Have you ever met a 40 year old who acted as if he was 90 years of age? When I meet these people I immediately look for the exit. Conversely, it is an absolute pleasure and a memorable encounter to meet an 80 year old who thinks he is 50 years of age. I’ve come to realize there is a difference between people’s ages and how old they are. Being old is attitudinal.
Satchel Page’s famous quote says it all: “How old would you be if you did not know how old you were?” As time slips into the future, it is incredibly important not to let an old person inside. Let your IRA stand for your Independent Retirement Attitude.
As a financial planner and owner of a wealth management firm, I have been blessed with an opportunity to help many people arrive at their retirement destination with confidence and clarity. Retirement means freedom, fun and folly for many and yet, over the years, I have learned there is a difference between retiring and retiring well. And I’m starting to think that perhaps the entire idea of retirement is flawed.
Sadly our society seems to devalue age. Some employers even force retirement at a certain age. I always laugh when I ask a young child his age. A typical answer is 5 and 1/4 years old. That youngster is incredibly excited to get older. That gets a lot less excited as we actually age.
For those of you who have already celebrated your 60th birthday, what question did you get asked more than any other at that time?
“When are you going to retire?”
There is an assumption—and sometimes even an expectation—regarding the “right” time to call it quits on the career front, as if there’s some age-based finish line. Although this artificial end point can be a very exciting day for many, I have also observed that it can be the most traumatic day of one’s economic life. It’s the last day you cash a paycheck and the day the price of everything starts to matter.
This day has an effect on personal relationships as well. One husband with no hobbies shadowed his wife throughout the day. Another alphabetized the spice rack during his first week of retirement. Not exactly how most of us imagine our golden years.
Here are some observations I have made watching people retire:
Money Will Fund a Purpose But Not Provide a Purpose
No amount of money can buy you purpose. I have seen people dive head first into their newfound freedom. No more early morning meetings, employees to manage or payroll to meet. Their first few months are spent doing everything they love, from continual days on the fairways to runs on Mt Bachelor. And then on day 89 or 132, they wake up one morning with no true sense of purpose.
Many clients and advisors focus only on having enough money to sleep well at night. But the conversation needs to include having enough purpose to wake up in the morning.
Years ago people retired at the age of 65 and just a few short years later they were dead. Maybe this is why they were given a watch—there was not much time left. Today, retirees often spend a third of their life in retirement. How they approach that time will determine whether those years are, actually, golden.
The dictionary defines retirement as “withdrawing or leaving.” Synonyms include “retreat” and “seclusion.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. Just as a crowd claps loudly for a few more songs at the end of a great concert, retirement can be your encore. What is your purpose? How are you going to spend your time? How do you want to make a difference in journey next chapter of life? Wayne Dyer always said: “Don’t die with your music inside.” This is the time to discover your music and let it play.
Passion Never Needs to Retire
You don’t even need to stop working. A new generation of aging baby boomers seems poised to swap the old dream of freedom from work to a new one built around the freedom to work. Home Depot and AARP recently announced a new partnership to recruit older workers for the home renovation giant. Targeting retirees who couldn’t wait to hit the tool shed following a day on the job, the campaign steers them toward trading in retirement for a new vision of what work can be.
Increasingly, people are deciding not to retire. I know a 57-year-old man who has been working and planning very hard over the years to retire at age 60. Although he is on target to reach his goal, he recently had a change of heart. “At this point in my career, my job has never been easier,” he told me. “My clients trust and believe in me. I have great relationships and I am making more money than ever before. Why would I want to leave such a good thing?”
Having set similar retirement goals for myself, I am starting to rethink them as I increasingly find that my work is an engagement that brings value to others and meaning to me. This gives me a great sense of purpose. Why would I want to stop? Numerous studies also indicate that maintaining intellectual challenge in life is the most effective way to keep dementia and Alzheimer’s from showing their faces.
It used to be a badge of honor to be retired and free at 55. Maybe the new goal is to be 80 and working part time because you want to. Think hard before you walk away from a career you love. Because retirement may not be what you imagine.
A Vacation/Vocation Balance
For 35 years George dreamed of a retirement life of golf and sailing. It took him five years into retirement to have an epiphany.
“They never told me the reason my golf was so much fun in my pre-retirement years was because I was getting away from work. Leisure derives its meaning from work. You remove work and it becomes much less exciting.”
George reinvented himself and now sits on two nonprofit boards that he is passionate about. He also coaches young professionals in his previous field of endeavor. He is giving back, feels a renewed sense of purpose and even receives compensation for his efforts. This additional and unneeded income covers his expensive hobbies, which he is enjoying more than ever before.
“Aging well is about connectivity with others—not retiring to a gated community 1,500 miles away where I don’t know anyone,” George says.
His excitement for life is infectious. I can imagine asking him his age in the future and his answer being 81 and 3/4s.
In the end, it not all about money but the essence of life.
David Rosell is President of Rosell Wealth Management in Bend. www.RosellWealthManagement.com. He is the author of Failure is Not an Option- Creating Certainty in the Uncertainty of Retirement. You may learn more about his book at www.DavidRosell.com or Amazon.com. Ask for David’s book at Barnes & Noble, Newport Market, Cafe Sintra, Bluebird Coffee Shop, Dudley’s Bookshop and Powell’s Books in Portland.
Investment advisory services offered through Rosell Wealth Management, a State Registered Investment Advisor. Securities offered through ValMark Securities, Inc. Member FINRA, SIPC 130 Springside Drive, Ste 300 Akron, Ohio 44333-2431. 800 765-5201. Rosell Wealth Management is a separate entity from ValMark Securities.
1 Comment
Love your words of inspiration. Enjoy life where you are at is where it is at. Would enjoy sharing a cup of coffee with you and talk about the now of my future.