#128:Vibrant Life vs. Retirement: How to Plan for the Future You Want to Enjoy!

Show Notes

When you hear the word "retirement,” what comes to mind? That was the question we started asking ourselves and others. We wanted to know how people saw their future selves and what needed to change today in order to create that life.

​In this episode, co-hosts Nola Boea and Lori Vajda explore why retirement needs a branding makeover, what you can do now to create a vibrant life, and why retirement doesn’t guarantee you get one.

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In This Episode You’ll Learn 

• Why our idea and ideal of retirement is all wrong!
• What questions to ask yourself before you retire.
• How entrepreneurship can help you create multiple streams of income.
• Why now is the best time to start your side business.

Key points Lori and Nola are sharing in this episode:

(02:11:40) How a socialist movement in Germany led to the creation of modern-day pension and retirement systems

(08:26:51) If you want to create a vibrant life, this is the major reason it’s time to shift the paradigm on retirement.

(09:50:48) We need to retire these five retirement myths.

(16:26:13) In people who have reached retirement age, divorce and suicide rates are rising.  

(19:18:06) How Ikigai (your reason for getting up in the morning) is helping people envision an alternative to the traditional retirement.

Resources 
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Transcript

[00:00:00] Lori: "A few years from now in a world similar to ours, there exists a sort of depression plague that people refer to simply as The Gray. No one can predict whom it will affect or how, but once infected, there's no coming back." Although this is a synopsis "for the forthcoming book, the Endless Vessel by Author Charles Soule, it could just as easily be a description of why retirement was invented. Yep. You heard that right, listener. The concept of retirement was not only invented, it was never designed to support older adults living out decades of their golden years. Stay tuned, listener, because in this episode we are exploring the myths and facts of retirement and how a non-linear career, one that includes entrepreneurship, could just be the best solution if you want to live a long, healthy, and vibrant life.

[00:00:57] Nola: Welcome to Sticky Brand Lab where we bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing you with helpful information, tips, and tools from entrepreneurs and other experts so you can quickly and easily jumpstart your side business. We're your hosts. I'm Nola Boea and this is my co-host, Lori Vajda

[00:01:14] Lori: Hello, Nola and hello, listener.

[00:01:18] Nola: Hey, Lori, here's a question for you. When you hear the word "retirement," what comes to mind?

[00:01:24] Lori: When I think of retirement, I envision those AARP images in my head. That's what I associate the word with. What about you, Nola? What do you think?

[00:01:36] Nola: Well, from my years of living in southeast Florida by the beach, I think of really sunburned, hairless people.

[00:01:46] Lori: Yes, yes. I have those visions still now that you mentioned
[00:01:50] Nola: on the beach.

[00:01:50] Lori: Yes.

[00:01:52] Nola: Well, I actually think that our ideas are probably not far from where most people land, were they to be asked that same question. In fact, when we were planning our interview with Carly Riley about her experience with a non-linear career, which was our focus at the time, we did our usual research. And this research led us to look at the concept of retirement. Because what we unearthed floored us.

[00:02:19] Lori: It sure did. For example, one of the pieces of research I was looking at was trying to figure out how the idea of retirement came around. And when I simply put that into a Google search, I got a lot of information about planning for retirement, saving for retirement, the future of retirement. Finding information on how it got started or where the idea was even conceived, that took a lot of digging. And so one of the things that I found was, it actually started with Otto von Bismarck. He was a German chancellor, and he proposed the idea of retirement. Not retirement, as we think of today, to retire from, which is the definition, retire from your place of employment. He proposed this idea back in 1889. It also introduced what became the modern pension. But in reality, Bismarck was not motivated by sympathy for the plight of the working class. No. Nope. Nope. What he was focused on was he wanted to thwart the rising socialist movement that was happening in Germany at the time. And the reason it was gaining strength is that there was a high unemployment rate among young men, and the chancellor saw an opportunity to pay older workers to leave their positions in their factories, in the mines, in working the railroads, so that younger, quicker, more able-bodied men could take their place. And I am using men because women didn't have that same ability at the time.

[00:04:00] Nola: This was 1889. So really this was like a political move to help the masses get their financial footing, and at the same time create a program that probably satisfied their thirst for some kind of a socialist movement, is what it sounds like.

[00:04:15] Lori: Exactly. Then you get to the thought of, well, how did he come up with the age of 65? That also was interesting. Because what it was, he himself was in his sixties. He wanted some distance. He didn't want to be thought of as part of that slower, not able body. He wanted himself to be seen differently, so he put it a few years out from where he himself was, and he also knew that the life expectancy rate at the time, very few people made it to age 70, at least healthy. So he knew that even though you would be paying this portion of men to retire, you would also not have to worry about paying it for a long period of time because they would be dead. And I know that sounds morbid, but it was true.

