Redefining Retirement

I have resisted describing my current station-in-life as “retired.”? “Retire,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary could be seen as a bad thing, at least by my read. The definition alludes to things from which you might avoid versus aspire:?

-“To withdraw from action or danger; retreat;”

-“To withdraw, especially for privacy” (that one may not be totally bad);

- “To move back; recede” (given that happened to my hairline in my twenties, that’s not helping);

- “To withdraw from one’s position or occupation; conclude one’s working or professional career.”

For me, retirement is not rooted in age or employment situation. It’s more of a status change, an act of moving from one stage in life to another.? I did not think about departing my career when I left the corporate world 4 years ago as leaving something. I looked at it as a beginning.? When we graduate from school, technically marking the end of the education phase of our lives, we often refer to the event celebrating that milestone as a “commencement.” ?That’s a much more uplifting word reflecting movement toward a new beginning.

?There is another “R” word that I sometimes prefer to avoid: reality.? The dictionary provides a much clearer description of this term - the state of being real. However, a more detailed explanation of reality that reflects my thinking can be found in a sub-definition of reality: “something that is neither derivative nor dependent, but exists necessarily.”? For me, an idealist whose glass is always half full (so I can make a full glass when getting together with all the glass-half-empty folks out there), reality exists sometimes not only necessarily, but as a necessary evil.???

The pictures above reflect my journey to this next phase of life. I am blessed to be one of a core group of 8 friends that came together as part of LaSalle College’s Class of 1982, along with the addition of spouses over time.? We have stayed in touch since our first “commencement” over 42 years ago, and have followed each other’s lives through weddings, children, divorces, job changes, parents aging and dying, grandchildren and now, actual and pending retirements.? And with the movement toward the next phase of our lives, we are finding more time available to get together – and while we may not be able to form that pyramid quite the same way as we did in school, we still have fun when we get together.?

?As I move on to that “next play” mentioned in the last edition of “Witzdom,” it’s time to evaluate how to move forward in my current phase of life just as I did as an underwriter. Evaluate what’s real and assess the appropriate actions to take.? And just like some risks were ugly when I started to look at the facts, I did understand that these facts “exist necessarily,” and can sometimes be turned into a positive.

?So here’s what’s real:?

- The calendar.? 2025 will see me – and most of the friends in the above pictures – turning 65.? Is that old? Considering the earliest images I have of my grandparents was when they were in their mid-60s, the answer is an overwhelming YES. ?I accept my advancing age.? I just hope my granddaughters don’t think I am nearly as old as I thought my grandparents were when I was their age!

- If you believe life expectancy tables (thanks to the actuaries), I should have at least another good 15 to 20 years on average, and maybe slightly more when I make an underwriting adjustment for how long my parents lived vis a vis their life expectancy.? Achieving a healthy 85-90 would be phenomenal, but using sports analogies – this does currently put me in the third period of the hockey game and the fourth quarter of the football game.? The time to put up or shut up, right?

- My desire to continue to contribute from a professional and volunteer perspective remains strong. I am fortunate to remain engaged in a few consulting activities and non-profit commitments. Part of my “next play” is to give back and spend time with endeavors for which I didn’t have time during my corporate years.

- My health is fortunately good – God willing as my grandmother would say. And the best part of turning age 65 is - hello, Medicare! ?While that topic – along with the requisite discussion of our ailments – is now one of the most discussed topics amongst my group of friends when we get together, I can’t believe I am actually excited to take advantage of this benefit of getting older. ?

- And did you know free stuff comes along with turning 65?!? Early bird specials, movie theatre and retail store discounts, deals on local trains, buses and more!

?Something about turning 65 makes us feel like we have truly achieved something.? If you think about the journey, it takes folks 18 to 22 years to prepare for a career, at minimum, and about 40 or so years to “do it.”? Same is true for people who choose family or other vocations versus traditional employment. But we don’t go through this process looking for an “ending,” do we?? The goal should be more focused on how to take advantage of what was learned during those earlier years when we arrive at this stage of our lives.? That’s where I am now.

