Reinventing Retirement: Customizing Your Third Third

 

People’s lives can grouped into three basic chapters: youth/education, career, and post-career (a.k.a., retirement). In the first chapter, our lives are controlled by parents and teachers and, in the second, people have career and/or family responsibilities. 

It is not until the third chapter that many people have the ability to decide what they want to do and who they want to be.

 

People spend about 30% of their adult lives in retirement. I recently attended a presentation called Reinventing Retirement and below are seven take-aways about this final phase of life:

 

Freedom and Flexibility- Later life provides a long-awaited opportunity to “customize” your lifestyle. Of course, people have different tastes, interests, and personal situations that influence what they expect but, for most older adults, it’s about having more time, freedom, and flexibility than before. The question then becomes what to do with that time and freedom.

 

Retirement’s Many Faces- Lifestyles in retirement include completely stopping work, pursuing a new line of work or starting a business, more actively volunteering, spending more time traveling, pursuing hobbies and interests, caring for loved ones, and more. A phrase used several times during the class was “If I’m not dead, I’m not finished.”

 

Current Retirement Trends- Baby Boomers have more discretionary income than previous generations of retirees. They are redefining the meaning of retirement in many ways including retiring later, continuing to work, and unretiring; finding new ways to make and maintain social connections; increased focus on health and fitness; and pursuing lifelong learning.

 

Retiring “To” Rather Than “From”- It can be stressful to leave the working world, particularly for people whose identity was wrapped up in their job. It is, therefore, essential to plan your next move. Without having something to retire to, people can feel a loss of importance and daily time structure and miss work-related interactions and friendships.

 

Ageism and Discrimination- Just because many older adults want to work does not mean they can easily find a job. Ageism and age discrimination in the workplace are commonplace and an AARP survey found that two-thirds of older adults have seen or experienced it. Increasingly, older adults are getting around that problem by working for themselves or buying franchises.

 

The Social Side- Many of today’s retirees do not live in close geographic proximity to family. Instead, they create a sense of family with people who are not necessarily blood relatives. A growing trend among people who choose to relocate is recruiting friends to become neighbors.

 

Life-Long Learning- Intellectual stimulation isn’t just for the young. Continuous learning is an important investment in brain health and a key anti-aging strategy. It can also help older adults discover and develop new talents. There are always new things to learn and try. One recommendation given at the class was to set a goal to try something new every month.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.