34% of Retirees Have Adopted a Pet. Here's Why You Should Follow Their Lead

Many people look forward to retirement after decades of hard work. But unfortunately, retirement isn't always the rosy period of life people expect it to be.

It's common for retirees to struggle with boredom, and to have a hard time coping with a lack of structure in their schedules. That's why it's so important to find ways to keep busy in retirement. And adopting a pet could be a good bet in that regard.

What can a furry friend do for you?

Recent data from Edward Jones reveals that 34% of retirees adopted a pet. And for many, that helped boost their sense of purpose.

In some cases, caring for a pet can be a lot of work -- especially if you adopt a dog that needs to be walked several times a day. But keeping busy in retirement can be so essential to your mental wellbeing, so if you've been struggling to fill your days, you may want to visit your local shelter and see if there's an animal you're drawn to.

Not only can adopting a pet keep you nice and busy, but it could also help minimize feelings of loneliness. For many people, work serves as a social outlet. When you stop working, you might lose your social network and start to feel isolated, especially if you live alone or don't have many friends who are retired. So a pet may be worth adopting for the company alone.

Be mindful of costs

The cost of owning a pet can really vary quite a bit depending on the type of pet you adopt, its size, and any health issues that come with it. Before you adopt a pet, take a look at your retirement budget and see what you can afford.

If you have a monthly income of $3,000 between Social Security benefits and IRA distributions, but you currently spend $2,800 on essentials like housing, transportation, and food, then you may not have much wiggle room to adopt a pet (though this doesn't mean you can't make that happen). You may, in that case, want to favor a smaller animal it will cost less money to feed.

You should also know that it's really important to put pet insurance in place as soon as you bring a pet into your home. You never know when a pet of yours might get injured or fall ill. And if you're already on a fixed income and tight budget due to being retired, the last thing you'll want is a multi-thousand-dollar vet bill.

Of course, the cost of pet insurance will hinge on the type of animal you adopt. Shop around for quotes so you can compare your choices, and do so quickly. Pet insurance generally does not cover pre-existing conditions for animals. So it's a good idea to put coverage in place before a health problem with your pet comes to light.

There are many benefits to owning a pet in retirement, so it pays to look into adopting, even if you've never owned a pet before. You may find that it spells the difference between feeling busy and fulfilled versus feeling bored and being generally unhappy.