What is New Age Retirement?

My intent for New Age Retirement is to provide a life planning process for new (or “experienced” retirees) to maximize what you accomplish in your retirement years. I believe that a balanced set of priorities will lead to a fulfilling and happy retirement but to connect the two you need to do some structured planning. You can do as little or as much as you choose, some is better than none! Only by knowing where you want to head, and the constraints you have, can you put in place a plan that is achievable.

Approaching and entering retirement should be a time of reflection, optimism, and excitement! Ideally retirement is the time for a fresh start with few of the demands and constraints you’ve had in your prior career!

The old adage “you spend more time planning your next vacation than you do planning your retirement” is unfortunately often true. And for those that have put effort into retirement planning it’s mostly focused on financial aspects. 

As a recent retiree, or if you know retirees, you’ve likely heard comments such as:

• “I’m busier than ever”
• “I don’t know where the time goes”
• “I haven’t had time…”.

Today’s retirees will likely have 30+ years of living still ahead. What do you want to do with that time and what do you want to accomplish? By taking a more planful approach to retirement you can accomplish what is most important to you and increase your sense of satisfaction during those years – all within the confines each of us have (financial, time, and health).

Like new age music (per Wikipedia, a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism), I intend “new age retirement” to be an inspired, relaxing, and optimistic approach to non-financial retirement planning:

• inspired by new experiences and opportunities
• relaxing with endless possibilities due to fewer demands outside of one’s control
• an optimistic view of the potential to be unlocked from retirement

What’s important in your life is entirely up to you and will evolve over time. As you enter retirement you may be juggling an idea you have to produce some income along with travel, family, exercise, hobbies, volunteering, etc. There’s probably more that you would like to be doing than the time, or resources available. As we age the constraints we’re operating under change. Financial situations may change, physical abilities will become more limited, time available will fluctuate. 

What do you want your legacy to be? What do you want to show from your life that you haven’t already accomplished? I think there’s an approach, an attitude, and a process that can be applied by anyone, anywhere, in any situation that can answer those questions and put in place a plan by focusing on what’s important to you as outcomes from your retirement years.

Instead of new year’s resolutions, how about starting each new year energized by what you want to accomplish in the new year and working towards that? By having a plan plus annual adjustments you will know what you want to accomplish and when.

Fair warning:

• Life planning is not new. My goal is to provide a new spin and additional structure specific to baby boomer retirees. I also hope to provide a DIY approach.
• Financial information and advice will be touched on very lightly. I am not in a position to provide financial guidance and none is implied but I’m happy to share resources I use, and what I’m thinking about and doing, and why. 
• I have a California (San Francisco Bay Area) perspective and worked in a large tech company. My opinions / biases were shaped from that environment. 
• Basic inspiration for some elements of my thinking comes from the book What Color is Your Retirement? by Robert P. Johnson, PhD. It accompanies the Retirement Options coaching certification which I have recently completed. I purchased the book used from Amazon prior to enrolling in the certification course.

My belief is that any amount of planning you do for your life and retirement is time well spent. You can do a little or a lot. I can’t tell you where the time invested in planning produces diminishing returns – to me it’s all good!

Resources:

Change Your Life. Chase Your Dreams. (Speech by Admiral McRaven)

What Color is Your Retirement? by Robert P. Johnson PhD