In addition, the amount of money that they would receive wasn't to take care of them so that they would live comfortably. It was to offset expenses so that they could go home and oversee or work the farms that they had. So most of these jobs in factories were in the city, and men at that time, had more farms. So, they would go back to their extended families, and if they couldn't work the farm, they could at least oversee the workers or they could pass it down to the next generation and still work in it. So the money was just to offset that. At the same time that was happening, Nola, the railroads, the factories, as I mentioned, the mining companies, were also under pressure by labor unions. And so to pacify the workers and the union leaders, they also wanted to adopt a benefits program so that people could have pensions in "old age" I say in air quotes.

[00:06:06] Nola: Well, it was back then, actually.

[00:06:08] Lori: It was.

[00:06:09] Nola: So it sounds like these were benefits that were given to, again, satisfy some kind of demand or some kind of a maneuver to address something that was needed in in the present.

[00:06:20] Lori: Yes. At that time, older men, older adults, were revered. Younger people were needed, but the idea within factories was how do we show respect for, and not alienate, older people, but still get the younger, quicker, faster young men to replace them? So, absolutely.

[00:06:42] Nola: Yeah. So that was the beginning of the pension concept. In our research, you and I also learned that after the Civil War, the US government paid pensions to disabled or impoverished Union veterans, or to the widows of those who had died, and the southern states paid pensions to disabled Confederate veterans.

[00:07:04] Lori: And it was the same principle. You're in the military for 20-plus years, so you had to have minimum of how many years you were involved either working in the factory, the mine, or in this case in the military. And after putting in, again, you weren't going to live that long, so you had to be there for a long period of time, and you weren't going to live that long if you even made it out. So the number of people that they would actually cover was relatively small.

[00:07:33] Nola: So, what you talked about was really for a very select segment of society. These were again, soldiers, right? Well, these Civil War pensions that we were just talking about, they actually became the basis for what we know today as social security. However, it wasn't until 1935 that President Franklin D Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. And then it wasn't even until 1965 that Medicare health benefits for the elderly were even established.

[00:08:04] Lori: I know it's amazing when you think about it from that perspective because then you realize that not only is the history of retirement relatively new, the concept of retirement, to us, didn't make sense, especially given that at that time you might make it one decade. Today, you could live three or more decades. And with medical technology advancing as quickly as it does, it can help you to really enjoy a pretty healthy lifespan. So now when you think about retirement, you could think, I could be living that concept or that construct for 30 years or more, and you might have only been working for the same amount of time. And when you think from that perspective, you can see why we thought it was necessary to shift the paradigm so more people could design their own version of a vibrant life.

[00:09:08] Nola: Yeah, absolutely. When you think about working for 30 years and then living without a job for 30 years, and doing what, especially when someone has thrown their life or you know, so many waking hours into their career, it just doesn't seem to make sense anymore. So now that we've set the stage for retirement's history, which was never, nor has it ever been about the people, as we've just found out, it's really been about what's good for business or government or just for a select few beneficiaries.

But before we move on, just a little disclaimer, here we are not advising you on retirement savings or investments or anything like that. For those things, you should talk to a professional. Our purpose here today is to inform and shift the conversation just to a new way of thinking. With that being said, let's start with just a few of the popular myths surrounding retirement prospects for today's working women.

The first one is, one of the main assumptions surrounding the Golden Retirement years, is that you're going to be spending much less. Most of the calculations on what you're going to need for retirement is based on that assumption. But the thing is, the cost of living raises incrementally. And even if you may be spending less, the value of your income may actually be less as well. And people are going into retirement these days with student loans, or they spent their entire life working years paying off their student loans instead of saving for retirement. And they may have other debts. It's assumed that they may have paid off a mortgage, but that's often not the reality. Most people, they no longer move into a house when they're married and have it paid off or inherited by their parents. That's rare these days. Very often people move several times and the mortgage comes with it. There's also rising healthcare costs the older you get. So you should not assume that you'll be spending much less in the second half of life.

[00:11:05] Lori: That's exactly right. A matter of fact, regarding healthcare, many people assumed that Medicare would cover all healthcare expenses, and when we were doing the research on that, we found that is definitely not the case.

[00:11:20] Nola: No, that's absolutely not the case. We have a family member that's on Medicare, and nope, you have to pay a premium for that, and it does not cover a hundred percent. There is a percentage that comes out of your own pocket and it does not cover drugs unless you pay another premium for drugs. And even then, because the government will only pay up to a certain limited amount, there are medical facilities and physicians that will not even take patients that pay with Medicare.

[00:11:50] Lori: That's so scary.

[00:11:51] Nola: Yes, it is. Now another myth is that you're going to spend the next, remember now, 20 to 30 years

[00:11:58] Lori: Or more

[00:11:59] Nola: or more, volunteering. Or writing your book.

