Recently, while attending the White
House Conference on Aging, I renewed conversations with a
friend, Howard Stone, author of Too Young to Retire, and
he reminded me that I was not retired; I had just quit my day
job.
His book and his Web site, www.2young2retire.com, might help you as you plan for retirement.
Boomers nearing retirement may live another 30 years. I went to school until I was 25 and worked until 65. I have entered what has been called the "third" age. I could have a lot of time left to do other things.
Before you leave the workforce, you need to have some conversations with yourself and those who would be impacted by your retirement. Will you have the financial stability to stop working? Do you have a way to cover the costs of health insurance? Have you thought about how you will spend your time? Make spreadsheets for financial decisions and list things you like to do or might like to do.
What are some of the options for you if you retire? If my assumptions are correct about the assets of boomers, most will need to supplement retirement income. In fact a recent American Assocation of Retired Persons survey of those 50 and older found that 61 percent would continue to work because they needed the money. The same survey found that 40 percent of those over 50 either plan to keep working past 65 or already are.
For some the only option is to work longer, others might start retirement by cutting back work hours or finding part-time employment. Stone, in his book, offers 101 ideas to open your mind to alternative possibilities, from a being script editor to artisan apprentice. Since I like to meet people, I considered being a maitre d' at a local restaurant.
One of the fears of organizations that rely on volunteers is that those in the boomer age group won't volunteer. Articles and announcements in The Arizona Republic demonstrate a growing shortage of volunteers. It may be necessary to create new incentives like offering tax credits for some volunteer tasks such as caregiving. Those needing volunteers will have to also look at time flexibility, sharing tasks, and something different with more cachet than a "100 hour" pin.
Another option for the years ahead is to go to school and continue learning. While universities do not offer reduced tuition to older students, there are lots of free and low-cost options. Many of our community colleges offer low-cost classes for older students who want to learn and don't want the degree. Several years ago I offered senior university at Arizona State University. It has been reborn as Emeritus College, which you can find at www.asu.edu/provost/emerituscollege/ehome.html
Check the paper for free lectures and workshops. If you enter "free learning online" in a computer search engine, you will find a large varied curriculum just a click away.
You can spend time getting healthier. How well are you? Are you physically fit and eating right? You can use some of your time to take care of yourself. I keep a food diary and engage in some form of exercise every day. My wife hikes.
Think about the activities and people who mean the most to you. Maybe more time will give you the opportunity to enhance your relationships with family and friends. We joined our friends in something called game night. Everybody brings food to share, and we converse with our friends while enjoying board and card games. Maybe you will take time to start e-mail relationships with distant family members or rekindle distant friendships.
You might find travel as a rewarding way to spend your time. Depending on your budget, it can be short car trips or exotic overseas excursions. When a colleague retired, he sold his home and bought a recreational vehicle and spends winters in Arizona and summers in Oregon. One friend wants to visit every national park in the United States. In March my wife starts her quest to hike segments of the Arizona Trail from Mexico to the Utah border.
If you want to learn more about ways to reinvent retirement, Stone will be speaking at two Valley locations. He will speak from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Carnegie Center, 1101 W. Washington St., Phoenix. Call (602) 258-5053, Ext. 7, to secure a spot. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, you can hear him at the Glendale Public Library. Call Diane Nevill at (623) 930-3553 for details.
His book and his Web site, www.2young2retire.com, might help you as you plan for retirement.
Boomers nearing retirement may live another 30 years. I went to school until I was 25 and worked until 65. I have entered what has been called the "third" age. I could have a lot of time left to do other things.
Before you leave the workforce, you need to have some conversations with yourself and those who would be impacted by your retirement. Will you have the financial stability to stop working? Do you have a way to cover the costs of health insurance? Have you thought about how you will spend your time? Make spreadsheets for financial decisions and list things you like to do or might like to do.
What are some of the options for you if you retire? If my assumptions are correct about the assets of boomers, most will need to supplement retirement income. In fact a recent American Assocation of Retired Persons survey of those 50 and older found that 61 percent would continue to work because they needed the money. The same survey found that 40 percent of those over 50 either plan to keep working past 65 or already are.
For some the only option is to work longer, others might start retirement by cutting back work hours or finding part-time employment. Stone, in his book, offers 101 ideas to open your mind to alternative possibilities, from a being script editor to artisan apprentice. Since I like to meet people, I considered being a maitre d' at a local restaurant.
One of the fears of organizations that rely on volunteers is that those in the boomer age group won't volunteer. Articles and announcements in The Arizona Republic demonstrate a growing shortage of volunteers. It may be necessary to create new incentives like offering tax credits for some volunteer tasks such as caregiving. Those needing volunteers will have to also look at time flexibility, sharing tasks, and something different with more cachet than a "100 hour" pin.
Another option for the years ahead is to go to school and continue learning. While universities do not offer reduced tuition to older students, there are lots of free and low-cost options. Many of our community colleges offer low-cost classes for older students who want to learn and don't want the degree. Several years ago I offered senior university at Arizona State University. It has been reborn as Emeritus College, which you can find at www.asu.edu/provost/emerituscollege/ehome.html
Check the paper for free lectures and workshops. If you enter "free learning online" in a computer search engine, you will find a large varied curriculum just a click away.
You can spend time getting healthier. How well are you? Are you physically fit and eating right? You can use some of your time to take care of yourself. I keep a food diary and engage in some form of exercise every day. My wife hikes.
Think about the activities and people who mean the most to you. Maybe more time will give you the opportunity to enhance your relationships with family and friends. We joined our friends in something called game night. Everybody brings food to share, and we converse with our friends while enjoying board and card games. Maybe you will take time to start e-mail relationships with distant family members or rekindle distant friendships.
You might find travel as a rewarding way to spend your time. Depending on your budget, it can be short car trips or exotic overseas excursions. When a colleague retired, he sold his home and bought a recreational vehicle and spends winters in Arizona and summers in Oregon. One friend wants to visit every national park in the United States. In March my wife starts her quest to hike segments of the Arizona Trail from Mexico to the Utah border.
If you want to learn more about ways to reinvent retirement, Stone will be speaking at two Valley locations. He will speak from noon to 1 p.m. Friday at the Carnegie Center, 1101 W. Washington St., Phoenix. Call (602) 258-5053, Ext. 7, to secure a spot. On Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, you can hear him at the Glendale Public Library. Call Diane Nevill at (623) 930-3553 for details.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/0123sr-aging23Z8.html