According to the survey, the four pillars in this reinvented third chapter are health, family, purpose and finance, all of which are weighted pretty evenly among each other and also weighted the same for men and women.
“Family is the heartbeat of retirement, and supporting loved ones is the number one ideal role in retirement. In fact, during the pandemic, those Americans who could help and support family members who were struggling, they stepped up and many of them acted as a family bank,” Dychtwald said. “That generational generosity is beautiful in a way, but potentially dangerous.”
Financial advisors have a real role in building in some guardrails for how retirees will help family so that those retirees don’t end up needing help that younger family members may or may not be able to provide in future years, she suggested.
According to the survey, 92% of retirees said that having purpose is essential to successful retirement. “And when 92% of people agree on anything, it’s pretty amazing,” Dychtwald said. “We’re hearing this loud and clear.”
And purpose is one of those pillars that really can impact the other pillars. For example, other studies have shown that having a strong sense of purpose reduces risk in key areas like Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular issues, depression, stroke and disability, while increasing overall health, cognitive functioning, life satisfaction and mobility, she said.
“Purpose also impacts family. Having purpose is more important than being wealthy, our survey showed. The number one greatest source of purpose, meaning and fulfillment is spending time with those we love,” she said. “Maybe it’s just babysitting the grandchildren, but it’s meaningful.”
Dychtwald said she’s been using a new term to describe retirement and that’s “time affluence.” Comprehensive financial advisors who are aware of this and sensitive to it can really connect with clients on all the possibilities of what retirement can offer. “We might be at a tipping point, a tipping point in creating a new vision for what retirement means. It’s great to relax but there should be more ways for retirees to contribute, to make intergenerational connections in their own communities,” she said.
Financial issues can increase in complexity for this demographic, the survey found, and especially when they converge with health issues along the lines of health-care costs and long-term care costs.
“Of course, you are not a health expert,” Dychtwald reminded, but being close enough to clients to talk about health and future health expectations is an important part of a financial advisor’s job.