Retirement: A Full-Time Job

Inspiration and Marigolds

Three seemingly unrelated items:

1. I have found someone to replace myself at my part-time consulting gig, so I should be back to full-time retirement within a few months!
2. I have seen the trailer to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, four times now and I really want to see the movie.  I might even want to visit India.
3. A couple of years ago my father-in-law wrote this post about traveling and learning with Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel).

One of the things I have learned about myself while working at my part-time consulting gig this last year is that it’s important for me to do things that are hard.  I don’t mean all the time, but I need to intersperse periods of leisure with periods of challenge.  I’d prefer to find the balance that doesn’t cause undue stress, but I know that I have to do this for myself now that I won’t be consulting anymore. 

In a job situation, it comes naturally; the challenges present themselves without much effort to find them.  In retirement, you have to set the challenges up yourself.  They don’t generally present themselves on their own.  After I’ve had a chance to unwind from this last working gig, I’m going to be looking for something to do where I feel like I’m contributing, like I’m part of a team, and where I am challenged.  I’ll be looking for a volunteer gig.

My strongest passion, when contemplating volunteering, is working with dogs.  I am happiest when in the presence of dogs.  Yet, I’m not quite ready to commit to a canine member for our family.   I’m enjoying the freedom to travel and make spontaneous plans too much to adopt a dog.  And I fear that if I volunteer at an animal shelter, I’ll fall in love with too many dogs and I won’t have the willpower to resist bringing them all home.

But there is some amazing matchmaking going on now with dogs and their people.  Like the match made by an Ohio organization, 4 Paws, between Chancer, a Golden Retriever, and his boy Iyal.  Iyal was adopted from a Russian orphanage by an Atlanta couple.  The couple learned after years of difficulties with Iyal that he was a victim of fetal alcohol syndrome.  Chancer is helping Iyal.

And in another heart-warming story, Devon, another sweet Retriever, is helping his Iraq war veteran deal with the debilitating effects of her post-traumatic stress disorder.   Where therapy and medication have failed, Devon is succeeding.

These stories inspire me.

But back to the three seemingly unrelated items. 

Inspired by the release of the Marigold movie, and “building on the film’s themes of hope and reinvention in the second half of life,” Participant Media has joined with Encore.org and Road Scholar to sponsor a contest, “Marigold Ideas for Good.”  Contestants over 50 can submit their ideas for bettering their communities, and 30 of them will win a $5,000 grant to help make it happen. 

I’m looking forward to reading their inspirational ideas, and maybe even yours!  (Click here to enter.)

 

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Looking Through My Camera at Retirement

I went to Golden Gate Park with my photography class last weekend, and now I have 186 photos of a place I’ve been to a gazillion times but have never really noticed before.

We go to New York almost every year.  We used to go for a week at a time, but the last few years we’ve gone for a month.  A month is great because you don’t feel compelled to race around trying to squeeze all the excitement of Manhattan into just one week.  Plus you get some more time to explore places you might not go when visiting for just one week, like the outer boroughs, and the less famous parks of Manhattan.  And you get a chance to relax in between events, a concept most of us don’t consider when contemplating a visit to the center of the universe.

When we get together with our friends that live or work in Manhattan, they are always amazed at the places we’ve explored.  Mostly they are places that they have never been to, despite living there for decades.  And I understand that, despite living in or near San Francisco for the majority of my life, I’ve never walked across the Golden Gate Bridge.  I’ve flown 3,000 miles to walk across the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, and biked across the Queensboro and Triborough Bridges, but I’ve never biked or walked the Golden Gate.

It’s sometimes hard to give your own neighborhood the same fresh look you give a neighborhood thousands of miles away.  And that is the wonderful gift that learning to use my new camera has given me:  The chance to look in my own backyard with fresh eyes. 

Which now that I think of it, is one of the keys to a happy retirement, making sure to look at it each day with fresh eyes.

Related Posts:

            How to Keep Retirement Engaging

            Using Retirement to Get Really Good at Something

            Retirement as a Balloon Animal

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Retirement from Retirement

There’s a buzz around the early retirement-sphere this week as Jacob, at Early Retirement Extreme has announced his unretirement.   I’m a little late to the discussion, but as a gal that has added part-time work to my own retirement recipe, I of course have some opinions on the subject.  (To follow some of the other discussions on the late-breaking news:  Unretirement, at Canadian Dream, Thoughts on Early Retirement, at Brip Blap, and Mr. Money Moustache Gets Passed the Early Retirement Torch.)

