Like the past, the gap between the haves and have nots is growing. One study I came across found that 40 percent of baby boomers report that it was difficult for them to kneel or stoop, stand for two hours, walk one- quarter mile, climb 10 steps without resting, sit for two hours, lift and carry 10 pounds, reach over their heads, push or pull a large object, or grasp small objects.
That’s a startling statistic because many of those things play a crucial role in how people measure the success of their retirement. The way I read it is that 40 percent of people are going to struggle on a vacation that requires some walking, standing or holding onto a rail. It means people are going to find it difficult to play on the floor or in the grass with their grandchildren, and that things like gardening, biking with a friend or watching a movie may be less enjoyable than ever before. The evidence is clear, having a functional body in retirement has to be of equal, if not more value, than having the right savings and asset allocation.
Advisors can have an immediate impact on their clients’ well-being by making sure they instruct clients to “retire with” something. It’s been said time and time again that people need to “retire to” something, but that causes delays and doesn’t address the fact that we are what we do each and every day. In other words, the way for clients to stay mobile and avoid falling into the have not category is to retire with good health habits. By establishing healthy eating habits along with an exercise routine and quiet time for personal or spiritual reasons, it’s much easier to continue them in life.
Too many people retire with the idea that they will start doing these things once they are done working, but retirement doesn’t come with any extra motivation or energy. In fact, it magnifies what people already are and do. So, advisors need to be aware of these and other things that have been shown to play a role in not only increasing one’s life, but the value they find in the extra time.
Another important topic I don’t want to leave out is how a client’s brain plays into the world of retirement. To start, a survey by Home Instead Senior Care revealed that older adults fear Alzheimer’s disease more than any other life-threatening illnesses, including cancer, stroke, heart disease and diabetes. Frankly, none of them sound good, but if you have seen someone “disappear” before your very eyes due to Alzheimer’s or dementia, it’s downright frightening.
Peeling back the layers, it’s easy to see why more and more people will continue to fear this disease and the loss of their memory. Basically, our memories make our lives meaningful. In other words, our memories define who we are and how we perceive the world. Without our memories, we begin to lose our identity and our connections, and with that, the ability to find personal satisfaction in life as we age.
What we know is that our brains need a good supply of blood and oxygen to function effectively. That makes regular exercise a crucial factor in lowering one’s risk for Alzheimer’s. However, if a client can’t exercise or chooses not to, it not only puts them at risk for a less meaningful retirement, it’s not only likely to make them more isolated, but also decreases their longevity.
Overall, the new science of retirement planning demands that advisors adopt a new set of beliefs and practices where a client’s relationships, mobility and mental health become the center, or main foundation for planning in this next phase of life. It suggests that advisors will need to acquire new skills in order to effectively touch on these topics with clients to ensure they “retire with” something as well as avoid being placed in the “have nots” category.