Clients need to understand that one of the best kept secrets of a successful transition into retirement has to do with the way they run their life leading up to it.
Studies show that people live longer, healthier and happier retirements if they have a strong social network; are connected to a purpose bigger than themselves; and have an outlet for physical activity and means of staying relevant to the world around them (learning new things, experience new places and meeting new people).
The problem for many people is they work hard and focus on getting to retirement and suddenly feel overwhelmed by the need to play catch up in these areas. You’ll notice that Jesse never worked backwards, he bought time by working ahead and so it’s the same for retirement planning; it requires forward thinking and not waiting to try and figure it out once the engine of work life has passed by.
Another reason why this story is so important is because of how people perceive retirement. They look at it like I did at Jesse’s job. They think about how great it would be to have this extra free time and daydream about all the wonderful possibilities.
However, truth be told, it can be anything but that. Later that summer, I came to learn that Jesse used most of his extra time to get drunk and high. Turns out some people turn to the same harmful substances when they aren’t sure how to handle their retirement. If you haven’t heard me preach about it before, understand that there is a dark side of assembly lines as well as retirement that includes addiction, depression and high suicide rates, which is exactly why planning for the non-financial aspects of retirement is so essential.
That summer, I also met an outgoing, funny guy named James who seemed to know every-one in the plant. He had an infectious laugh and big smile, especially after lunch. I can vividly remember him every day counting down how many years, months and days he had left until retirement.
I would shout over the buzz of the factory, “How’s it going James?”
He would holler back, “23 years, seven months and 10 days to go my friend.”
Being a college kid, I didn’t think much about it, after all I was counting down the days to get back onto campus as well. But after hearing it, day-in and day-out, it started to feel like a prison sentence.
His approach to work stuck with me for a long time and is a topic that isn’t talked about enough with clients, in terms of doing something that they love. After constantly hearing James count down his life to something supposedly better, I vowed to make sure I was doing something I loved and would look forward to. I didn’t want to regret spending my time doing something I didn’t enjoy.