Look up the word ‘retire’ in a dictionary, and you will find many meanings for the word. It used to mean “to take out of service.’ Or "to fade away.’ Or maybe ‘to withdraw from’. In baseball, batters are retired by the pitcher.
So, what’s the problem? There are many words that have other meanings or different shades of meaning. Why do we need to think differently about this word?
I think we need to think differently about the word retire because you aren’t fading away. You aren’t being taken out of service like an old piece of equipment. You are moving on to the next big chapter in your life. You are still the same person you were the day before, only you aren’t being paid to do something that you quite possibly were really good at.
Your schedule might be different going forward, but it’s just a transition to the next stage.
Same for when you leave your job. You aren’t being taken out of service; you are still useful. You are not meant to fade away; you still have a lot to offer, learn and do.
When you decide to leave a paid job or career and call it quits, begin living on your nest egg and enroll in social security, you still have many productive years left. You are still meant to do great things –just not the things you were doing for money the day before you “retired.”
So, let’s start using a new word. Start using the word "transition". Start thinking about it as the next great chapter in your life. Or better yet, start thinking about it like the next book in a three-volume set on your life. Because we aren’t meant to be taken out of use. We are all meant for much more after age 65. Start thinking like that, start imagining how you can still be productive. Start making a list of the ways in which you can contribute to others.
You aren’t meant ‘to retire.’ You are here for more.
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Alex Bishop, CRPC®, MS, is a Private Wealth Advisor and Franchise Owner with Bishop Financial Partners, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC in Huntersville, NC. He specializes in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies and has been in practice for 22 years. To contact him, www.ameripriseadvisors.com/alex.h.bishop, 704.896.9985.
The views expressed here reflect the views of Alex Bishop as of March 7, 2023.These views may change as market or other conditions change. Actual investments or investment decisions made by Ameriprise Financial and its affiliates, whether for its own account or on behalf of clients, will not necessarily reflect the views expressed. This information is not intended to provide investment advice and does not account for individual investor circumstances.
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