Jacob’s situation is a little different than my own as he is giving up full-time retirement entirely in favor of full-time work.  And it’s not just a little keep-you-busy job, it’s a serious career.  He will be a quant trader/researcher and will be moving from California to Chicago.  I don’t exactly know what a quant trader/researcher does, but I imagine it involves a huge commitment of both time and brain power.  This wouldn’t be one of those jobs that I would describe as a “fun job in retirement.”  

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  Retirement really just means that you get to think about what you want to be thinking about all day.  If you can get paid for thinking about what you want to be thinking about all day, well good for you!

And I’ve also said this before, you can’t just keep doing the same thing year in and year out for the rest of your life or you will become bored and unfulfilled.  That’s true when you’re working and it doesn’t stop being true when you retire. 

It’s totally understandable that Jacob got tired of thinking and writing about the early retirement lifestyle.  My guess is that at some point he will grow weary of thinking about whatever quant trader/researchers think about all day long too, and then he’ll do something else.  Just like all of us should be doing when we get tired of thinking about what we’re thinking about all day long.

 

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Related Posts:

            Work vs. Retirement

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How to Retire Early

Back in the day of late-nights at the office, the janitor to our building used to come in to my office to empty the trash cans at around 8pm.  I was the only one in the office at that point, it was tax season.  He and I would exchange pleasantries in my limited Spanish and then he would always say, in English as he left my office, "More work, more money!"  While I was on a salary, so more work wasn't really more money, he did have a point.

There's no getting around the fact that the more years you work, the more money you're going to have.  The more money you have, the more money you get to spend.  If you decide to retire 20 years before the traditional retirement age, you are giving up 20 years of income.  That's a fact.  Less work, less money.

So then, what's the secret to early retirement?  Read my guest post at FiGuide, How to Successfully Retire Early.

Related Posts:

    What Are You Willing to Give Up?

    Downsizing to Retirement

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Aging in Place and Watching Your Trees Grow

I used to think that in another five or 10 years, after I’d done my time in suburbia, I’d make Doug pack up his bags and move with me back to San Francisco.  Apparently that’s what many builders and developers thought too.  According to this article in Forbes, we retirees were eventually supposed to ditch our suburban communities and head in droves to high-end urban housing.  I expected me to do that too.

But apparently that’s not what we’re doing.  According to the latest census data, some retirees are choosing more affordable Sunbelt communities, but the vast majority of folks are choosing to age in place.  I can see the appeal of this now. 

I was browsing my photos last night and ran across the one above.  This was at a party we had a few years ago after we had just planted a couple of cherry trees, and landscaped the area right off our deck.  Today it looks like this:

Those little cherry trees produced a ton of fruit this year, enough for a lot of home-made cherry turnovers.  My pomegranate tree finally has fruit on it this year, six years after we planted it.  And the apple tree hasn’t yet managed to give us more than two or three small apples.  I want to be here when that tree is heavy with fruit.  I want to be here when the blood orange tree gives us so many oranges I have to give them away to the neighbors.  I want to be here when the little maple gets big enough to hold the other side of a hammock.  I don’t want to leave all this, I want to see what it all turns out to be 10, 20, and 30 years from now.  I get it.

Related Posts:

    Where to Live in Retirement 

    Do We Really Want Everything We Want?

    Aging and Retirement

 

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Happy Birthday Dad!

Every time my dad has a birthday, it gives me a new perspective on whatever age it is that he is turning.  I used to think 60 was old until he turned it.  But he was playing tennis two or three times  a week, toiling in his yard every weekend, and working on never-ending construction projects on his house.

Last week Dad turned 74.  Still playing tennis, doing heavy landscaping projects, and improving his home, he still is the model of the age-is-just-a-number mentality.  He came over for dinner this week for a belated birthday celebration and I asked him what he did on his birthday.

