Intersections- Retirement

Recently, during a much appreciated breakfast with Grandson Grayson, he asked a question, “Is retirement fun?”

That launched a protracted response that was probably more than he wanted to hear. Regardless, the question prompted me to continue my series of posts on intersections along my journey.

I believe Grayson’s question betrays some contemporary concepts about retirement. Primarily, retirement is viewed as the time of life when we enjoy the fruits of our labor, the culmination of the American dream. It is the good life, happiness, golf, beaches, travel, vibrant sexuality, financial security, and certainly fun, essentially a perpetual vacation. Such a vision shouldn’t come as a surprise, it is the relentless message of media. 

The problem is, that imagery, like most of the ads we consume, does not depict reality,  but creates an illusion. That illusion dominates our expectations of retirement. Perhaps you have visited Florida a in the winter when the annual migration of snowbirds is at its peak. There seems to be  a prevailing sense of urgency to find the proverbial “pot of gold” at the end of life’s rainbow. You quickly learn not to get in the way. Sometimes it feels like shopping at Walmart on Black Friday. I have observed that many seem to have a attitude of entitlement, often reflected in their dour countenance, if not in outright anger. 

I am coming to understand their state of mind. They bought into the media created illusion of retirement, investing their money, dreams and energy. Now, receiving the dividends on their investment, reality sets in, they have been scammed and they are pissed. 

Of course, there are some who find the retirement “pot of gold” just like there are some people who live in multi-million dollar mansions on the beach and drive Bentleys. Can I say we just need to “get real”?

What follows are some thoughts on what I see as realities of retirement.

Retirement is not the end, it is the beginning of the end.

Generally, we seem to think of retirement as an event, a day of endings, no more … get-ups … going to work … et al. Certainly as an event, retirement is the occasion of endings. but it is also the beginning of the end. Because the period of our lives that we are entering is a transition, the term retirement, I believe, is inadequate. For that reason, I suggest a better description would be autumn.  

Autumn is transition rather than termination. When we view the full scope of our lives, autumn is most akin to adolescence in reverse. Adolescence is transition from child to adult, moving from dependence to independence, immaturity to maturity, achieving and acquiring personally and materially. 

Autumn is the reverse, transition from independence to dependence, from achievement and acquisition personally and materially to diminishment  and release of everything, sooner, if not later. The most profound reality of the retirement event is that the end is coming, no exceptions. The wild card for us  is that we have no guarantee how long our autumn will be. 

For most people, that’s not a problem. Everything we see and hear, excepting those funeral director ads, presumes there is no end. It seems to be okay with most people, which explains why, at least in part, we are susceptible to being scammed. Understanding the tentativeness of our mortality makes autumn planning a crap shoot of sorts, but I guess that’s true of life. 

Currently the average years of autumn in the United States is 18 years. Reasonably, we should plan for that length of time. Note: I am 77 years old and have been in autumn 20 years! I said it is a crap shoot. 

Autumn Financial Planning

Given the Ideal of an American dream autumn, the primary focus of autumn planning is necessarily financial. No matter what one’s autumn turns out to be, finances will be an concern. Typically, the beginning of autumn means the cessation of ordinary income. Without provisions for other sources of income, autumn can quickly turn to winter. A key factor in planning for autumn is realistic understanding of the amount of money that will be needed to sustain your expected lifestyle, starting as early as possible saving to assure the monies will be there when needed. It sounds simple, but the complexities and demands of life, coupled with illusions of immortality, make financial planning a challenge.

Planning for Autumn

As it stands now, nearly 1/4 of our lives will be spent in autumn and all indications are that it will continue to increase. Preparing for autumn is clearly necessary. Financial implications, as mentioned, are a primary concern. Not withstanding financial factors, there are other considerations which are important and require planning. 

Autumn is an era of our lives that is fraught with uniques challenges. Unlike our adolescence where our aspirations looked to the future, our autumn lens is a rear-view mirror. 

Autumn brings a paradox of regret and celebration, lament and joy. Coming to terms with one’s mortality has a way stripping away illusions. If one’s worth and purpose and meaning is centered in work and/or career, prompt cessation of them will likely produce a deep sense of loss. Worthlessness and lack of purpose and meaning are real challenges in autumn. To the extent that our worth and purpose and meaning are inextricably bound to our pre-autumn identity, we will struggle with transition to a new reality. 

Some would argue, despite loss of extrinsic sources of worth and purpose and meaning, there are new and different opportunities to fill that void. That is certainly  true. Many are content with golf, gardening, volunteering, social activism, religion, et al.  Unfortunately, not all of such opportunities are bulletproof, meaning they will withstand both enviable and unexpected realities of autumn. Did I say autumn is a crap shoot?  

A deficiency of retirement planning primarily focused on finances is that it ignores the equally important need to plan for provision of transcendent resources. Resources that can transcend and/or mitigate the arduous and uneven journey through autumn. Resources which are mostly intrinsic and lend themselves to addressing issues of worth, purpose and meaning. 

Such resources, as I currently perceive them, would primarily be categorized as relational, …family, service, employment, volunteering, reading, writing, et al.

The possibilities are myriad. It is my intention to plant seeds and encourage the idea of autumn planning beyond finances. 

Candidly, what I am suggesting was not an objective part of our retirement planning experience. If I had a do over, here are some thoughts on what I would consider in addition to financial planning.

• I would engage in a serious self-assessment of my mental, emotional, spiritual and physical health with the intention of achieving clarity regarding the sources of worth, meaning and purpose in my life. 
• Once I had clarity on that reality, I would assess the vulnerability of those sources relative to my anticipated retirement plans/dreams.
• Subsequently, modify any current plans/dreams to minimize potential negative impact on the quality of my mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health in the autumn of life.
• Next, assess financial plans against the new vision and adjust accordingly.
• Live happily(worthfully, meaningfully, purposefully, healthfully ) ever(?) after.

I am of the opinion, that to a significant extent, our autumn experience will mirror our lives up to that point. To that end, as with financial planning, the earlier the above thoughts are appropriated and acted upon the better autumn will be. There is no time in our lives that has more potential for the beautiful things life has to offer.

“It’s never too late to…” is a lie!