Retirement Lifestyle Planning
Includes Career Change

Retirement lifestyle planning is your chance to design how you want the various parts of your life to fit together, including your work.

Did you know that there are more resources about how to plan for a retirement without work than how to transition to a new life stage which includes work? Yet according to the Merrill Lynch New Retirement Survey, over 75% of baby boomers plan to continue working in some way during retirement.

Do any of these stories resonate with you?

• Susan, age 50, is tired of the corporate grind and longs to do something more meaningful. She dreams of doing some kind of work that will benefit her community and give her a sense of purpose. She hopes her new retirement career will allow her to share her wisdom and experience with others.

• Bill, on the other hand, is 56 years old and was recently laid off from his job of almost 20 years. He's frightened and confused, unable to envision the future or see himself in a new role. He faces a forced career change just when previous generations were beginning to think about a retirement of leisure.

• Linda, who's 64, realizes she will need to continue working for financial reasons, but wants her work to be more fun, something different. In the past she's felt overwhelmed with work responsibilities, so she's hoping for more life-work balance this time around - time for family, leisure, travel, and learning.

We begin to see work differently at this time of life. Our priorities and perspectives change. Retirement lifestyle planning can help you see your life in a holistic way. Discovering work that fits your lifestyle is a way of honoring what's most important to you.

Beginning to Think About Your Own Retirement?

A new definition of retirement is needed. The old concept just doesn't make sense anymore. We're living longer, and we're not ready to withdraw from life.

In the new retirement, a broader concept of work is possible, with multiple pathways and possibilities. Your work could be full-time or part-time. You could volunteer your services or you could work for pay.

The Merrill Lynch New Retirement Survey found that most boomers would prefer to cycle between periods of work and leisure. It also found that boomers are increasingly interested in career ideas that involve helping society, at both local and global levels. An encore career would let you use your knowledge and experience to make a real difference in the lives of others.

Retirement lifestyle planning can help you make the transition to a new work life that's more in sync with who you are and what you enjoy. It's a time to finally discover what you want to do rather than what you need to do.

Retirement is a process, not an event. It's an opportunity for you to continue learning and growing. A chance to try on new hats for size. Over time your work can become an expression of your strengths and gifts, all in the service of others.

Retirement lifestyle planning allows you to:

• Take the time to imagine new possibilities.
• Open up your vision to something more than a role or a job title.
• Design something that's truly yours.

How would you design your life?

If you have any questions or would like to find out more about how work can fit into your own retirement lifestyle, contact me for more information.

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