Retirement considerations go beyond the financial

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — Retinal surgeons “will fail retirement” if they do not create a formal structure for the achievement of new goals and challenges, said Jerald A. Bovino, MD, speaking here at the Masters of the American Society of Retina Specialists meeting.

“You can’t retire from something,” he said. “You have to retire to something.” Dr. Bovino, who retired from a successful practice in Illinois to Aspen, Colo., several years ago, found himself “bored after 4 weeks.” Since his retirement, he has earned his private pilot’s license, started a newspaper column, become a partner in a spring water business and become the host of a local TV show.

“We are all ‘type A’ personalities,” he said, and failure to plan or structure how to spend the retired years “is a plan for disaster.”

Dr. Bovino offered his 10 steps for achieving financial success before the thought of retirement can even be considered. Among them: Start saving early, and invest in what is familiar.

“Avoid hot stock tips,” he said. “Anyone who really knows something hot about a stock is not allowed by law to tell you.”

Diversify holdings and “get rich – slowly,” he said. “There’s no easy way to make money without working for it.”

Consider where to live as part of an overall retirement strategy. “Do you like where you live? Then stay,” he said. Continue with hobbies and maintaining friendships.