?Three lessons I am taking from my life experiences up until now are factoring into how I approach those two “r” words:? retirement and reality:

?1.?????? Keep planning.? While it’s easy to sit back and say I am in the part of my life for which I have always prepared, I can’t rely on that past preparation being enough.? I continue to have a list of things I want to accomplish.? As mentioned in one of my first Witzdoms, I am a follower of Ben Nemtin, an accomplished motivational speaker and author, who’s “The Bucket List Journal” is always within my reach.? While many people ascribe to create a list of things they want do before they die and are satisfied to cross items off one-by-one, Ben takes the concept to a new level.? Whenever you complete one item from the list, add another.? Life will end when it ends, not when you’ve ticked everything off your bucket list.? I often think of my favorite uncle who lived to be 99. When asked what the secret to his longevity was he would say that he “always had something to look forward to.”? His tool for tracking his “bucket list” was an annual calendar one of my cousins would give him every year. On it, she would chart out birthdays and anniversaries of the children and grandchildren, along with significant events like weddings, reunions, significant appointments and the like. A simple concept, but he looked at that calendar daily to see what was coming up next. And he truly believed that kept him alive and more engaged.

2.?????? Don’t assume I know it all.? One would think that after spending my entire career in the group insurance and financial services industry, figuring out what to do with things like financial? planning, Social Security, Medicare and other traditional retirement topics would be a piece of cake for me.? After all, financial security was always a goal for me while I was working, as it was the focus of the companies for which I worked. But all of that experience doesn’t guarantee that I know everything I need to know about what it will take for me to continue on my life’s journey.? I had to admit recently how little I actually knew about the details of Medicare. Fortunately, a good friend and former colleague has dedicated the first 10 years of his retirement to advising his “younger” friends on the ins and outs of Medicare, the options, the timing and costs.? His advice has been extremely helpful – and I have learned there is a lot of additional thinking that needs to go into my selections. Maybe it’s my fear of becoming an ornery, stubborn old man, but I have committed to NOT assuming anything about my finances, my health or anything else where there may be someone with specific knowledge than can provide more appropriate guidance.

3.?????? Don’t look back.? Back to my sports analogies, clock management is a skill mastered by great coaches in many sports. Recognition that you can only manage the time that’s left on the clock is probably the most important component of clock management. You don’t get the time back, so why spend a lot of time reflecting on what could have been. The challenge we face, however, as we move forward in our lives is that we don’t know how much time is left on that clock. Not too long ago, before electronic timers and technology were added, whenever I’d watch a soccer match, I’d have no idea how much “extra time” was remaining before the half or game ended – and sometimes that’s how life can feel. ?But like the participants on the field, we keep playing the game until that final whistle. In life, we hopefully have learned from what we did in the past, but our eyes should always face forward, and not retreat to dwell on what’s behind us.

Redefining retirement to focus on the start versus the end of something allows us to pivot away from age and turn more aggressively toward action. Everyone will be in the 4th quarter of their life someday – and for those of us turning 65 in the next year, most of us are in it. I’m hoping its early 4th quarter for me.? And if so, and I am fortunate to live past 90, I plan on adhering to the words of another motivational author and entrepreneur Salil Bloom.? His reminder is simple. ?“Every single thing you do today is something that your 90 year old self will wish they could do.? The good old days are here now.”??

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Reisenwitz, from the German, translates something akin to “travel joke” in English. It explains why many a German-speaking border agent would snicker as I passed through passport control when I was working in Europe. I would subsequently translate the name to mean traveling fool – a jester, or a “wit,” given my career on the road. Throughout that career – and my overall life journey – I have acquired insight I have found beneficial that I’d like to share in this periodic newsletter. You can decide if it’s wisdom – or “witz”dom.? Hopefully you’ll find a little of both

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