|
Retirement is no longer just about spending time on the golf course or playing shuffleboard on a cruise ship. As medical advances increase life expectancies, people will have longer, more active retirements than previous generations.
We spoke about this fundamental change in retirement with Dr. Ken Dychtwald, renowned gerontologist, psychologist and author of The Power Years: A User’s Guide to the Rest of Your Life, a step-by-step guide to personal reinvention after 40.
Not Your Parents’ Retirement
Dychtwald says that at the forefront of the new retirement are baby boomers, the first of whom are set to turn 65 in 2011. This first wave of boomer retirees plans on having an active retirement. In 1900, the average American could expect to live to 47. In 2000, overall life-expectancy reached 77, which is giving people more time — and better health — to lead more active retirements. But an active retirement also calls for active retirement planning.
All play and no work...
Dychtwald surveyed thousands of baby boomers about their retirement attitudes and found that most of them expect to do some work after they reach retirement age – not out of necessity, but because they want to try out a new career and remain active in society. Retirees expect these new jobs to demand less of their time. And even though they expect to make less money, the income will help them postpone having to touch their principal savings during their early retirement years. It will also empower them to develop a retirement plan that is right for them.
These second careers will take various forms, such as the former chief executive who joins the Peace Corps or the scientist turned substitute teacher. The work might be full time for a couple of years, followed by a couple of years off, or just occasional throughout the year. The income will help create an affordable retirement, and the extra work might add to health and longevity.
“Being productive and connected boosts the spirit,” says Dychtwald. “It’s good for the mind, body, spirit and pocket book.”
Courtesy of Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Thomas E. Planinsek, Financial Advisor Suite 103B Berkshire Center, Route 30 East Greensburg, PA 15601 724-832-0855
|
