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Retirement Wisdom

Retire Smarter

Career and Work

What Story are You Writing? 6 Lessons to Fuel Your Next Chapter

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by Joe Casey

What will the next chapter be in the story that you’re writing?

I had the pleasure of attending a CIRKEL intergenerational networking event in New York City this week with our 21-year-old daughter. It was a great experience – and it was interesting to compare notes on the way home on our different perspectives and takeaways.

It’s a terrific idea. Bring generations together for mutually beneficial mentoring. This CIRKEL event featured three New Yorkers from three generations sharing their life stories.  (The fact that all three came to New York from elsewhere – Boston, Texas, and Minnesota – resonated with me as a native of the Boston area).

Their talks provided compelling snapshots of fascinating lives in progress at different stages. The youngest, Pat Dagle, is a former lead singer turned Creative Director; Alzo Slade, is a correspondent for VICE News Tonight, photographer and stand-up comedian; and Ruth Wooden, is a former advertising executive, former President of the Ad Council and Public Agenda, who recently completed a Masters degree in Theology in her 70s.

While the three people are very different, I was struck by the common themes that emerged from their stories.  Whether you’re contemplating a career change or considering an encore career in your early retirement, these lessons can be valuable – at any age or stage.

1. Ditch the Grand Plan – Iterate Your Future. While all three have strong interests and aspirations, they are not achieving them through any type of Master Plan. Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, co-authors of Designing Your Life, encourage people to “think like a designer and build your way forward”. That approach was evident in all three stories, with people moving from one endeavor to another, weaving their way forward. Their moves were not random. All three seemed intentional, but they were flexible in experimenting with new options that surfaced along the way.

2. Be Open to New Experiences. Each person who spoke at this event is immensely talented. However, each life and career pivot that they described emanated from their openness to try something new, their belief in themselves and their willingness to take risks.

3. Cultivate New Relationships. No one succeeds on their own. These life stories all cited seminal moments where key people made all the difference. Keep building your social and professional networks. Get out there and meet new people in new spaces. Create opportunities to collaborate. Reach out and seek advice from people who are doing what you aspire to do.

What can you learn from other generations? Lots. Share on X

4. Be Resilient. At any stage of life, all kinds of obstacles will be encountered, so resilience is a critical skill to build and strengthen. Their stories include overcoming racism, sexism, and ageism. Alzo Slade told how he pursued an interest by independently studying Philosophy for his personal edification. He secured a meeting with the head of the Philosophy Department at a university where he was applying to the Master’s program, only to be mistaken by another employee for the new janitor expected to start work that day. He shared how he managed his emotions to navigate that encounter, keeping his end goal in mind. He went on to get his Masters and became an adjunct professor in Philosophy, among many other things).

5. Be Aware of Your Context, But Don’t Let It Define You. When you’re born does influence many things. The cultural, economic and political environment you’ll work in will shape your narrative and the types of opportunities that will emerge. For example, the two younger speakers at this event are pursuing an independent portfolio of interests in contrast to the singularly focused corporate career path of yesteryear. But sometimes the chatter about generational traits can go too far. There’s a great deal of heterogeneity within each generation. Look around you at your own generation. Don’t buy into the hype. Embrace what you believe in, ride the waves of change, but make your own way.

6. Be Ready for Serendipity – and Make Your Own. Ruth Wooden, who worked on Madison Avenue in the Mad Men era, noted that luck plays a role in any success story. But she pointed out that you need to position yourself to take advantage of it. And sometimes actions you take can create serendipity for yourself. She shared a great story of how when a senior executive role that was perfect for her opened up, she networked her way into others recommending her to the executive recruiter handling the search, positioning herself as a prime candidate. And there’s research that backs this up. There are things you can do to tilt the odds in your favor and create your own serendipity.

