For the love of retirement

I apologize for the irregular postings.

I usually try to send something out at the beginning of each week, but with August vacations, Labor Day, and a trip to see my family in the UK tomorrow, I’ve fallen behind a bit.

All these vacations and holidays inspired me to write about the love of retirement. The past few newsletters have explored the various perspectives on aging that we discovered in our research.

In summary, we identified 6 essentialis outlooks.

For some it's all about adventure. For others, it's a competition and they want to win. Some conclude that it's the relationships that truly matter.

Traditional retirement is not dead.

If you follow the media, you'd be forgiven for thinking that retirement is a thing of the past. Many are afraid of running out of money. Many are working until the last possible moment, either because they can't afford not to or because they can't imagine life without work. While these scenarios are common, not everyone dreads the idea of retirement. About 13% of people over 50 are actually excited about it.

I've saved my whole life for this, and I'm going to enjoy it.

Most of this pro-retirement group consists of people who have worked hard their entire lives. They have been successful, and many have followed financial advice to save consistently. As a result, they tend to have more financial resources than others. They stand out for their enthusiasm about ending their working lives and instead spending their time enjoying the good things in life.

Are you ready?

What’s remarkable about those eager to retire is that they’ve given it a lot of thought. We called this segment "Balanced Breezers." They describe years of hard work, savings, and sacrifices, all so they can enjoy life after work. For them, working hard was the path to future freedom and the ability to spend time doing the things they love—things they couldn't do when their lives were full of work or family commitments.

Micro-retirements on the rise

This week, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal and a post on LinkedIn about how younger people are breaking the rules and taking significant breaks in their careers to enjoy the pleasures of retirement, before it's too late. While financial advisors may have concerns about the impact these career breaks can have on savings, many young people (80% by some accounts) see little value in waiting until their 60s to experience periods of financial independence.

Delayed Gratification?

All of this reminds me of the famous Marshmallow Experiment from Stanford. We used to believe that delayed gratification was important for child development and that greater success could be achieved if we were willing to wait. Like many in my generation, I worked continuously to build my career and maintain my earning potential so I could save enough to fund my retirement years. There's something appealing about this alternative approach. Maybe the best things don’t always come to those who wait—certainly, I can think of many peers who played by the traditional rules but who never got to enjoy their rewards. What do you think? Micro-retirements throughout your career or one big retirement at the end? Share your thoughts in the comments.