Lori: Or doing your hobby.

Yes. Do your hobbies. And that actually sounds really enticing initially, but we're talking 20 to 30 years here, and the research revealed that doing those things all the time don't necessarily have the same health and wellness benefits that may come with working productively and having lifelong learning.

[00:12:24] Lori: That is so true. As a matter of fact, there's a lot of medical science that looks at how we can thwart dementia or any of the physical ailments that come with a sedentary lifestyle or a, a lack of active lifestyle. And the research contradicts this whole volunteering or, you know, I'm going to do my hobby or my whatever. Definitely has an impact. Another myth that people have is that they'll do more traveling. So, one of the things that you can't predict that we could have never predicted is a pandemic, let alone the possibility now of having another global pandemic that could put off travel. Plus, the cost of travel can be prohibitive if you are having, uh, less income, right? So if you have now these major expenses that you have to take care of or medical needs that you have to take care of, you're not going to be able to adjust for your intention of travel. So, that shoots another myth about retirement.

[00:13:28] Nola: Yes, I mean, it would be nice to travel, but doing that more for so many decades, considering other rising costs, it definitely could be prohibitive. Another myth is that you're going to be able to spend all this leisure time with your family and friends. Now, that may be great, but while you may be available, there is no guarantee that your family and friends are going to want you around. As much as you would like to be around. And so you really should not make your days and your life dependent on others' availability. Definitely plan to spend time with family and friends, but not just for retirement. I mean, this is a quality of life, but it shouldn't take up your entire days.

Exactly.

[00:14:12] Lori: If people are meeting to go out to lunch or meeting to go out to places, that requires spending dollars. And if you don't have the dollars to spend, that is going to have an impact. The people that you want to spend time with, they may not be on your schedule. They may move, they may not even live close to you, and that can cost prohibitive as well.
So now that we've busted the bubble on the myths, we’re now going to talk about the reality. Now, what the expectation was, the normal retirement age is projected to increase from age 65 to age 67. People are up in arms about that slight two-year difference. Keep this in mind. While that may be the increase at which age you can officially retire and take your benefits, the life expectancy age has also increased. You could plan on increasing that 18 to 23 years or more. So could you imagine you're 65 now and you could expect to live out 23 more years, how are you going to live them?

Social security and your retirement savings weren't designed for you to be able to live those many decades, and they can be impacted by major expenses that you might not have considered. You mentioned the medical cost. But included in that medical cost is long-term care. If you have a major illness in which you need specialty care, that can have an impact. You talked about premiums. Dental care is huge. That's something that is not covered, and by that what we mean is replacing teeth. A lot of that happens as you get older. And the cost can be anywhere from five upwards of six figures to cover, and by ignoring it, it can impact your physical health. So there's those costs. Plus, you have inflation, recession, cost of living, major home repairs and then home repairs that might have resulted from climate change that we didn't anticipate.

It sounds,
[00:16:22] Nola: I'm getting

[00:16:22] Lori: depressed. It sounds so sad, but it gives you, listener, a reason of why we think it's time for a paradigm shift. So inflation, while it usually doesn't send the cost of living into the stratosphere like it is currently doing so, the cost of living does go up year after year, and the amount of social security you get doesn't increase at the same rate. So living longer means you have an increased risk now of running out of money. And what we know from data is that those planning their retirement often overestimate how much their investments will grow and underestimate how long they'll live and how long they'll live healthy. Meaning they also underestimate the cost of healthcare expenses that they'll incur.

So. There's one last bit of news that we found out, or two, but one of them in particular is pretty upsetting. Divorce rates have gone up significantly for people in their sixties and older because they're healthy, they're living longer, they're more active. So they're thinking, how do I want to spend the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years or more, or, who do I want to spend it with? This has resulted in a high proportion or disproportionate number of suicides following age 65. And particularly hard hit are men. What they're finding is depression. Most of our social interactions happen either around your children or your family, or in your profession. So in your career you're meeting people. And I think it was Harvard, their study came out that looked at one of those contributors to happiness as you get older. And what they found was it was the social engagement. So while people didn't necessarily miss working for a particular company, what they missed were the social happenings that took place at work. Those couldn't easily be replicated. So you have that happening. You have parents, this now sandwich generation is in the retirement years. Your parents are also living longer. So people didn't want to put that same burden on their kids. That contributed. And then running out of money. A lot of factors to the increase in suicide.

[00:18:54] Nola: And that's such a shock when what you've envisioned is the classic image of retirement, right?

[00:19:01] Lori: Yeah. Which is how we started our conversation.

