Keen On Retirement

When we set our monthly budgets or make a long-term plan for retirement, it's common to separate line items into three categories: needs, wants, and wishes. Then, we do the sensible thing and prioritize our needs. Once the mortgage, car payments, utilities, and grocery bills are covered, we move on to deciding if we can schedule a date night at that new restaurant. Maybe a weekend getaway will have to wait until next month.

Instead of looking for ways to stay "young at heart," this generation of retirees might just end up staying younger, longer. In his book The New Long Life, Professor Andrew Scott of the London Business School argues that the intersection of technology and longevity is going to fundamentally change how all of us approach life. Instead of a traditional three-stage journey from education to work to retirement, folks who stay healthier and more active as they age will have more power to shape and reshape themselves over multiple stages.

As she was preparing to retire, Teresa Amabile wanted to understand how seniors make the transition from working life to retirement life. So, being a professor at the Harvard School of Business, Teresa decided to make learning how to retire from her job a part of her job.

Two of the most popular and rewarding activities that keep seniors busy in retirement are travelling and volunteering. Unfortunately, the pandemic made both of those difficult and, in many cases, impossible.

According to a new study from Oregon State University, “If you believe you are capable of becoming the healthy, engaged person you want to be in old age, you are much more likely to experience that outcome.” But that’s not typically how folks think about old age or even retirement. Instead of focusing on all the opportunities that lie ahead in the second half of our lives, we worry about experiences that may have passed us by forever or negative end-of-life transitions that we’re anticipating.

A recent newsletter from health, wealth, and personal growth expert Brian Clark got me thinking about what one of my favorite books, The Alchemist, can teach us about the journey towards retirement.