Return on Work

by Mitch Anthony

When my barber Dave turned 50, he told me that years of listening to postretirement stories in his chair convinced him to make some changes in his own retirement goals. Dave decided to put off retirement and keep cutting hair (at least part-time) into his 80s. What’s remarkable about this story is that when Dave originally told it to me, the economy had not yet unraveled. Dave made this choice not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He loved what he did and didn’t see any compelling reason to stop.

Work is an essential part of anyone’s return on life. Dave recognized that the compartmentalization of life into two phases––before and after retirement––is not healthy. Just as an individual should always have time for leisure, it is just as important to always have some time for work.

It is easy to undervalue work, especially at times when we feel undervalued at work. But if you think about it, work is such an integral part of who we are. When individuals dream of retiring at 35, it’s usually because they’re unhappy or unfulfilled, not because they want to stop working and do nothing for the next 50 or more years. My own experience and research shows that there is no doubt that the closer people get to retirement, the less thrilled they are with the thought of living a workless life. It isn’t the work so much as the fulfillment it brings. We may not want to keep showing up at the same office or sit at the same desk, but the thought of no longer making a valuable contribution to society is pretty scary. Like many things in life, we don’t miss it until it’s gone. 

For many, if not most of us, work is a creative outlet. It doesn’t matter if a person is an artist or actuary. Combine that with the fact that many of us have to continue working for financial reasons, and we become terrified at the thought of never working again. I think the bleak state of the economy has scared us straight and forced us to look at work in a new way. If you have a choice, that’s fantastic. If you don’t, make the most of it––and I’m pretty sure you’ll be glad you did.

The majority of people have already made a number of career shifts by the time they reach their later working years and have an increased level of comfort in the jobs they find themselves in, and the skills they have acquired. In one study, 1/3 of the respondents who expected to keep working stated the reason was finances; two-thirds stated that it was a matter of choice. The majority of us want to continue working. Working is a fundamental part of return on life.

If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, start to plan your transition to a new work phase. There are lots of good resources, but a fun place to start is newretirementality.com where you’ll be able to complete a profile that compares where you are with where you want to be. 

Once we find work we really enjoy, the payoff becomes more than the paycheck. Why walk away from a meaningful payoff if we don’t need to?  As we age, we need to be careful to not confuse the desire to cut back on work with cutting out work. Whether we have a choice or not…work should always be part of our lives.

Adapted from The New Retirementality:  Planning Your Life and Living Your Dreams…at Any Age You Want by Mitch Anthony (©2008 Mitch Anthony).  Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Mitch Anthony is the founder and president of The Financial Life Planning Institute, the leading provider of financial life planning tools and programs. 

For more than a decade, Mitch and his team have provided training and development for both individual advisors and major organizations throughout the world. Mitch personally consults with many of the largest and most-recognizable names in the financial services industry on both financial life planning and relationship development.

Mitch has been named one of the financial service industry’s top “Movers & Shakers” for his pioneering work, and is interviewed by the media on a regular basis. The Institute is partnering with both Texas Tech University and the University of Georgia to develop financial life planning programs for their undergraduate programs. Mitch is a popular keynote speaker, columnist for Financial Advisor magazine, and host of the daily radio feature, The Daily Dose, heard on approximately 100 radio stations nationwide.

Mitch is also the author of many groundbreaking books for advisors and consumers, including From the Boiler Room to the Living Room, StorySelling for Financial Advisors, The New Retirementality, Your Clients for Life, and Your Client’s Story. For information on these books and more resources, click here.

Contact him at mitch@mitchanthony.com.

© 2008 Mitch Anthony