After working for 27 years, Fidelity Investments, Nan Ives jumped at the chance to take advantage of an early retirement package at the age of 59. She was ready for a break from the hustle and bustle of her daily life, and she felt she couldn't miss out on the „amazing gift“ her company offered her. She dreamed of traveling, spending more weekends on Cape Cod, and playing golf to her heart's content. She finally had the time and money to make it all a reality.
But the newlywed days quickly came to an end, says Ives, now 65. luck. She picked up side gigs here and there, but the joy she experienced during her first few months in the rink quickly left her feeling lost and aimless.
„I couldn't wait to retire. I was tired, I didn't want to do it anymore. But even if you retire at 60, some people live to be 90. That's a third of your life. What to do? ? says Ives. „You don't have to work and you don't have to deal with all the challenges of working. But it's his third of his life without a roadmap.“
Coincidentally, Lisa Stornaiello, a former colleague who also took early retirement, was similarly dissatisfied. After many conversations, the two decided that rather than retire, they would pursue a second career on their own terms and design their own roadmap. Ultimately, they launched The Future of You to help other individuals and employers plan and manage the retirement transition they want to redefine.
Ives says: „Being 60 or 70 isn't old. It's a state of mind.“
Mr. Ives and Mr. Strunaiello, 62, are not the only retirees who begin to feel a loss of self and purpose when they leave the workplace.In fact, almost One-third of retirees suffer from depression, due to loss of routine, structure, social circle, etc.a hard stop retirementis especially difficult for many to navigate, as Ives and Strnaiero experienced.
But also, The number of baby boomers graduating from college is increasing., women are choosing not to retire and remain in the workforce until they are fully employed at age 65, which may not be long. They are happier and enjoy helping others. Ives describes the satisfaction he felt from building his business and learning everything from new research methods to working with contractors to video editing.
They now have what former journalist Mark Walton calls a „non-retirement“ plan.Walton, who wrote this book Pre-retirees: How the most talented people live happily ever afterespecially for those approaching retirement. A person who has achieved high results in their career, To avoid loneliness and boredom in this new life stage, it's important to have a comprehensive life plan, not just a financial plan. Many people believe that they can easily fill their time with leisure activities, volunteering, traveling, visiting family, etc., but this is often not the case.
„I didn't fully understand how we could go from a career that was fascinating and that we felt was important to something less,“ Walton says. luck.
Since the 1980s, the number of workers aged 65 and older has quadrupled.It depends on many factors and of course many people work out of economic necessity; the retirement crisis is very real; (That said, many older Americans who want to work may not be physically able).but researchers point out Baby boomers, who hold white-collar jobs and don't feel the need to slow down, make up a larger portion of the workforce than ever before. In fact, university graduates More likely to work after age 65 than someone without a degree.
People are living longer, and thanks to advances in technology, more people are finding jobs that are less physically demanding. For America's first generation of knowledge workers, it was impossible for many to flip the switch as soon as society decided they should leave the workforce, Walton said. Walton knows firsthand what it means to reach retirement age and still have a lot to give. He enters „non-retirement plan.“
plan for retirement
A non-retirement plan doesn't necessarily have to involve continuing to work for corporate America. Rather, Walton says there are his three key components: attraction, flow, and generativity, all of which can be achieved at will.
Let's start with charm. What are you really interested in? What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing?
“The most important thing is that people not only love what they do, but are fascinated by it,” Walton says. „It may not be the same job they started with. Some are in the same field, and some have reinvented themselves.“
According to Walton, fascination is critical because it leads to the second block: flow, or immersion in the work. In a flow state, time disappears and you are completely immersed in your work. What leads to flow varies from person to person. It is „driven by purposeful work in which we invest the full force of our talents, skills, and energies,“ Walton writes. Keeping the mind focused is important to many people's well-being, he says.
„That's why taking on challenges that stretch your mind and abilities, rather than pursuing less demanding activities, is such an important component of successful retirement planning.“ he writes.
Generative power is born from flow. This last term refers to the human urge to „pay it forward“ or help others, and is important for many people entering the second chapter of their lives, Walton writes. Feeling like you are contributing to society is often necessary to avoid „personal stagnation and emotional despair.“
“If you don’t do that, you’re not a complete human being,” Walton says.
retirement revolution
Walton points out that many people simply don't talk about the lack of purpose they feel after retirement, out of shame or embarrassment. Stornaielo and Ives are helping to solve that problem. They provide people with a „safe space“ to seek more and find their own passion. Many of them may not seem obvious at first, but they make perfect sense.
For example, one client enjoyed working out. She considered becoming a personal trainer. But Strunaiello and Ives noticed that she „lighted up“ as they talked about helping her son and friends. linkedin profile. She currently consults with new graduates and helps them start their careers.
„I don't have to work anymore, but to be honest, it's harder than I thought.'' „It can be daunting to have an empty calendar when your calendar is usually full,“ says Ives. „I play a lot of golf, but does that make me jump out of bed every morning? We want people to find new and exciting things that energize them.“
Once I have generated these ideas, I help my clients create a plan with the understanding that, like any other plan in life, it can change over time. Retirement is not a stagnant state. Just like with financial planning, Ives says, sometimes you need to rebalance.
So far, our partners have delivered the program to companies of all sizes, from banks to nonprofits to academia. They hope this will become a new benefit that more organizations will embrace, and that it will become a flip side to onboarding new employees. Strnaiero says older workers can feel valued and respected by their employers, rather than being forced out.
Even better for the two women, since they are entrepreneurs, they make their own time and take on as much work as they want, rather than answering to company management in which they have no real stake.
„At this point in your life, you don't have to struggle 9-to-5,“ Strunaiello says. But, „we are not the retiree image of our grandparents. There is a revolution in what retirement looks like.“
Ives and Strnaiero have developed an ideal retirement plan. They are doing something they enjoy and that challenges their mind and helps them develop new skills. At the same time, it also meets their productivity needs.
„I'm not quitting golf. But there's a balance in our lives, and it's really fulfilling,“ Ives says. „It doesn't feel like work. It's fun and we're helping people. There's a purpose to it.“
What is your retirement budget? luck writes about what Americans of various income levels spend in retirement. To share your story, email Alicia Adamczyk, Senior Writer. alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com.