There’s No Longer A “Normal” Retirement — And That’s a Good Thing

By Michael Hodin

As tens of millions of people worldwide approach the ages traditionally associated with retirement, they face a highly uncertain landscape, with market volatility, rising inflation, recession fears, and the pandemic’s ongoing impacts. These factors challenge many of the conventional assumptions and “rules of thumb” for retirement decisions — but if we look deeper, it’s clear that these assumptions were already on the way out. And, with aging of global society — shortly 2 billion of us over 60; already more old than young — it’s utterly essential that we do reimagine and reinvent what we used to understand as “retirement.”

Increasingly, a growing number of people are already rejecting the outdated, one-size-fits-all notions of retirement, instead remaking the period after 60 or 65 as a time of purpose, connection, and ongoing contributions to fulfill their priorities, needs, and passions. This trend — and its underlying causes, the miracle of longevity and global aging — represents one of the most important shifts of our time, as recognized by the UN/WHO Decade of Healthy Ageing and the upcoming Silver Economy Forum.

An engaging new report from Georgetown University’s AgingWell Hub, No Normal Retirement Journey Map and Guide, explores these dynamics and how they play out for different individuals and families. The report focuses on six key factors that are essential for a later-life well-lived — health, finances, learning, community, purpose, and resilience — and maps composite journeys through early, middle, and later-career into later life. These individual journeys underscore the wider societal transformation underway:

“Today’s retirement includes activities such as continued work, travel, volunteering, and family. Retirement now spans a time of growth, in which opportunities to reinvent ourselves are presented over and over again. Today’s retirement also includes a range of emotions that changes over time — excitement, curiosity, freedom, financial and health anxiety, structure loss and loneliness, and renewed sense of purpose, drive, and flexibility.”

Perhaps raising the question, should this period even be called “retirement” anymore? Whatever term we use, the latter half of the life course is clearly changing. And if it starts at 60, it’s way, way longer, too; now, people, employers, the financial services industry, and all sectors, including healthcare, need to adjust their perspective to keep up. This also requires a new social contract across all society. It’s a big deal that is one of the least recognized mega-trends of our time. Here are some ideas to guide us for the mega-trend of global aging:

· End the assumption that old age means poor health. It’s notable that the Decade of Healthy Ageing has focused on ageism first, with its Global report on ageism recognizing that dangerous ageist stereotypes are at the root of many health challenges and barriers to care for older people. We also need to recognize that healthy aging includes our entire lives, with healthy behaviors in early and mid-life paying dividends later, as shown in the AgingWell Hub’s stories.

· Apply a multi-generational lens and consider caregiving. The report’s different journeys vividly illustrate how people’s health and wealth are interwoven with those of their parents, children, and other relatives and friends. This intergenerational and cross society lens is too often overlooked: people navigate their lives not solely as individuals, but as members of families and communities, especially for the caregiving responsibilities (and potentially high costs) that often arise as we and loved ones age.

· Embrace lifelong learning after 22. One of the problems with the 20th-century “learn-work-retire” model is that it assumes dedicated learning will effectively halt in our 20s. Instead, learning should continue throughout life, enabling people to advance and pivot their careers, discover new passions, and stay engaged with their communities. Of course, this learning ought itself transform from the traditional classroom model; it can take many forms, from formal post-secondary education to specific vocational training to ongoing, on-the-job professional development. How about travel and entertainment as part of the life-long learning process?

· Enable flexible, extended career paths. According to the latest report from Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, the majority of U.S. workers plan to continue working in retirement. Flexible work arrangements, coaching and mentoring roles, part-time work, and other adjustments can help to keep this valuable source of talent in the workforce, while empowering individuals to continue finding purpose and earning income past traditional retirement age.

· Rethink how to pay for 100-year lives. And perhaps the best place to begin is the recognition that health, learning, and careers are all closely connected to wealth, as Bank of America has profoundly advanced for over a decade. Financial literacy tools should equip people to plan, save, invest, and spend wisely for the full span of modern longevity, while also avoiding or mitigating potentially disastrous health- and care-related expenses and continuing to work and earn for as long as the person needs or wants.

All these topics will be on the agenda during the Silver Economy Forum, powered by the Global Coalition on Aging, on November 8 and 9. There may no longer be a normal retirement, but what’s emerging is far more exciting and rich with opportunity, for individuals and families, for organizations, and for society as a whole.