He started his day as usual, up early reading the paper from cover to cover.  Then he drove over to the pool and swam one mile, 36 laps.  He then headed over to Southern Lumber to pick up some wood for the headboard of the bed he is building.  Unfortunately he locked his keys in the car.  He didn't want to disturb my step-mom at work, so he walked the 3 1/2 miles home.  Once there, he realized he was going to have to figure out how to get to his dental appointment without a car.  So, he rode his bike for the mile-long journey.  Basically he did a triathlon for his 74th birthday.

Ok Dad, so now I know 74 is nothing.  I'm looking forward to watching you make 84 look young!

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Filling in the Blank in Retirement

Our friend Jeff came over last week for dinner.  He just got a new job after a period of unemployment.  He’s happy to be working again, he told us, “I really like working.  You and Doug are really good at filling your days without work, but I had real trouble with that.”

I thought about that for a second and told him that actually, we all have the same 24 hours in a day to fill, so really, he did fill the time when he wasn’t working.  It’s just that he didn’t fill it with something ___________ enough.  I asked him what that blank was for him. 

For Jeff, the thing he loves about work is the problem-solving.  He develops customized database applications tailored to the unique business needs of his clients.  His whole day is filled with a series of problems that need to be solved, and he is engaged all day long in solving them, like puzzles.  He loves this about his work.

I love the days that I don’t work, I have no trouble filling them, it’s true.  But one thing I’ve learned about myself, just from adding a few hours of work each week, is that I like doing things that are a little bit hard for me, just a little out of my comfort zone.  In retirement, I don’t really do things outside of my comfort zone because, well, I’m not comfortable doing them.  I get to choose whatever I want to do, and so I tend toward things that are easy.

But at work I have to do a few things that don’t feel comfortable to me, things that I wouldn’t really do if I didn’t have to, like meeting with people I don’t know, or choosing the right insurance coverage, or sorting through the provisions of complex legal agreements.  But after I do it, I feel good about myself that I had it in me to figure it out.  Getting out to an office, even for only a few hours each week, also gives me a little social outlet that I’m not getting when I’m home writing, working in my garden, reading, or exercising.     

Neither of these things has to do with money.  That’s the thing about retirement.  When you leave your job, it’s not just the salary you are leaving behind.  You are leaving behind other things that you may have enjoyed, things that may have engaged and fulfilled you.  In retirement, you have to figure out what it is besides money that you got from your job and find a way to get that on your own.  Of course you’ll need to accumulate an adequate nest egg to retire.  But having enough money will not be enough to fill your days in a way that makes you feel fulfilled; you’re going to need to find something that is ___________ enough.

Related Posts:

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Don’t Let Fear Paralyze Your Retirement Plan

 
It’s understandable that the prospect of retiring has become increasingly scary for a lot of people.  Emily Brandon’s recent piece at U.S. News explores some of the fears uncovered by a recent Financial Engines survey of 300 retired and soon-to-be retired people.  Unfortunately, this fear is causing some folks to simply throw up their hands in despair:

“Some individuals were paralyzed by the uncertainty and took no action in order to avoid making incorrect decisions. This inertia caused some retirees to choose conservative investments to avoid getting locked into something and not having access to their money.”

Whatever you do, don’t do nothing!

It’s true, there is a lot of advice out there on how much to save, how to invest it, and how to make it last—some of it conflicting and all of it overwhelming.  But that doesn’t mean it’s better to take none of it.  Standard rules of thumb have been getting a bad rap lately.  True they are not precise, but at least they give us a place to start. 

How much to save

Last week I wrote about the 4% rule.  Is it perfect?  Of course not, but it’s a great place to start.  It will give you a target.  All you have to do is adjust for your own circumstances.   

From paralysis to action:  Aim to save 25 times your annual retirement budget needs that will not already be met by Social Security if you are planning to retire near age 65.

How to invest it

Is the age-based rule of thumb for allocating your assets perfect?  You know what I’m going to say:  No, but it’s a good place to start.  Should your allocation between bonds and stocks be 30/70, 60/40 or somewhere in between?  It’s up to you.  There really is no wrong answer here, well, aside from putting 100% of it in stocks or bonds, or your house, or the mattress.  Start with the basics and adjust for your own risk-tolerance as explained in this article:  Should You Invest According to Your Age?

From paralysis to action:  Just pick an allocation, you can always change it.  Invest it in a diversified selection of low-cost index stock and bond funds. 

