Rehearsing for retirement.

• Position: Your Life - Brief Article

Playwright William Shakespeare probably didn't realize it when he wrote his immortal line, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are merely players," but he could easily have been writing about preretirees. If life is indeed a stage, then those about to play out the final act--retirement--would do well to rehearse it before they actually retire. The Financial Planning Association, Denver, Colo., recommends that people start "rehearsing" a good five years before their planned retirement date, keeping in mind that this will be their life for the next 20 to 30 years. Here are a few ways to rehearse, the organization suggests:

Try out your retirement lifestyle. Start by envisioning what kind of retirement life you want to live--play golf, travel, see the kids, spend time with friends, take up a hobby, work part time, volunteer, go back to school, a mix of activities. If you're married, discuss your plans together, then try them out.

Say you plan to sell the house, buy a huge RV, and travel the country. Practice this by renting one and going on the road for as long a vacation as you can take. Perhaps you'll quickly find out that three weeks on the road in an RV gets boring and exhausting. Figure you'll golf every day? Take a two-week vacation and play every single day. Is that what you really want to do all of your retirement years? Or perhaps you don't have any hobbies. Try some out. Want to paint, but never have put brush to canvas? Again, try it out extensively on weekends or vacations.

Want to relocate in retirement? Rent there, talk to other retirees, get a feel of the cost of living, and vacation there at different times of the year. The place may be beautiful, but the winters may turn out to be rainy or the summers boiling. Do both of you like this lifestyle? It is common for one spouse to have a different image of retirement than the other. Work it out now, before you retire and commit to an expensive move or lifestyle you'll regret.

Rehearse with your spouse. One of the biggest retirement adjustments can be spending 24 hours a day with your spouse. Each of you has spent much of your time apart with careers or one at home and one at work. Take a week's vacation and spend it at...