Luck is a skill? You can do things to tilt the odds more in your favor (according to science...) Share on X

This CIRKEL event concluded with a fun interactive exercise, where each person attending wrote seven words on a card describing different things of interest to them.  Paired with a partner, each person picked a card from each other’s set and explained why that word was important to them. Then each pair worked together to come up with an idea for a new product based on the combination of your two words.  (My daughter worked with a Creative Director seated nearby. When their product idea was shared with the audience a woman behind me whispered: “Now that’s one that’s worth stealing.” ).

I highly recommend CIRKEL events. If one comes to your city, make the time to attend. It’s time well spent.

The generations before you and the generations after you can be sources of inspiration and motivation that just might fuel your next chapter.

Joe Casey is a former HR executive, who’s transitioned to a second career as an executive coach. As a Certified Designing Your Life Coach, he works with people to help them discover what’s next after their primary career. Learn more at retirementwisdom.com 

If you’d like to learn more about the story behind CIRKEL, we recently interviewed its founder, Charlotte Japp,  on our podcast.

Is the Real Issue Age or Competence?

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By Susan Williams

I read a really interesting article in the New York Times recently entitled “When Is The Surgeon Too Old To Operate”. The article highlighted that similar to many other professions, the population of physicians is aging. It then went on to raise the question of how to determine whether an aging physician is still able to practice and what is the best way to evaluate and discuss this.

Right after I read this article, I noticed another article in Forbes on a different but similar topic. It shared the challenges about talking with your elderly parents about whether they should continue to drive or live independently.

Whether we like it or not, the issue concerning at what age someone remains competent to do things is going to become a much larger discussion point. Most often however these types of discussions are extremely sensitive. They can often involve someone’s identity, purpose, mobility and their much-guarded independence.

But these situations often involve a much larger issue as well – the potential harm that someone could cause to either themselves or others if we don’t have these conversations.

So what do we need to put in place to protect both the individual and others while at the same time ensuring that we are not taking an ageist approach to these topics?

I think the conversations should strictly stay focused on the discussion of competence and age shouldn’t even be considered. For example, who would you prefer to operate on you – an incompetent surgeon who was 40 years old or a highly competent surgeon at the age of 75?

Just because someone turns a certain age does not mean that they are no longer capable.

There is a great deal of research emerging that shows our biological age is much more critical than our chronological age. We all do not behave the same way at the same age. For example I know some people at 80 that are barely making it through the day and others that are extremely mobile, active and engaged. Same age but living totally different lives.

So when it comes to a service or profession, I think anyone who manages any professional or individual who has a direct impact on the lives of others must have some way to assess the competency of these individuals. Whether it’s through some type of measures, re-certification process, client feedback or other form there needs to be an ongoing method of evaluation. And this assessment should not be based on age.

If someone gets flagged as having a competence issue, then a conversation needs to occur as to what needs to be done to correct the situation. Given the potential impact in these roles, an awkward conversation could be the least of the concerns should someone actually be harmed.

As for having these types of conversations with aging relatives, again rather than age being the trigger point, some assessment of competencies needs to be made.

For instance, Psychology Today published the following eight signs to watch to help you tell whether your elderly parent should consider stopping driving. As I read through the list, I thought age shouldn’t be a factor in this either. I know quite a few young people who should be talked to based on this list;

  1. Hearing and/or sight loss
  2. Minor dents to the car
  3. Easily distracted
  4. Regular alcohol consumption (I would add drugs or medications to this as well that could impair judgement)
  5. Slow reaction time
  6. Poor driving techniques
  7. Multiple tickets
  8. You’re nervous in the passenger seat

And as for living independently, again there are also signs to watch for. Again, these are not based on any specific age but focused on capabilities to care for themselves without support.

I think if we are able to have these conversations and frame them in such a way that it’s about caring for the individual and others they may impact, age should never need to even enter into these discussions. As well, we need to also prepare ourselves to be open for others to potentially have these conversations with us at some point.

After all, when we focus on competency – it doesn’t have a best before date.

This article originally appeared on Booming Encore as Is the Real Issue Age or Competence? and was reprinted with permission.

