THE RIGHT TIME

Are you waiting for the perfect moment to retire?

Let me assure you that, like getting married and starting a family, there is no such thing. You pretty much need to take a leap of faith and cross your fingers all the way down.

Despite your best efforts to get all your ducks in a row, you will still be plagued with a lingering fear that you have overlooked a task - probably the most critical one for a successful retirement.

So you go over your to-do list: register with the pension board (check), sign up for retirement seminars (check), review your health, assets and liabilities (check), formulate the best plan of action with your financial planner (check), meet regularly with your HR adviser to sign an endless parade of forms (check, check, and check).

Mercifully, once the die is cast and the retirement process is set in motion, it will gather steam and pick up speed like a locomotive - with you, still feeling like a helpless captive, riding on it.

So go ahead. Drop that last box of personal effects in your trunk, slide behind the steering wheel, glide out of the parking lot with a great sense of calm, and brush off all nagging last minute questions.

Yes, you did the right thing. No, there is no point in waiting another one, two, or five years. Buckle up, baby, because you are in for a great ride.