When you think of a meaningful retirement, what comes to mind? Grilling hamburgers in the backyard with your kids and grandkids? Learning a fun hobby like woodworking, crafting, or boating? Buying an RV and adventuring into the national parks?
All of these are good things, but they’re not the only things that make a retirement meaningful. A good retirement means more than simply having a lot of money to spend or a lot of free time to enjoy. Building a meaningful life in retirement means having what you need when you need it—and using your time, talent, and treasure in a way that reflects what you value.
In order to do that, you need to have the right plan that reflects your values, brings you joy, and sets you up for a meaningful retirement. At Generous Wealth Advisors, we believe retirement is a time to restore a balance of work, rest, and service that matures over your lifetime and beyond.
In this blog, we’ll start simple. We’ll cover five key aspects of building a meaningful life in retirement and what that means for your financial plan.
What Does Building A Meaningful Life in Retirement Look Like?
At Generous Wealth Advisors, the way we approach retirement planning is in our name. But when most people think of generosity, they typically think in terms of monetary donations. Our attitude is that God demands generosity from every aspect of our lives. We divide these aspects into three categories: time, talent, and treasure. And nowhere are these three categories more important than in retirement.
Investing Time
For most retirees, time is the most abundant resource you’ll have. Many retirees fill their days with leisure activities or vacations—and there is a place for seasons of rest. But investing time in retirement goes beyond leisure, and it can actually keep your mind and body healthier in the long run. Investing your time in retirement looks like:
- Learning. Use the mind God gave you to learn a new skill or study a certain subject. You could join a Bible study, audit a college class, or join a new community club.
- Mentoring others. Now that you’ve had decades of life experience, you can use that experience to train others, whether that’s tutoring a grade school student or walking alongside a new mom.
- Volunteering. Give back to your community by finding a cause you’re passionate about and getting involved. This could be at your church, your grandchildren’s school, or even a local animal shelter or donation center.
- Spend time with your “real legacy.” Your real legacy is your family. In retirement, you have the opportunity to be more involved in their lives than ever before. Now that you no longer have to parent your kids, you can spend time pouring into one another. You might also have more freedom to travel and visit family members who live far away.
When we meet with soon-to-be retirees at our office, we often ask them, “What things or activities will be most fulfilling to you in retirement?” We get a wide variety of answers, and all of them are good and God-honoring! Find what you enjoy spending your time doing and do it—the sooner you do, the more the results of your generosity will compound over time. And it’s possible to create a retirement plan that takes these things into consideration.
Investing Talent
To succeed in building a meaningful life in retirement, you should also keep using your God-given talents. Think about it—you spent your working years honing your skills and becoming an expert in your field. Why stop as soon as you reach your sixties? Of course, using your talents in retirement will look different than in a 9-to-5, but you can still be generous with them, and honor God by doing so.
- Work part-time or consult. If you genuinely enjoy the work you do, it’s possible to work part-time in retirement, act as a consultant for other professionals, or mentor young professionals in your field of work.
- Lead in other capacities. If you owned a business or managed a team, you can still be a leader even in retirement! You could bring a unique perspective to a local committee or organize social events in your community.
- Invest your talents in volunteer work. Your hobbies and skills can benefit others! Many of our clients choose to invest their talent in their church—by singing in the worship team, helping with repairs, or reading Bible stories to kiddos. Others find different ways to make an impact on their community like starting a fitness group or preparing meals for families in need.
- Set your own schedule. Now that you are retired, you can set your own schedule and be a steward of your own time. It’s easy for your retirement years to become as busy as your working years, but remember to balance your working time with rest.
As you prepare to retire, ask yourself, What am I good at, and what have I always wanted to do? That gives you an idea of how you want to structure your life in retirement. Whether you want to get paid for it or not, continuing to use your God-given talents in retirement is rewarding and fulfilling.
Investing Treasure
Did you know that generous people are happy people? Studies seem to agree! Generous people are more likely to believe that their lives are meaningful. That’s because we serve a generous God, and we were made in His image!
However, investing treasure is often where our clients have the most questions. Some wonder if they have enough to give charitably in retirement. Others wonder if their budget will have a margin for spontaneous generosity, or if they need to set stricter goals.
Regardless of what questions you have, you have many options when it comes to investing treasure in retirement. And it extends beyond charitable giving. Investing treasure also means leaving a legacy for your family—and remember, the sooner you are generous with your treasure, the longer that generosity will have to compound.
So how do all three of these aspects work together in retirement? In the next section of this blog, we will go step-by-step through building a meaningful life in retirement that incorporates your time, talent, and treasure.
Building A Meaningful Life in Retirement: 5 Steps for Success
1. Build Your Team
Whatever your plans for retirement may be, it’s best not to go it alone. With so many moving parts to your plan, you need a whole team of professionals in your corner to help it go smoothly. There are five key roles that you should fill to make out your retirement team:
- Attorney: Your attorney can help you draft legal documents (wills, trusts, etc.) and provide counsel for legal matters like power of attorney, who will make medical and financial decisions for you if you become incapacitated, and so on.