Susan Williams is the Founder of Booming Encore – a website and social media network dedicated to providing information and inspiration to help Baby Boomers create and live their very best encore. Being a Boomer herself, Susan loves to discover ways to live life to the fullest. She shares her experiences, observations and opinions on living life after 50 and personally tries to embrace Booming Encore’s philosophy of making sure every day matters. For daily updates to help you live your best encore, be sure to follow Booming Encore on Twitter and join them on Facebook.

Are You Really Planning for Retirement Without a Back Up Plan?

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by Joe Casey

When it comes to planning for retirement are you an optimist, pessimist or a realist? I consider myself a dyed-in-the-wool Optimist. But there’s no doubt that a lot can go wrong.

That’s why we have so much insurance. It’s necessary to protect against the risks we all face in life.

Yet there’s another risk that may not be high enough on your radar.

What if you have to retire earlier than you’re planning to?

You may be thinking I have a solid financial plan for my retirement. I have it all mapped out. Look at my spreadsheets, all of my calculations and my Monte Carlo simulations! What could possibly go wrong?

Plenty, as it turns out. The timing of your retirement may not be up to you.

Cruising Toward Retirement 

The 19th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey of Workers was published this month. An extensive survey of 5,168 workers, it highlights that 74% of all workers do not have a Back-Up Plan for what they will do if retirement arrives earlier than they have planned.

But Many People Retire Earlier Than Planned

The Employee Benefit Research Institute’s annual Retirement Confidence Survey has consistently noted that while employees report a median desired retirement age of 65, the median age of actual retirement remains at 62.

A Surprising Percentage of People are Forced into Retirement

There’s a lot to be said for being disciplined in retirement planning. But the fact is that life often intervenes. You can – and should – plan for retirement, but when you retire, it may be determined by factors beyond your plan. For many years, the EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey has also noted that 48 % of retirees are forced to leave earlier than planned, due to events such as hardships including disability, health issues, or changes at their company. A study published by ProPublica and The Urban Institute in December 2018, based on data from the Health and Retirement Study, found that 56% of people in the study who are 50 and older are laid off at least once or are pushed out. They note that the financial impact can be significant – only 10% have returned to their previous level of income.

Ok, let me get this straight. You have six different insurance policies, but you don't have a back-up plan if you're forced to retire earlier than planned? Share on X

In my work as an executive coach and retirement coach, I often hear people wonder When Will I Retire? It’s wise to also ask How Can I Prepare for a Forced Early Retirement?  I retired early at 52 when the company I worked at for 26 years was acquired. Based on that experience and recommendations from experts, here are five non-financial steps you can take now to best position you should you be faced with an earlier retirement than planned.

1. Invest in Your Performance

Do whatever you can to be a top performer at your job. Stay current. Stand out. Contribute ideas. Be a ‘go to’ person in your company. Go out of your way to help others. These things matter. While they won’t guarantee protection against a forced retirement, as a former HR leader, I can assure you that they will enhance your reputation – and being viewed as a top performer can help you be retained or lead to more options for you.

2. Invest in Your Network

Make time to build and strengthen your professional network – in both the virtual and “real” world. This seems hard to do when you’re immersed in your job, but when you make it a goal, you’ll quickly begin to see opportunities to do so all around you. Keep your LinkedIn profile up to date. Take advantage of opportunities to connect with your colleagues across your industry. Attend conferences when you can and make new connections. Once a month, reach out to someone who you know to catch up – or to seek advice from. Even the busiest people I work with can find time to do this – and it goes a long way. If you’re forced to retire early, it’s your network that will be the key to your next move.

Are you flying blind toward retirement without a backup plan? Share on X

Take time to cultivate it. Stephen Covey contrasted the practice of cramming for an exam in school with The Law of the Farm[1]He told a story about an impatient gardener who opted for the cramming approach to accelerate the process of growing his new vegetable garden. He tripled the watering, quadrupled the Miracle-Gro, and installed sunlamps to run at midnight. But some things just can’t be sped up. Networking is like that – it doesn’t work well when you’re forcing it and you’re in a hurry. It’s a Law of the Farm thing. Start early, tend to it consistently at a reasonable pace and a strong network will be there when you need it.

