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Is Retirement Dead?

September 26, 2017 by Eric C. Jansen, ChFC®

Is retirement dead?

It’s a scary question, especially if you’re currently working hard with hopes of kicking back, relaxing, and enjoying spending your time anywhere but an office one day.

But we think the answer is yes, traditional retirement is going away – even if it hasn’t died out completely quite yet.

Before you start worrying too much, the fact that we think retirement as we know it is a thing of the past isn’t necessarily a bad thing. To understand that, just consider where the traditional idea of retirement came from in the first place.

Why Retirement Worked in the Past, But Doesn’t Today

A few generations ago, people started work in their late teens or early twenties. They likely stayed at the same company until they were into their 50s or 60s – or at least, they spent the majority of their working years with the same employer.

That loyalty could be rewarded with retirement plans and pension programs. When grandpa retired, he likely had a pension to help fund his retirement years.

And not to be callous or morbid, but those retirement years were probably shorter than what they are today. People who retired at 65 weren’t expected to live too much longer, meaning they only needed to pay for a retirement that was 10 or 15 years long.

You can start to see why traditional retirement no longer works for today’s employees and workers. Pension plans eventually gave way to 401(k)s that employees needed to contribute to and fund themselves – and many of today’s employees don’t even have access to those plans.

In fact, just 14 percent of employers offer 401(k) plans or defined contribution plans to employees.

That means people increasingly are responsible for the cost of their own retirement, which is likely to stretch for several decades. Retiring at 65 today could mean your retirement fund or nest egg must cover 30 years’ worth of living expenses

All of these factors making it a much more costly undertaking than it used to be.

Do You Even Want to Retire?

None of this even considers whether retirement is truly desirable, anyway. Increasingly, people find that it’s not what they actually want to do.

For one, it might literally be bad for our health and wellbeing. A study from the Institute of Economic Affairs found that retirement can lead to issues including loneliness (which is incredibly detrimental to happiness and physical health) and inactivity or immobility.

That makes sense when you actually consider what retirement looks like day to day. The idea of putting your feet up and doing nothing sounds great when you’re in the thick of your career, family responsibilities, and other to-dos that have you running a mile a minute right now.

But is having nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to talk to really that appealing if you do it day in and day out?

Either extreme – whether you’re running yourself ragged with work today or sitting around having no work to do at all in the future – isn’t conducive to our happiness and health.

So what’s the solution?

New Visions for the Future of Retirement

We think retirement could start to evolve. We expect to continue to see a shift away from the old-school, traditional idea of retirement, in which people’s days are filled with a lot of golf but not much else.

Today’s retirees and people who will retire in the next 10 and 20 years (and even further into the future), are active and want to continue being productive in some way.

That doesn’t mean they keep working their same, full-time job until the end of time. But because they worked hard to build retirement savings and wealth over their working years, they’re now free to explore other activities, jobs, and positions without worrying about the number on the paycheck from their work.

In fact, we already see that happening with clients who start an encore career, working full- or part-time in fields that always interested them but were always outside their established careers. Others start businesses or find ways to monetize their hobbies to stay engaged and active.

We see people take “mini retirements,” or “rolling retirements.” They’re no longer working up to a certain day, quitting, and never picking up another job or role again. As they enter this new stage in life, they simply change what they want to do. And they’re free to do so because, again, they already did the work of saving and investing for the future.

So they’re no longer reliant on making a certain amount of money – which frees them to pursue opportunities that capture their interest or imagination, even if it doesn’t come with the big salary they needed during their working years. Doing retirement this way means you’re still free from the 9-to-5 grind – but instead of transitioning into a sedentary, quiet life, you remain engaged in your passions and interests.

It’s benefit to your mental and physical health. It can also boost your fiscal health, too. The other upside of continuing to do some kind of work is that it brings in some kind of income.

That can alleviate the extreme pressure to save every penny you’ll need in “retirement” before you get there, and provides you with more options and freedom once you move into this stage of life.


PLEASE NOTE: The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of these web-sites provided here, you are leaving this site. Our company makes no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of information provided at these sites. Nor is the company liable for any direct or indirect technical or system issues or any consequences arising out of your access to or your use of third-party technologies, sites, information and programs made available through this site.

Eric C. Jansen, ChFC is the founder, president and chief investment officer of Westborough Massachusetts-based Finivi, which provides fee-based retirement income planning and investment management services for successful individuals and families nationwide. Do you need help planning for retirement? You can click here to schedule a complimentary consultation with a financial planner.

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Eric C. Jansen, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

When he is not researching the next great stock to add to client portfolios, you can find him travelling frequently with his family to Jackson Hole Wyoming.