[00:19:03] Nola: Exactly. Well, Lori and I, listener, did not tell you all this to burst your bubble. If you're looking forward to a life of leisure when you turn 65, especially if you have the means to do so, and if that's the life you have intentionally crafted for. yourself. But we do encourage you to envision an alternative to the traditional retirement, one that's not only more doable in the context of all these realities we just mentioned, but actually even more preferred. In fact, why don't you just release that concept of retirement altogether.

[00:19:36] Lori: That's a good idea.

[00:19:37] Nola: Yes. Just because you reach a certain age does not mean you have to drop out of your life purpose, especially if that's tied to your career. In fact, Lori, you and I look at life purpose and ultimately life, especially in retirement, more like I would say that concept of Ikigai.

[00:19:55] Lori: Oh yeah, yeah.

[00:19:56] Nola: That's a Japanese definition that means a reason to get up in the morning. And that concept encompasses all aspects, not just career, but all aspects of a vibrant life. That's relationships, health, I mean, simply just enjoying that task in front of you.

[00:20:13] Lori: Yeah. When we were discussing this, you had mentioned Ikigai, that's more, kind of, you were educating me on that, and I was sharing it reminded me of those Blue Zones, and I think there's like seven countries that fall under that umbrella. But probably one of the biggest that people have identified with is in Okinawa, Japan, I think it is, is one of the famous places. What are Blue Zones? Those are the seven places around the globe that have the most people living to be a hundred. What do you call that?

[00:20:46] Nola: Octogenarians.

[00:20:49] Lori: Octogenarians. That's right. They have the most octogenarians. And these are really healthy people who pretty much live out their life in their community and in their own home. And so we're trying to overlap ikigai, the blue zones, the characteristics of these two healthy ways of viewing life and living, with our concept of this paradigm shift. When we were looking at the kind of a holistic approach, what we saw are some similarities or things that you and I advocate for. So one of those being that people maintain relationships and strong social connections. And they're not just with people of their own age, they're actually, those connections are intergenerational. Meaning that they have friends and family members that they spend time with in a variety of age ranges, which help stimulate your brain and your motivation and your interests and activities.

Another commonality that these all share, including with us, is living a healthy lifestyle or a vibrant life, includes healthy exercise and eating. And what these areas have is a lot of people turn to organic foods, they do their own gardening, they really live kind of the wholesome or healthy diet. So there's not a lot of extreme. Of course, you know, some of them have their own things they can't live without, like you do chocolate, or you know, some people ice cream or me dessert in general, but they do it in moderation. So part of that healthy living includes moderation. There's a lot of physical movement. As most of us can work remotely, we want to make sure that we bring in opportunities to get physically motivated. Whether you schedule your exercise or you take breaks to do walking or biking, something that gives you regular movement on a daily basis. Getting out in nature is really important. And we talked about enjoying a healthy lifestyle. But the other thing that people who live these kinds of lifestyles in the blue zones or the ikigai, they also take time to enjoy the small things. Stopping for tea. stopping to smell the roses. The point is, is they make time for those simple pleasures in life and they just make it not an event, but a part of living their vibrant life.

[00:23:19] Nola: Absolutely. So circling this all back to the retirement paradigm shift. Lori and I think the idea of working towards some magic age where you can finally live your dreams, we think that's outdated and even unhealthy. Retirement is not a destination and it's not an event. Rather, we see working women continuing a non-linear career path remaining as productive as long as they can and enjoying the journey. And making joy a priority on your journey. And for us here at Sticky Brand Lab, we see pursuing entrepreneurship, if that's something you want to do, as one component of being productive, of learning and growing, and part of crafting a lifestyle for your present and your future, on your own terms.

[00:24:10] Lori: Not to mention contributing to multiple streams of income.

[00:24:13] Nola: Yep, that's right.

[00:24:15] Lori: We hope the idea and thoughts we've shared here today have sparked your interest and curiosity about your career, future, and the idea of becoming a first-time entrepreneur in the second half of a vibrant life. And remember, starting a business comes with its own set of challenges. So take time to determine if the risks as well as those rewards are right for you. Just don't let your analysis become your paralysis. Be sure to stick around to the very end of this podcast for a fun little laugh.

[00:24:47] Nola: If you found the information we've shared helpful and want more tools, tips, and inspiration delivered to your inbox, sign up for News You Can Use over on our website, stickybrandlab.com.

[00:24:59] Lori: Be sure to come back next Tuesday and every Tuesday for another informative, inspiring, and motivating episode. And remember, actions create results. So tap into your desire to create a business and brand you love by taking 1% action every day. Small steps, big effects.

[OUT-TAKE]

[00:25:19] Nola: Welcome to Sticky Brand Lab, where we bridge the gap between knowledge and action by providing you with helpful information, tips, and tools.   I'm going to take two
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[00:25:32] Lori: tools, take two.