- CPA: A CPA is trained to help you plan out your income in retirement with regard to how it will be taxed. Then, they will help you create a retirement account distribution plan.
- Financial planner: A financial planner looks at your full financial picture, working closely with your attorney, CPA, and others you trust. They are the glue that holds the team together and will help you draft your roadmap toward the retirement you desire.
- Friends, family, and mentors: Retirement is a significant life shift. It may end up taking more of an emotional toll than you realize. That’s why it’s essential to have friends and family that you love, along with pastors and spiritual mentors, to guide you and help you make critical decisions.
- Others: Retirement looks different for everyone, and there are lots of spinning wheels to keep track of (taxes, fees, and even scams). Qualified financial advisors and planners can help you avoid common retirement pitfalls that many seniors face when their income is more vulnerable.
How Do You Decide Who’s On Your Team?
Your retirement team is important—so choosing the right people is critical. After all, these are the people you are going to trust with your time, talent, and treasure Here are a few things to consider when building your team:
- Ground your decisions in your values. Your retirement will reflect what you value. Look for professionals who share your values and seek to understand your worldview.
- Seek professionals who are trusted by your financial advisor. Oftentimes, your financial advisor is connected to an entire network of other financial and legal professionals they trust. They would be happy to offer you recommendations for your needs.
- Choose executors and administrators wisely. When choosing executors and administrators of your will or estate, don’t simply default to your oldest child or a family member you’re closest to. It should always be someone you can trust to make the right decisions when the time comes.
2. Identify Your Goals
Now that you’ve assembled your team, you can start identifying your goals. Your team can help you! They will ask you the right questions to determine how you want to spend your retirement, and from there, help you plan to make that a reality. Here are some common goals you may want to identify with your team:
- Spending and giving: How much do you want to give each month in retirement, and to where? What do you imagine your spending will look like?
- Lifestyle: Do you plan to upsize or downsize your home? How often do you think you will travel? What leisure activities do you plan to be involved in? Will you continue to work part-time?
- Milestone events: Is there a certain area of your life where you want to be debt-free? Is there a certain dollar amount you want in your retirement accounts?
- Legacy planning: Do you want to set up a will or trust? Where would you like your legacy to go after you are gone?
None of these questions are easy, and certainly won’t be answered in one sitting. That’s why it’s important to bring these questions to your team. At Generous Wealth Advisors, we seek to understand your situation long before we start crafting a plan for you. The better your team understands your goals, the better they can help!
3. Plan Thoroughly
We could write an entire blog on planning for retirement, but for the purposes of this one, we’ll cover the basics of retirement planning. That way, as you begin to build your team and define your goals, you know what to expect.
The 70% rule is something you will hear a lot about in retirement planning. The 70% rule is a method of determining your retirement spending—by multiplying your current monthly spending by 70%. Then, you can compare that to the amount (or projected amount) in your retirement account. It’s not foolproof, but it will give you an idea of whether or not you will have enough or whether you should seek other income streams like Social Security.
And while you can’t always be prepared for the unexpected, you should also take emergencies into account when planning. Seniors are now living longer than ever, so your savings will have to stretch even farther. Retirement doesn’t always go as planned—illness, accidents, and unforeseen events do happen. Having an emergency fund during retirement is wise and can provide peace of mind for you and your family.
4. Execute Your Plan
Finally, the big day is here—the party is planned in your honor and you say goodbye tension, hello pension!
What happens next? After spending years planning, it can be difficult to know exactly what to do first. That’s what your team is for! At Generous Wealth, we love helping our “graduates” navigate the first few days and months of retirement. Now is the time to act on the plans you’ve made with wisdom and discernment. Your team will walk alongside you through:
- Your exit strategy from your work, whether you are simply resigning or selling a business.
- Knowing when and how to withdraw funds from your retirement accounts to minimize taxes.
- Determining other streams of income like Social Security and how to maximize those benefits.
No matter how you are feeling about retirement—excited, nervous, or intimidated—your team has your back and will help you make wise choices from day one.
5. Finish Strong
Surprisingly enough, planning for retirement doesn’t end the moment you retire. Throughout retirement, you can continue to lean on your team, adjust your goals, and amend your plan as needed. Your team is there to help you stay on track with your retirement accounts, taxes, legacy, generosity, and so much more.
We make that commitment to all of our clients at Generous Wealth. Our work isn’t over once you retire—it’s just beginning! We are always available for a phone call with our clients, whether you have a simple question about a large purchase or a complicated question about your budget.
Choose a Meaningful Retirement. Choose Generous.
In this blog, we discussed what building a meaningful life in retirement can look like—from investing your time, talent, and treasure to following five simple steps to put you on a wise path. The truth is, everyone’s retirement roadmap looks different. While we all have time, talent, and treasure, we use them in different ways. That’s why the retirement team you build is so important. At Generous Wealth Advisors, we love supporting clients on their journey to retirement, from optimizing their tax strategies to creating generosity plans that will impact generations of family. Are you ready to choose a meaningful retirement? Call our team today and we’ll schedule a complimentary consultation with you!