  • Hometown: Chicago, IL
  • Birth Month & Year: November, 1964
  • Favorite Hobby: Goldmining in Nome, AK
  • Favorite Food: Steak at Charley’s Steakhouse in Orlando FL
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Discovery Channel
  • Hidden Talent: Finish Carpenter
  • Something on bucket list: Obtain Helicopter Pilot License
  • Family Pet: Goldfish
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Steven C. Johnson, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

Steve would tell you that one of the best parts of the day is spent talking to clients and relationships that result from it. When away from the office, he loves to travel the back roads of New England enjoying all the great sites that can be found off the beaten path.

  • Hometown: Townsend, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: December, 1967
  • Favorite Hobby: Playing Hockey
  • Favorite Food: Chicken Caesar Salad
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Bruins
  • Hidden Talent: Cooking – Makes a great Thanksgiving turkey
  • Something on bucket list: Travel to Italy and Greece
  • Family Pet: Max – our Pomeranian

Frederick M. Lane, ChFC, CASL

Fun Facts About Me

When not managing client portfolios, Fred can be found relaxing with family and friends.

  • Hometown: Nutley, NJ
  • Birth Month & Year: July, 1954
  • Favorite Hobby: Dog Walking
  • Favorite Food: Italian
  • Can't be interrupted when: Listening to Pink Floyd
  • Hidden Talent: Landscaping
  • Something on bucket list: Space Flight - Tourism
  • Family Pet: None

Catherine M. Gareri

Fun Facts About Me

When not caring for her clients Cathy enjoys relaxing in her yard at home.

  • Hometown: Bellingham, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: July, 1957
  • Favorite Hobby: Cooking and Entertaining
  • Favorite Food: Steak at the Capital Grille
  • Can't be interrupted when: It's family time
  • Hidden Talent: Dog Whisperer
  • Something on bucket list: Spending a couple months on the Almalfi Coast
  • Family Pet: In Between Mastiffs now so a little blue fish “Willy”

Katie E. Moore, CLTC

Fun Facts About Me

When Katie is not busy taking care of her clients, she spends her time being a mom to her two little ones, Owen and Isla.

  • Hometown: Modesto, CA
  • Birth Month & Year: September, 1982
  • Favorite Hobby: Swimming
  • Favorite Food: Mexican Food
  • Can't be interrupted when: I'm cooking
  • Hidden Talent: Climbed Yosemite's Half Dome, twice - no fear :)
  • Something on bucket list: See the Northern Lights and Potty Train my 2 year old
  • Family Pet: Caddy and Sierra – our two cats

Hesper Duval

Fun Facts About Me

Loves spending time with 2 daughters and enjoys participating in 5k obstacle races throughout the year.

  • Hometown: Charlton, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: October, 1981
  • Favorite Hobby: Running
  • Favorite Food: Cheesecake
  • Can't be interrupted when: Reading a good book
  • Hidden Talent: Interior Design and furniture restoration
  • Something on bucket list: To travel cross-country in an RV
  • Family Pet: Charlie and Nora, both black labs from the same litter

Donna Fournier

Fun Facts About Me

When not cheering for the Patriots, Donna spends her free time travelling throughout the United States looking for new haunted places to explore. She loves to wear her cowboy hat and boots when travelling out west.

  • Hometown: Swansea, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: February, 1961
  • Favorite Hobby: Exploring haunted locations
  • Favorite Food: Pizza
  • Can't be interrupted when: Eating my pizza
  • Hidden Talent: Rollerblading
  • Something on bucket list: Travel to Australia
  • Family Pet:  Had a pet skunk

Krista Isabelle

In her free time, Krista can be found crafting, cooking, spending time outdoors with her family, or curled up reading next to her beloved pets.

  • Hometown: Hopedale, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: August 1994
  • Favorite Hobby: Cooking & Baking
  • Favorite Food: Baked mac & cheese
  • Can’t be interrupted when: Reading
  • Hidden Talent: Cartoon drawing
  • Something on her Bucket List: Fostering animals

Danielle Drew

When Danielle does not have her head in a book studying to expanding her financial planning knowledge, she enjoys anything active and outdoors, including visits to the beach and hiking.  

  • Hometown: Dennis, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: November, 1985
  • Favorite Hobby: Working out, concerts, and exploring wineries
  • Favorite Food: Lobster pot pie, cheeseburgers, BBQ, the list goes on...
  • Can't be interrupted when: Working out 
  • Hidden Talent: Country line dancing
  • Something on bucket list: To hike the 48, 4000 footers of New Hampshire
  • Family Pet: none, hopefully a big dog someday

Jay Willwerth, ChFC

Fun Facts About Me

Jay’s days are spent helping clients achieve their financial goals, followed by nights and weekends typically watching his daughters play competitive volleyball.

  • Hometown: Melrose, MA
  • Birth Month & Year: September, 1959
  • Favorite Hobby: Golf
  • Favorite Food: Anything at a Patriot’s Tailgate
  • Can't be interrupted when: Watching the Patriot’s Game
  • Hidden Talent: Competitive Volleyball Watcher (Mostly his 2 daughters)
  • Something on bucket list: Play a round of Golf at Pebble Beach
  • Family Pet: Bella, our Shih-poo
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