3. Invest in Learning

What are your beliefs about education? Is it something you’ve been done with for years – or an ongoing lifelong process? It’s easier than ever today to take a class on something you’re interested in learning about. How about something that will help advance your skillset? It may also broaden your perspective and help you see your job differently. An added bonus is that it can also expand your network.

4. Invest in Wellness

When it comes to wellness, there are things that are beyond your control. But many of us can influence “modifiable factors” that can improve our health and tip the odds in our favor. Kerry Hannon, author and AARP’S Jobs Expert, joined our podcast and discussed her recommended fitness plan and how it can help with employment prospects:

“Have a fitness regime, eat with eye to nutrition and health. What happens, it’s so amazing, when you’re physically fit, you have this energy. You have this ‘can do’ spirit, this positivity. People want to be around you. They want you to be on their team. Hiring managers see that.”

5. Invest in Mapping Out Future Scenarios

Bill Burnett and Dave Evans, the authors of Designing Your Life have created a smart way to take the planning of your future to the next level. Rather than focusing on a plan with a single path (like most of us do), they advocate mapping out three alternative scenarios over the next 3 to 5 years – your primary desired path; an alternative one if the primary one is not available – and then a Wild Card version of what you’d love to do if there were no limitations. Their method of creating Oddessy Plans expands your thinking and generates new possibilities to prototype using the principles of design thinking. [2] It can help you think through options that you can begin to build the groundwork for ahead of time – and be prepared to pivot.

Life may be too risky without various forms of insurance. You also don’t want to be in a position where being on track to retire becomes jeopardized if you’re forced to transition to retirement before you’re ready. Just like you’re doing with saving for retirement, make some savvy non-financial investments to ensure that you have an alternative plan, and protect your path to retirement.

Joe Casey is a former HR executive, who’s transitioned to a second career as an executive and retirement coach. As a Certified Designing Your Life Coach, he works with people to help them discover what’s next after their primary career. Learn more at retirementwisdom.com

[1] Covey, S. R. (1989). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Simon & Schuster.

[2] Burnett, W., & Evans, D. J. (2016). Designing your life: How to build a well-lived, joyful life. Knopf.

The Retirement Discussion Dilemma

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By Susan Williams

You are thinking about retirement and would like to transition into it. Maybe working part-time to start would be great. Or even just having some more flexibility in your hours would be a bonus.

Your employer realizes that you’re getting close to retirement and would like to retain your skills or have you mentor some younger colleagues. They would like to know what your plans are so that they can make sure that they have appropriate succession plans in place.

Both of you would like to have a conversation about this but neither one of you want to raise the discussion given there could be some potential risk in bringing it up.

For you, it’s not like you want to leave work immediately. You would just like to change up the arrangement a bit.

For your employer, mentioning the word retirement to you could potentially put them at risk for being accused of age discrimination.

So there is no discussion.

And this is what researchers discovered when looking at whether conversations regarding retirement are happening in the workplace.

In an article titled A Global Survey on the Ambiguous State of Employee Trust, Professor Sarah Vickerstaff shared the following;

“Age discrimination legislation and the abolition of compulsory retirement at 65 means that employers are worried about talking to older workers about retiring, for fear of being accused of ageism,”…. “But our study suggests this defensive approach is helping nobody.”

So what are we to do?

Ageism in the workplace is a very legitimate concern. In a study on perceived ageism in the workplace, a survey of 420 workers over 50 found that “more than 81 percent of the older workers encountered at least one workplace discriminatory treatment within a year.”

So imagine if you weren’t even thinking about retiring yet and you got a tap on the shoulder from your boss wanting to know what your plans for retirement were. Chances are you may think you are being targeted because of your age.

And if you are looking for part-time working options, employees aren’t necessarily willing to approach the topic.

