It's different for everyone, yet somewhere down the line, the waves begin to shrink and are only 50-60 feet tall. While they still come, they are further and further apart and you can begin to see them coming. Whether it's an anniversary, a birthday or favorite place, you can see it on the horizon and prepare yourself for it. As it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side—drenched and clinging to some tiny piece of the wreckage, you persevere.
Inevitably, the waves never stop coming, and ironically you don't really want them to. But you learn that you'll survive them as well as others too. In the end, if you're lucky, you'll have lots of scars from lots of loving relationships, places or roles that will always stay afloat in your heart and mind.
Overall, grief isn’t typically associated with the transition into retirement, but it is a very real part that can be painful, messy and frightening. Therefore, advisors need to continue to develop new skills and knowledge around it and other non-financial aspects of retirement.
Robert Laura is the president of SYNERGOS Financial Group, the founder of RetirementProject.org and pioneer in Certified Retirement Coach training. He can be reached at [email protected].