Retirement brings excitement about newfound freedom, but also potentially some concern about making the right decisions for yourself and your future. While, like in life, you can’t control everything that happens in retirement, there’s plenty you can control.
By focusing your energy on what’s within your power, you can reduce stress, improve your financial security, and enjoy a more fulfilling retirement.
Understanding What You Can and Cannot Control
Market fluctuations, inflation, unexpected health emergencies, and global events are largely beyond your control. However, your response to these challenges — and how you prepare for them — is entirely in your hands.
The key to a smoother retirement is identifying the controllables and taking decisive action on them.
The Controllables: Your Action Plan
Your Budget and Spending Habits
You control how you plan for (and spend) your retirement income. Create a detailed budget that accounts for expected expenses and be sure to account for an emergency fund to cover the unexpected costs that will inevitably pop up.
Be realistic about your spending patterns and adjust accordingly. This puts you in the driver’s seat for your financial security.
Your Insurance Coverage
One of the most significant controllables is ensuring you have full-service insurance coverage. Many retirees lose employer-sponsored benefits upon retirement, a major shift that requires immediate attention. Review your Medicare coverage carefully; it often has notable gaps. For example, Medicare typically doesn’t cover routine eye exams, eyeglasses, or contact lenses, leaving many retirees vulnerable to unexpected vision care expenses.*
Don’t accept coverage gaps as inevitable. Take control by researching and enrolling in supplemental plans for areas where Medicare falls short, such as affordable VSP® Individual Vision Plans.
Your Health and Preventive Care
While you can’t always prevent illness, you can control your commitment to health, wellness, and preventive care.
A body in motion stays in motion. Maintain a healthy, nutrient-dense diet and keep active with low-impact (read: low-injury) workouts like weight training, walking, and yoga or Pilates. These small habits stack up for the health you can truly enjoy in your retirement.
Regular health screenings, including annual eye exams, help doctors detect serious conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and certain cancers early. This proactive approach saves money and improves outcomes.
Your Lifestyle and Priorities
Align your retirement activities with your genuine priorities, whether that’s travel, hobbies, family time, or community involvement. This intentionality helps you live meaningfully so that you are spending (or donating) your money in alignment with your priorities. Again, this is something to consider and reevaluate over time as your priorities shift and evolve.
Vision Care: A Prime Example of Taking Control
Vision care perfectly illustrates how taking control of the controllables improves your retirement. You can’t control aging or natural changes to your eyesight, but you can schedule regular eye exams, enroll in an affordable vision plan to manage costs, and invest in quality eyewear that enhances your lifestyle.
VSP Individual Vision Plans empower you to do exactly this. With customizable coverage options starting at just $13 per month, you choose a plan that fits your budget and lifestyle, potentially saving you $350+ annually**.
Your Action Steps
Start today by addressing three controllables this month:
1. Schedule a comprehensive budget review
2. Audit your insurance coverage for gaps
3. Enroll in supplemental coverage if needed (plans like VSP Individual Vision Plans even offer same-day enrollment)
Then, commit to revisiting your plan annually. Small, intentional actions create meaningful security.
Take Control of Your Retirement
Retirement success isn’t about controlling the uncontrollable; it’s about making smart, informed choices with what you can influence. By focusing on your budget, coverage, health, education, and priorities, you’ll navigate retirement with more confidence. Ready to take control of your vision care? Explore VSP Individual Vision Plans today and see how affordable coverage can be part of your retirement security strategy.
* Check your Medicare Plan to see if your vision care needs are covered and/or if a VSP Individual Vision Plan is right for you. VSP Individual Vision Plans does not coordinate vision benefits with Medicare.
** Savings based on state and national averages for eye exams and most commonly purchased brands. This number represents average savings for VSP members at in-network providers. Your actual savings will depend on the eyewear you choose, your plan, the eye doctor you visit, your copays, and your premium. Source: VSP book-of-business paid claims data for Aug –Jan of each prior year. Contacts pricing includes evaluation and fitting, and an annual supply of a popular monthly contact lens brand.
See more from VSP
