You might live 100 years, or maybe you will only live 90. Either way, if you retire at 65, you will live another 25-35 years. That’s a long time, which begs the question: How will we use it?
Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott write in The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity, “A child born in the West today has a more than 50 per cent chance of living to be over 100, while in contrast, a child born over a century ago had a less than 1 per cent chance of living to that age.” (p. 1) We are somewhere between those stunning statistics, and those of us in our 50s, 60s or 70s have decades of experience, skill, and wisdom to offer.
My grandparents at age 65 or 70 seemed old, which could have been my perspective, or it could be that we have learned how to live healthier, and life isn’t as difficult as it once was. We may think that we’re going to be old and feeble longer. Don’t indulge that agist thought.
We will not be ‘old’ longer; we’ll be young longer.
When living a 100-year life, or living healthier longer, Gratton and Scott advise planning in terms of a multi-stage mindset. They also emphasize the intentional development of intangible assets.
There are real opportunities to move away from the constraints of a three-stage life to a way of living that is more flexible, and more responsive - a multi-stage life with a variety of careers, with breaks and transitions. (p. 3)
Dan and I took breaks, made transitions, and lived with a multi-stage mindset unintentionally long before we read The 100-Year Life. Early in our marriage we both worked full time, and those were great years. When we had our third child, he continued his career, and I concentrated on raising our children. A number of years later, we embarked on a different stage. Dan retired early, was home for several years while I got more involved with teaching the Bible. We both went back to school, Dan for a Master of Divinity and my degree was in Communication and Culture. Those were years we focused on intangible assets, and they were also delightful years. Eventually, Dan and I both went back to work in different careers.
We prayerfully made several transitions, supported each other, and I believe it’s made each of us more fully ourselves and our marriage has grown stronger.
The longer your life, the more your identity reflects what you craft rather than a reactive response to where you began…Simply following the herd is not going to work. In a way that past generations simply didn’t have to do, each one of us will need to think about who we are and how we construct our life and how this reflects our identity and values. P. 14
We came of age presuming a typical three-stage life plan; education, career and retirement. No discussion. Retirement was in the distant future. Now, with longer life spans and healthier living, the rules have changed in the middle of the game, and it will take a while to adjust our attitudes about work, retirement and life.
Preparing for a multi-stage life is a completely different way of looking at life, and it’s difficult to adjust when retirement is in the near future. (Perhaps younger workers should read this!)
I must include one caveat. Not everyone will live longer. Health care has improved, but it is much more expensive and too many people can’t afford or don’t have access to adequate professionals or medicine. Even with excellent health care and good habits, we shouldn’t take for granted that we will live long and healthy lives. But we can live each day with purpose. The healthier we are, the longer we can contribute, and the longer we have a reason to get up in the morning, the longer we will live.
If we are, in fact, going to be young longer, we need to introduce new stages to extend the middle stage of the traditional three stage life. That means that if you are preparing to retire at about age 65, consider different options for your early retirement years and/or start planning for it in your later working years.
These new stages will look different for each one of us. What will it look like for you?
Perhaps you will continue to work part-time, in a different role, or if you have the interest, you may develop new skills and work in a completely different arena. Remember, you likely have 20+ years! Many of my peers are enjoying their grandchildren, and you may be needed to care for very young or infirm family members. I know several retired people who make themselves available to help the homeless, transport those who need assistance getting to medical appointments, or work in a thrift shop or food bank. Creative outlets like photography, art, writing, music, woodwork, knitting, and gardening can all be begun or improved.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12
We may have many more days than we thought possible. I pray we use them wisely.
Love all your retirement wisdom, Judy!
Judy, you are singing my song . As I was out hiking here in Norway this morning, I was thinking about how I want to continue to be young longer. Americans have a shorter lifespan than other large wealthy countries our size, and we need to reverse that. I would love to have another 30 years of youthful living yet!