Ask a Retiree: Am I really retired if I'm still working?

Tags
GS
Retirement

To make Wealthtender free for readers, we earn money from advertisers, including financial professionals and firms that pay to be featured. This creates a conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Read our editorial policy and terms of service to learn more. Wealthtender is not a client of these financial services providers.
➡️ Find a Local Advisor | 🎯 Find a Specialist Advisor

Learning How To Retire (Or Not)

I have heard the terms semi-retired, working in retirement, scaling back and “just doing a little consulting here and there”.

Why would anyone want to work in retirement in the first place? Why would I retire if I still want to work? Am I retired if I am still working?

I must admit I am not in love with the word retirement. If I were still in the corporate world, this is where I would insert a Webster’s or Wikipedia definition of the word “Retirement” into my presentation. I will skip that for now and just assume none of us really know what retirement means, or at least it means different things to different people.

I have been spending more time talking to retirees and learning from some of their experiences as well as learning from my own experience.

Image credit: Cary Smith, Client First Capital.

Retire Too Early

I have talked to several people who feel like they retired too early. Not too early financially, but too early in that they felt like they still enjoyed the work. They wish they had pursued opportunities to work less and continued to stay mentally engaged and connected with others.

Many said they would have taken a significant cut in pay, because it was no longer about the money. When I retired from a 35-year career in Financial Services, I took 6 months off without even considering another job or career. I felt like I needed to be retired to understand retirement. It was great. I was exercising 2 – 3 hours a day, reading, doing some travel, keeping up with home maintenance and catching an occasional nap.

I enjoyed it, and even while I was enjoying it, I knew, at the time, it was not enough long-term. Today I have two jobs. I am an Adventure Guide for REI, an organization that is committed to getting people outdoors and active, and I work with Client First Capital, an organization that is committed to helping families build and maintain a secure financial future.

Have a question to ask a financial advisor? Submit your question and it may be answered by a Wealthtender community financial advisor in an upcoming article.

Stay Up With Technology

Some of the retirees I talked to wished they kept up with changes in technology.

For many of us, our jobs help us stay current with technology. Systems changes, software developments, technology to enhance communication and increase productivity are all a part of most jobs today. Although most of us look forward to unplugging and being less connected when we retire, technology impacts all of us.

The way we communicate and connect, the way we shop and pay for things, how we access entertainment and much more. Staying current with technology can get us out of our comfort zone, which is a good thing, keeps us mentally engaged, and may even give us the opportunity to help others keep up with technology.

Healthspan

I was doing some long-term retirement planning recently, and I was curious about life expectancy for myself and my wife. I found several Life Expectancy Calculators online.

In addition to age and gender, the calculators also wanted information about our current health. Our height and weight, do we smoke, how much alcohol do we consume, do we have hypertension or high cholesterol.

It got me thinking that outside of age and gender, we have some control of the things that impact our life expectancy. It also reminded me of a retirement article I read by author U-Ming Lee where he used the word healthspan (not a real word, yet) in contrast to lifespan.

Lifespan measures how long you live, and healthspan is the amount of time you spend in good health. In almost every conversation I have with retirees, the topic of health and the importance of an active lifestyle comes up. Some are proud of the way they have changed their diet and increased their activity, and others wish they had done more (or some).

One of the greatest benefits of retirement is having more time to exercise. It does not matter how active or inactive one was during their full-time career, being physically active is as important as being mentally engaged. Going for a walk, a swim, bike ride, hitting the gym, or playing a sport, exercise should be a part of everyone’s daily routine.

About the Author

Cary Smith is Director of Business Development at Client First Capital and has 35 years of experience in Financial Services. Cary retired from USAA in August 2022 after a successful career of serving the military community. During his time at USAA, Cary was the Executive accountable for a large part of USAA’s Financial Planning and Advice business with over 400 Financial Advisors in 6 locations across the United States.

Cary also served in the Navy and spent much of his Naval career aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Cary lives in Cave Creek, Arizona with his wife Regina. He is on the Board of Directors for Junior Achievement of Arizona. He and Regina volunteer at their church and are active in their community.

—

Please note that Wealthtender earns a nominal monthly fee from Client First Capital in exchange for providing access to the benefits described here, subject to these terms. This compensation creates a natural conflict of interest when we favor promotion of advisors affiliated with Client First Capital and other financial advisors in the Wealthtender community over advisors not featured on our platform. Wealthtender is not a client of these advisors or firms.

This article is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be considered financial advice. You should consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.

Find a Financial Advisor

Do you have questions about your financial future? Find a financial advisor who can help you enjoy life with less money stress by visiting Wealthtender’s free advisor directory.

Whether you’re looking for a specialist advisor who can meet with you online, or you prefer to find a nearby financial planner, you deserve to work with a professional who understands your unique circumstances.

Have a question to ask a financial advisor? Submit your question and it may be answered by a Wealthtender community financial advisor in an upcoming article.

This article originally appeared on Wealthtender. To make Wealthtender free for our readers, we earn money from advertisers, including financial professionals and firms that pay to be featured. This creates a natural conflict of interest when we favor their promotion over others. Wealthtender is not a client of these financial services providers.