Forbes reported that according to a survey completed by the TransAmerica Center for Retirement Studies, only 21% of employees think that part-time options are available while 48% of employers say they could support it.

Here in lies the retirement discussion dilemma.

Both sides potentially wanting to have a conversation but not wanting to disclose or discuss something that could possibly put either one of them in a risky position.

Personally, I think that this situation is a symptom of a much larger problem in the workplace.

Trust.

In an article titled A Global Survey on the Ambiguous State of Employee Trust published by Harvard Business Review, they shared that in a global survey of 9,800 full time workers that; “Only 46% place “a great deal of trust” in their employers, and 15% report “very little” or “no trust at all.” (The rest, 39%, say they have “some trust,” which is not completely pessimistic but does want for enthusiasm.”

So how could anyone have a potentially life changing conversation with someone that they just don’t trust?

I think that until this situation changes, the chances of having a deep and meaningful dialogue about retirement and possible options that would benefit both the employee and the employer will remain difficult.

And these conversations need to start happening now.

Take Japan as an example. Japan is slightly ahead of the rest of the world in the aging curve and are now starting to feel the impact of a declining older workforce and the lack of available workers.

Also Read: When Baby Boomers Retire From Work Productivity May Go Too

With about 10,000 baby boomers reaching retirement age every day in the US alone it would be in the best interests of organizations to develop this trust. Retaining their talent will become critical to their organization’s future success.

Trust. Such a small word but so loaded with potential.

This article originally appeared on Booming Encore and was reprinted with permission.

Susan Williams is the Founder of Booming Encore – a website and social media network dedicated to providing information and inspiration to help Baby Boomers create and live their very best encore. Being a Boomer herself, Susan loves to discover ways to live life to the fullest. She shares her experiences, observations and opinions on living life after 50 and personally tries to embrace Booming Encore’s philosophy of making sure every day matters. For daily updates to help you live your best encore, be sure to follow Booming Encore on Twitter and join them on Facebook.

Is Your Company Ready for the Aging Workforce?

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by Joe Casey

There are strong crosscurrents swirling in today’s workplace that significantly impact older workers. People are living longer and many people expect to work longer than previous generations. But some people do not want to just continue to work in the same way forever. The key things they desire are flexible work policies and a pathway to winding down at their own pace. Almost half of the workers surveyed plan to transition gradually into retirement, according to a Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies report published in June.

A Big Gap

Yet, there is a sizeable gap between what aging workers want and what many companies are currently offering. Only 24% of employees in the same Transamerica survey report that their companies offer some type of flexible work options to pre-retirees. Another quarter indicates that their companies don’t offer any help to employees in transitioning to retirement. Formal phased retirement programs remain rare with less than 10% of companies offering such programs, although informal gradual retirement arrangements are more often negotiated on an individual basis.

Winds of Change?

However, there are signs that the powerful demographic shifts underway and labor market dynamics are beginning to spur a change among progressive employers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects workers 65 and older as the fastest growing segment of the U.S. workforce, forecasting that it will comprise a larger share of the labor force than in recent decades.

Carol Hymowitz in Bloomberg has pointed out that skill shortages in some industries are leading some companies to develop innovative approaches to retaining older employees to leverage their specialized knowledge. Others are recognizing that figuring out how to leverage a large and growing segment of the workforce is simply smart business. The Chief HR Officer of a healthcare company recently observed that “If we’re not tapping into the whole workforce, we’re handicapping ourselves”. 

Is your company ahead of the curve?

Conversation with a Change Agent

Paul Rupert, CEO of Respectful Exits, is a longtime advocate of flexible work options. Paul joined me on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast to share his observations and insights on future trends in the workplace and what his new organization is doing to provide a strong voice for aging workers. He offers savvy advice for individuals on how to approach negotiating an informal phased retirement – and guide for HR professionals whose companies want to gain an edge in retaining and attracting talented seasoned employees. You can listen to our conversation with Paul Rupert here.

Joe Casey is a former senior HR executive, who is in a second career as an executive coach and retirement coach.