking about navigating the empty nester transition. For most of you, kids start leaving the house when you’re about 10-15 years from retirement, and you become empty nesters by the time you’re in your mid-50s. 

While there’s a newfound time freedom that comes with being an empty nester, since you’re no longer schlepping kids to soccer practice or their friend’s house, there is usually a financial burden, since many parents are supporting kids financially during the college years, and often beyond as well. 

Most Americans are in their peak earning years in their 50s, so you probably have greater financial means to support your kids, but every dollar that goes toward college tuition or junior’s rent payment is one less dollar that gets socked away for retirement in those last, critical 10-15 years before retirement. 

There’s also navigating financial aid and scholarships and using funds from 529s to pay for college. 

You can prepare for this ahead of time, by better understanding what it’s likely going to cost to support your children in the college years and beyond, if you decide to continue financial support. Understanding your out-of-pocket expenses will help you determine if you’re still going to be able to save enough for retirement. 

The important thing to remember here from a financial standpoint is that you can get a loan for college, but you can’t get a loan for retirement. So be sure that you calculate the cost of supporting your kids and communicate with them whether or not they’ll need to pitch in for their own expenses and to what extent to make the numbers work for everyone. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening. My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the One Minute Retirement Tip. 

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