Retirement Wisdom’s Joe Casey is quoted in this piece by Patrick Hruby for The Atlantic’s Re:think series sponsored by Equitable on how the pandemic is affecting retirement planning
Working longer
What Can The Rolling Stones Teach Us About Working Longer?
by Joe Casey
Do you envision working longer after the “traditional” retirement age?
I had a great experience this month going to FedEx Field in the Washington, DC area to see The Rolling Stones in concert. It was surreal to see a band that I first saw when I was 18 in the mid-’70s with my son who just turned 18 last month.
As we entered the stadium, we passed a truck emblazoned Retire Like a Rock Star by a financial industry association who is sponsoring the tour and promoting annuities. I was thinking ‘I’m not sure I can learn much about retirement from this band still going strong in their mid to late seventies’ But I could certainly learn a lot from them about working longer.
At first glance, there’s not much that most of us have in common with the lifestyles of the band members. But most of us are pondering working longer. According to the 19th Annual Transamerica Survey of Workers, “70% of Baby Boomers either expect to or are already working past 65 or do not plan to retire. Yet, only 40% report that they are keeping their skills up to date.”
The concert was a blast but I also came away with several takeaways that are useful for any of us who want to work longer.
1. Love What You Do
On the way to the concert my son peppered me with facts about the Rolling Stones. (“Dad, did you know that they’ve played Jumpin’ Jack Flash on every tour since it came out in 1968? quickly followed by “They must be so bored playing that song!”).
Well, if that’s true, you’d never know it seeing them play it at this concert. They opened with it and their performance was impressive in its high energy. They played for over two hours without an intermission. They are clearly outstanding, highly experienced performers, but they also appeared to be genuinely having fun.
2. Pursue Mastery
The day before the concert I was showing my son clips from a Stones concert from the 70s when I first saw them. He was reluctant. He didn’t want to see them in their prime and be disappointed by what he expected to be a band in steep decline. As a young guitarist, he was hyper-focused on the guitar play in the past compared to today. I think he left the event surprised that in some ways he thought that they were even better today.
3. Make Smart Adjustments
One thing we all have in common with the band is that we are all aging. While their energy and passion were notable, you could see in the structure of the setlist and how certain songs were performed that they were mindful about setting the right pace. They knew where they could go all out for a sustained period and where they needed to slow it down. Mick Jagger’s recent surgery may have made this a higher priority, but making intelligent adjustments is something we can all relate to and benefit from.
4. Prepare to Perform at Your Best
Finally, it takes disciplined practice and preparation to perform consistently at a high level. While that’s true for legendary rock stars, it applies to many of our jobs as well, especially as we stay in the game longer.
Joe Casey is a former senior HR executive at Merrill Lynch, who’s created a second career as a retirement coach. He holds a Masters in Gerontology from the University of Southern California and, as a retirement coach and Designing Your Life coach, he helps people discover What’s Next after their primary career.
Is the Real Issue Age or Competence?
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;
- Hearing and/or sight loss
- Minor dents to the car
- Easily distracted
- Regular alcohol consumption (I would add drugs or medications to this as well that could impair judgement)
- Slow reaction time
- Poor driving techniques
- Multiple tickets
- 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.
How a Concert Helped Me Learn About Second Act Careers
By Joe Casey
What Will Inspire You to Find a Second Career?
“Turn it up.
It’s the Beach Boys…”
“I’ve heard that before
But I want to hear it again
(I wanna hear it over and over)”
– from Weezer’s new single
The signs are everywhere. Kids toting backpacks. Football. Pumpkin Spice Lattes.
Fall is here. But technically we’re still in summer for a few more days. While I love fall, summer goes too fast and I look for any way to keep it alive as long as possible. One surefire way is The Beach Boys. Each year in late summer, they hold a concert in Ocean Grove, NJ, a beach town near us. It’s become a family tradition and our two youngest children, who are now 19 and 16, enjoy it most.
There are two members of the early Beach Boys in this version – Mike Love and Bruce Johnston – and they’ve added younger, talented musicians to play the other parts. But the songs are timeless. And sheer fun.
I first saw The Beach Boys in Boston Garden in 1973. They now play in smaller venues, and the crowd skews much older (I guess, including me). Love’s opening comment was “We love playing here. It makes us feel young.” But when you looked around, there were a significant number of young people, too.
One of those young people was my son. Three years ago, he could not wait to leave. (“Can we leave now?”) Two years ago he became very interested in music and he did some homework. He came to the concert with much more interest and anticipation. (Dad, did you know that the Beatles used to study The Beach Boys?) And he hung around in the rain with a friend after the concert and got his picture taken with Mike Love, who could not have been more gracious.
A Cool Second Act
It struck me that creating this spin-off band is their Second Act. As much as I was enjoying the music, I couldn’t help wondering what lessons could be learned.
Find a Way to Do What You Love
It’s safe to say that Mike Love and Bruce Johnston could be doing other things. Their tour schedule looks grueling. But they formed a new band to keep going. You can see that Love, 76, and Johnston, 75, really enjoy performing and interacting with their audience. It’s clear when someone loves what they are doing. Leaving the corporate world provides a second chance to do that.
Pursue Mastery
It is impossible to listen to the Beach Boys without appreciating the impeccable craftsmanship you hear in their harmonies. While Love and Johnston achieved it long ago, one of the best things retirement offers is an opportunity to pursue mastery of something you are deeply interested in and now have more time to dedicate to. If mastery is never attained, the pursuit of it, in and of itself, can be very valuable.
Stay Sharp
Maybe you won’t be doing a concert tour next summer, but we can all benefit by doing things consistently that keep us mentally and physically at our best. Love shared at the concert the importance of his daily meditation practice, that he’s maintained for decades, to both his personal and professional life. Having a set of healthy daily practices can make a huge difference and retirement offers a great chance to start them or take them up a notch.
Stay Connected with Young People & Stay Relevant
The most interesting aspect of this concert was hearing how well the classic Beach Boys and the younger musicians meshed together. As the show went on people, of varying ages, came down to dance and you could see how much Love enjoyed interacting with young people. The youngsters were clearly into the music (yet many were probably unaware that the two older gentlemen were part of one of the best bands of all time ranked 12th by Rolling Stone ).
Bring It
As the concert went on, I became more impressed with the energy level that Mike Love displayed. I had to remind myself that these are songs that he’s sung thousands of times.
Was it another day at the office for him? In my mind, he performed with even more energy than I recall in 1973. While our Second Acts may or may not be as exciting as a lead singer of a rock band, bringing a high level of energy to whatever activities we choose to engage in can make a big difference.
Full Circle
At 6 AM this morning, our son came downstairs to eager to share news with me. He woke up early because his current favorite band Weezer released a new single Beach Boys this morning and he wanted me to hear it before I left for the day. As I listened to it on the way into the city, the Beach Boys helped keep summer alive for another day.
