A few years ago, I wrote a story for Fortune about “unretirement,” or Americans 65-plus continuing to work not because they have to but because they want to. I think about it a lot, because it seems like it would be the ideal retirement set up for many people—you have enough money to be comfortable, but you opt into doing work you enjoy at your own pace.
Of course, very few people can make that work. Many need to work in retirement to pay their bills, and a not insignificant number of seniors in the U.S. live in poverty. There are also those who are forced out of work earlier than they would like—or can necessarily afford—due to illness or disability.
But as we accrue ever-more knowledge about our health and finances, I don’t think it hurts to consider how your own ideal version of retirement would go. Maybe you want to take a phased approach, slowly cutting back on hours and responsibilities as you ease into your post-work life. Or maybe you’re gunning for early retirement, so you can be done with the corporate world as soon as possible.
While we often talk about retirement like it’s a specific, discrete thing, the truth is there can be different phases of it, just like in our careers. If you are able to retire at 65, your abilities, health, etc., will most likely be much different than at 85. So I think it makes sense to think of retirement as a continuum, with our plans reflecting that.
One of the points of the “unretirement” story is what a big, difficult change it can be for people who have worked their entire lives to suddenly not have anywhere to go or anything to do. While we spend decades building wealth and learning about investments and taxes, not everyone actually thinks about how they will spend down all of that money—or spend their time. It can be a really difficult transition.
So if you’ve thought about it—or if this is the first time you’re doing so—I’m curious: What does your ideal retirement look like? How are you spending your days?
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