Keen On Retirement

Is your brain getting the workout it needs to keep you mentally sharp in retirement? Medical science has established a pretty clear link between physical and mental health. According to Harvard Medical School, a variety of mental stimulation, paired with regular exercise and a healthy diet, can create new neural connections in your brain, regenerate new brain cells, and even protect the brain against the loss of cells in the future. The Mayo Clinic says that same mix of healthy living and thinking can lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia. And CogniFit Research recommends “brain fitness” as a means to maintain working memory, planning ability, focus, and the speed at which we process information. Consider mixing some of these brain-boosting activities into your retirement wellness routine.

In Part 1 of this two-part series on luxury travel for retirees, we shared some tips on getting the most vacation for your money and took a brief tour of some U.S. hotspots. In Part 2, we are going to explore some international destinations that you might want to consider adding to your bucket list. With proper planning and budgeting, this could be the year you take your dream vacation or journey somewhere unexpected that opens your eyes to how wide and wonderful the world is.

As we head into the summer vacation season, one item that's high on many travelers’ wish lists is value. With the pandemic finally in the rearview mirror, high demand for travel is driving up costs. Additionally, the markets are still recovering, and consumer prices and inflation are still above average. That's enough to make even affluent retirees nervous about spending money on entertainment and leisure while nervous about their long-term security.

For previous generations of seniors, "retirement" meant the end of work, period. The modern version of retirement often isn't that cut and dry. A growing number of seniors who have achieved total financial independence are "unretiring" not because they need money, but because working in some capacity makes their golden years more purposeful and enjoyable. If any of these thoughts about unretiring ring a bell, it might be time to sit down with your advisor and talk about what returning to the workforce could mean for your financial plan.

When I first started out in financial services more than 30 years ago, most folks received quarterly paper statements from their advisors or custodians updating them on how their accounts were doing. Today, retirees can use their phones to check on their nest eggs minute by minute if they want to … and, potentially, drive themselves crazy in the process.

U.S. life expectancy is trending in the wrong direction for the first time in decades. According to data from the Center for Disease Control, in 2014 the average American was expected to live 78.9 years. In 2021, after several years of plateauing life expectancy, that figure dipped to 76.4 years, the sharpest 2-year decline in over 100 years. From a financial planning perspective, Keen Wealth still believes that folks need to prepare for a retirement that's going to last, potentially, decades. But this latest life expectancy data does raise some important issues about what we can do both individually and in our communities to turn these trends around so that we can all enjoy our golden years to the fullest.