Retire To Something, Not From Something

All too often, I hear people who are thinking about retirement talk about how they just can't wait to get out of wherever they are. And that's what they're doing: they're retiring from being overworked, from being burnt out, or from a toxic work environment.

Sometimes, we don't have the luxury to retire to something we're looking forward to, but it is important to realize what you're losing when you leave work. Work provides many of us quite a bit more than a paycheck. You have camaraderie with your coworkers, you have a purpose, you're fulfilling things, and it's good to have obligations.

If you retire without a big plan, filling out 40 hours a week is a lot. And without that purpose, without that mission, often us humans don't do quite well with that. Health can decline, and it can strain relationships. The reality is, you and your spouse might be spending more time together than you've ever had before, and if one or both of you are bored, that's not always a great thing.

Vacations from work are great when it's a vacation. Relaxation is great when it is a break. But relaxation when it's the normal isn't quite the same thing anymore.

The Happiest Retirees Have a Passion

Working with people transitioning to retirement over the years, what I have found is the healthiest, happiest people in retirement are the folks who have things they do in retirement. They changed from work to things they're passionate about, on their own terms. I think that's what ends up being a great retirement: taking back control.

And what that "work" could be is different things. It could be part time work just for fun, or working in something completely different. It could be pursuing art, but really pursuing it like doing art shows and trying to get your work out there. That pursuit I think is important. Or, it could be volunteering multiple days per week. That's something that I consistently see over time.

Don't Forget Your Social Network

It's also a problem that I think a lot of men have. Generally, women have much bigger social networks than we do. Women have best friends outside of their husband. Many men, myself included, our best friend is our wife. If something happens to her, that's the big issue for me. That's something that I don't think should be overlooked if you no longer have work to give you purpose, comradery and keep you busy. That's a real risk in retirement that no one wants to think about.

I can speak for myself I get a lot out of working. I'm fortunate that I love what I do. I don't have a boss other than my regulators and my clients. But that's not everyone's situation, and I'm a young man, so I don't know what it's like to be in the workforce for 40 years either, and be older with declining health.

But having some pursuit, having some purpose, some passion that you're chasing that's what I think can enable a tremendous retirement.

It Doesn't Have to Be About Money

Pursuing something doesn't have to be anything that makes money, of course. It can cost you money. Several years back, I talked to a couple whose passion was going to estate sales. They loved to pick things up and resell them. They liked to find the diamond in the rough. And I told them, "You're set up for a wonderfully prosperous retirement." They actually make money doing this! The thing that they like to do with their free time doesn't cost them money, it makes them money. So it also means they don't need nearly as much savings.

It doesn't need to be every case that's kind of the dream scenario: the thing you're passionate about, you make money doing it. That's great. But having that passion in retirement, even if you're spending money, you're looking forward to it. You've got these things that you're working towards. I just encourage people to really think about that before you make the switch to retire.

Sometimes you don't always have that luxury you need to retire from something. You can always figure things out later, but when you're thinking about retirement, really think about how you want to spend your time and do some of these things.

Golf and Travel Aren't Always the Answer

People will say, "Well, I'm going to play golf." Well, how much golf are you going to play? Some people truly can play every single day, but where do you live? Here in the Northeast, am I playing golf every day the whole winter season? And how much do you like golf? I could not play golf every day. I enjoy playing golf, but I remember I didn't join the golf team in high school because I didn't want to play every single day..

Or travel. How much traveling are you really going to do? And do you enjoy it?

One of the things I like to tell people is I really encourage you, if you can make it happen, do the bucket list trip as soon as possible. The reason for that is twofold. One, it gives you a taste of if this is how you want to spend your time in retirement. It also ensures, hopefully, you get to do it, because I have unfortunately seen far too many people's health decline on them and then they don't get to do the things that they wanted to do. If you wait to live until retirement, that's one of the scariest things that I see.

Now, I think you also can't just say, "Oh, well, whatever, I'm going to live today and not worry about tomorrow," because tomorrow will come most times.

The Best Investment Is Your Time

The best investment I think that someone can make towards retirement isn't always financial. It's really how you're going to spend your time filled up with things that will give you energy. That could be a different type of work, or it could be passion projects around the house. It could be any number of things.

Time and time again, the people that I see that look the best, seem the happiest, are people who are active in their retirement. They just have more control over the things that they need to do because they don't depend on anything for money. So they're volunteering for causes they believe in, they are watching their grandkids, they are going antiquing and thrifting, and they're doing these things they really enjoy and they're doing this while they can. It keeps them active.

And people who are active in retirement consistently are also the people that are healthiest the longest. I've had the great pleasure to work with people all across the age spectrum. I worked with a musician who was singing at nursing homes in his mid 90s every week. Sharp as a tack, active, walked every day.

Sometimes being healthy enables you to do things for longer, but also it's hard to deny: the people who are active, they're staying engaged, they're doing things consistently they're the folks who are 90+ mobile, not in severe cognitive decline.

I think it's worthy of a lot of time investment thinking about and creating schedules for yourself when your schedule is yours to make, and not your work's.

The information in this blog is the opinion of Nathan Tomkiewicz and does not reflect the views of any other person or entity unless specified. The information provided is believed to be  reliable and obtained from reliable sources, but no liability is accepted for inaccuracies. The information provided is for informational purposes and should not be construed as advice. Advisory services offered through Tomkiewicz Wealth Management, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the State of New York and Massachusetts.