How to make it last

Rebalance your portfolio periodically.  I don’t even think this rule is controversial.  As the years go by, your target allocation is going to get out of whack.  The market will impact your allocation and so will your own withdrawals.  Rebalancing will force you to sell stocks when they are high and buy them when they are low.  You’ll also want to rebalance simply to shift to a more conservative allocation as you age.

My approach to asset allocation is to always have about 10 years of living expenses in bonds and cash so that I won’t be forced to sell stock mutual funds during market tumbles. 

Putting it all together

Let’s assume you are retiring at 65 and planning on a 4% withdrawal rate.  You will need at least 40% allocated to bonds (40/60 allocation) to have 10 years of living expenses in your bond allocation.   Assuming your portfolio returns about 2.5% over inflation, you will need to migrate toward a 50/50 allocation by your 75^th birthday to maintain a 10 year supply of liquid assets.  If you continue to periodically rebalance to keep that target of 10 years living expenses, your allocation would shift to about 70/30 by the time you are in your mid-80’s.

A recent survey showed that many people’s paralysis is causing them to make a different plan for retirement all together:  never retire at all.   My issues with that action plan are in my post at U.S. News this week, Denial is Not a Retirement Plan.

 

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Enjoying a Split-Personality Retirement

One of the things I have enjoyed about incorporating a part-time job into my retirement is the chance to get to be someone different from time to time.  As with many people, my career played a large part in defining who I was before I retired.  It was a major ingredient my identity.   It’s the same with retirement, really.  When I tell people that I am retired, the word retired conveys an identity as well.  People have an image of retirement, and whether that image accurately reflects how I live my retirement or not, it certainly identifies me in a particular way.

I’ve written about how hard it is to say what I “do” when I’m small-talking with a new acquaintance.  When we meet someone new, the small talk about our occupations is really just to gain context for getting to know one another.  It’s a jumping-off point for conversation.  Just as “finance-professional” didn’t really express who I was before I retired, “retired” doesn’t really cover who I am since retirement.  Having another dimension to my retirement gives me a chance to indulge in a bit of split personality.

Personality 1:  Writer/Blogger

When I first retired and would meet someone that I wasn’t likely to have an intimate on-going relationship with, I generally answered “aspiring writer” to those questions.  My hairdresser and my dental hygienist, casual conversations with strangers in waiting rooms and grocery lines, those are the relationships that I chose to convey this persona to.  And especially to hard-working folks that don’t like their jobs, I am usually reluctant to tell them I’m retired at such a young age.

Personality 2:  Retired

For people with whom I’m likely to build an ongoing, intimate relationship, “retired” seems to be the best way to categorize my life.  That’s why I can meet up with them at practically any time, why I have the time to read so many books, take so many classes, and travel so frequently.  If a person is going to really know me, they will ultimately wonder how I’m able to have such a flexible life, so I might as well explain that at the beginning of the relationship.

Personality 3:  Part-time venture capital CFO

I’m taking an angel investing class at our local university.  I tell the people that I meet there, that I work part-time as a CFO at a venture capital firm.  At the first class, we all introduced ourselves and explained why we were taking the class.  I’m taking it to get more enjoyment out of the experience of my part-time consulting gig.  Sometimes I resort to this persona in other situations as well, instead of the writer/blogger one. 

For some other advantages of incorporating a little work into your retirement, read my post this week at U.S. News, 10 Reasons to Work Part-Time in Retirement.

 

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This is a post from Retirement:  A Full-Time Job.

For the Secret to a Happy Retirement Ask a Woman

Women generally arrive at retirement with smaller nest eggs.  That’s due to a number of factors, including lower lifetime earnings and the fact that they tend to invest less aggressively than men.  While women have historically been less confident about their investing abilities, that’s beginning to change according to the 2011 Scottrade American Retirement Survey.  Sixty-nine percent of the women in the survey rated their ability to plan for retirement as good or very good, inching closer each year to this year’s 71 percent of men.

And since women have longer life expectancies than men, they will need even bigger nest eggs to carry them through retirement.  Which reminds me of the joke:  Why do husbands die before wives?  Because they want to.  I get it, but maybe it’s time for the men to learn something from the women:  How to achieve a happy retirement.  Besides a longer life-expectancy, women do have some advantages in this area.  That’s the subject of my post last week at U.S. News and World Report What Men Can Learn From Women About Retirement.  

 

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