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Health & Fitness

Never Retire

Retirement no longer means what it did 20 or even 10 years ago. Let's rediscover what it means now.

As a new year begins everyone talks about setting goals and making resolutions. One goal that is shoved down the throats of most people by the financial industry is “retirement.” When do you want to retire? What age? In how many years? If you know the answers, great. However, many people (and most young people) don’t know exactly when they want to retire. Guess what? You don’t need a retirement age to properly plan your retirement.

Retirement Is No Longer Retirement

The word “Retirement” has never had less meaning than it does right now. Older people are going back to work or working longer. Younger generations commonly have no clue when they want to retire. The reality is “retirement” has lost its meaning. Social Security isn’t looking all that secure. The days of working for a company for thirty years and then retiring and starting a pension are gone. We need to start thinking less in terms of retirement and more in terms of sustainable lifestyle.  A sustainable lifestyle is putting yourself in a position now to always have a stream of income that matches your stream of expenses. This may mean starting a business or doing contract work. It may mean quitting your current job to find a passion that generates income that you can continue into your older years. Of course, it will always be important to save but saving is no longer the only way to plan.

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Retirement Age Goals Are Not Necessary

Oftentimes, people choose an arbitrary age like 60 or 65. This is what I call “Society’s Retirement.” It’s when society says people should retire. Others use the Social Security’s definition of retirement which varies depending on when you were born. Instead of “choosing” a retirement age goal, use 65 as a baseline and plan from there. If you don’t know when you want to retire then you don’t know. There is nothing wrong with not knowing. You shouldn’t be forced into choosing now. However, you do need to know where you stand with what you are currently doing. You may not be on track right now but the good news is that you don’t need to be on track until the day you retire.

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The bottom-line is retirement does not mean you stop making money. It may mean you stop working for a company and start working for yourself. It may mean you find a job in a hobby you love. It can have many meanings for different people. At the end of the day, retirement means you are comfortably happy.

This post originally appeared here.

Matthew B. Brock, CFP®
Senior Partner, Owner
Divergent Planning, LLC
matt@divergentplanning.com

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