THE 8 TRAITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL RETIREES

With a little help from the Retirement Docs' Quiz you can rate yourself and find out whether you have the traits that are prerequisites for achieving retirement happiness. If you don't, it's not too late to make adjustments or changes for a new YOU in 2011.

I took the quiz and my score put me in the top 40 percent, indicating that I still need some "fine-tuning in specific traits". Do take the quiz and find out how you fared.

The quiz is a condensed version of the much larger Retirement Docs' Survey conducted by medical doctors F.T. Fraunfelder and J.H.Gilbaugh. More than 1500 of their patients, all retirees, participated in the survey. The data collected forms the backbone of their book "RETIRE RIGHT".

From the survey results the doctors discovered that the top 20% of the respondents shared the same traits. The conclusion - if we possess these traits, the authors guarantee that we too will have a highly successful (=happy+fulfilling) retirement.

HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL RETIREES have

• the ability to plan ahead
• a positive attitude
• an acceptance of change (learn to adapt and adjust)
• a support network of family and friends (even pets!)
• a healthy lifestyle
• a sense of purpose
• a variety of enjoyable leisure activities
• a belief in God, religion or spirituality

For more details on each of these traits, you will have to read the book. It's available on Amazon. I managed to borrow a copy from the National Library of Singapore.

I intend to start working on improving my score right away. That's my retirement investment plan for 2011. Much more meaningful than making new year resolutions.