Many people focus on retirement mainly – sometimes Only – Not to spend their money on the financial side. But in his new book, “Win the Retirement Game,” Joe Casey, a Princeton, NJ, retirement and executive coach and host of the Retirement Wisdom podcast, writes that nine other forces are “trying to steal your joy.”
In a recent interview with Casey, the former Merrill Lynch HR executive shared his advice for combating some of these forces: boredom, status quo, loneliness, stubbornness, expectations, uncertainty, apathy, obligations and drift.
Thrown for loop
“Some people are ready to fix and plug. Others are not,” Casey told me. “Retirement can be a great opportunity, but it can also be a challenge for people,” he said.
“Beat the Retirement Game” is an allegory of Pete in the mid-’50s, about a unified character who learns how to face every obstacle in retirement. Along the way, readers will get smart advice from Casey — the 2021 Encore Network Champion — as they plot to supplement their own retirement.
Casey is a big fan of what he calls a “holistic retirement,” combining part-time work, learning new skills, and finding meaning and purpose. Some call this “semiretirement.” I call my new stage of life “unretired”.
Here are the highlights of my conversation with Casey:
Richard Eisenberg: There are many other books about retirement. What makes yours different?
Joe Casey: I think it’s different because it’s based on my experience coaching people over the last 7½ years in creating their next chapters.
I wanted people to see what things they were up against and how to navigate through them so they could anticipate them and be better prepared.
Read: You don’t want to die at your desk sending emails. Beyond the numbers, are you ready to retire?
The title of the book talks about the ‘retirement game’. Why do you call it a game?
I think it’s a game because there are challenges and you need a strategy. I see it positively as a game. It is something you can overcome, and you can overcome these obstacles.
What do you consider a victory in retirement?
I think it is defined by each person. But I think that how people spend their time is the most satisfying thing.
Often, it’s family and other social relationships. For many people, it’s about giving back to others. For some, it’s a return to good health. Many of my clients wanted to get in the best shape of their lives.
The book goes over nine obstacles and how to deal with or combat them. I think it might sound scary to people to hear that there are nine.
I looked at the clients I worked with, and no one handled the nines. Often there were two or three that were significant.
One of the things in the book is to know the nine, because you can’t always guess which one will be the biggest for you.
Read: People who do this one thing every day have half as much memory loss as the rest of us
Are certain types of people more likely to experience and struggle with one or more of these nine forces?
I hate to generalize, but I see more women struggle with compulsion than men. And they feel that this limits their time. But you can negotiate again. You can customize them again.
Which of the nine powers are particularly dangerous?
One is boredom. Boredom actually leads you down a path of atrophy. Some people have a flexible, exciting career, and suddenly, it’s not there until they go into gradual retirement. And they can stick.
Another is retirement prospects. ‘What are my expectations and how can I not let other people’s expectations get in the way of what I decide to do?’ Look at that. Stop judging yourself by others.
One of the forces you talk about is the ‘tendency to get stuck’. what do you mean?
I think i am In one of these periods. Worrying too much can distract you from spending time on what’s most important to you. Are you doing the things you want to do? As opposed to doing, doing, doing, what adjustments do you need to make?
Part of the plan, you write, is thinking about ways to find meaning and purpose in retirement. They say it can be the last test. How hard is it?
When I started doing this work, people knew they needed to find a new purpose, but they were stuck because that seemed difficult. They are frustrated and paralyzed.
What did you say to them?
Try things you really want to do with a creative perspective. How do you want to spend your time? Then come up with some ideas. You can have a portfolio of things to try, and an objective can come out of that.
People project three alternative visions of the future for the next five years. Consider swimming lanes: your personal life and some version of work, perhaps.
After the first, develop a second five-year vision that is completely different. And then the third – wild card plan; What would you like to do if there were no limits? It’s kind of a plan to run away and join the circus to broaden your horizons.
So what?
Go talk to people. If you want to teach, talk to people who have done that. If you want to run a marathon, talk to runners. If you want to start a business, talk to entrepreneurs.
You will learn a lot. Sometimes, you learn it’s not cut out for you.
Another thing that happens: it develops new relationships. Sometimes, it’s like, ‘Well, have you ever thought about doing it here? We could use someone like you part time.’
What are some common mistakes people make when preparing for retirement?
There is all or nothing thinking. Sometimes people think ‘I’ll retire after working full time and not do any work’. And they lost this semi-retirement option.
And people can sometimes forget that we never stop growing after we retire. There are many opportunities to get out of that comfort zone, but you have to do it yourself.
Your book suggests trying new things in retirement and if you’re not good at one or don’t think you’ll be good at it or don’t like it, that’s okay. You can just keep going without feeling like a failure, right?
yes. You can try something just for fun and maybe there’s a learning experience in there.
They also write about setting goals for retirement. Can you talk a little bit about that?
People coming out of long careers are used to setting goals. Suddenly, you go into retirement – you’ve probably seen the statistics about how much television and screen time people watch when they retire. It’s amazing.
If you don’t have goals, you can really drift. I think it helps to set goals around things you like to do, or things you want to learn. They don’t have to be mega goals; Just a framework to give you some direction.
One challenge I’ve had in not being retired is deciding when it’s okay to say ‘no’ to things people ask you to do.
Saying ‘no’ is hard for many people, but it’s like a muscle. Once people say ‘no’ to things, they find it liberating. The world will not end. The next day the sun will rise.
In his book ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, Stephen Covey makes the point that if we say ‘no’ to things that are less important, we can’t say ‘yes’.
Some people struggle with loss of identity in retirement. One way some cope with it is to work the same job they used to do, but part-time. Or starting a part-time job. Are those good ways to deal with identity issues?
I’m a big fan of redeploying your skills or continuing what you’ve been doing in a different way during retirement, because it keeps you engaged and contributing. Often people don’t think it’s possible. It takes some work and planning.
One challenge that many people face is deciding the right time to retire. What advice do you have?
It starts on the financial side and gets an independent assessment on the following issues: can Are you retired? How likely are you to spend your money?
Then: What do you regret more – staying longer at the fair or the other way around?
I think it’s also your passion for your work. Is it time to put your energy into something else? What is calling you now?
What do people with spouses or partners tell them about preparing for retirement?
Talk about these things early and often; Most people don’t. What are your dreams? What do you each want in retirement? What are your concerns?
And I always give this advice to my male clients more than my female clients: show up in listening mode and be curious about the other person’s point of view.
He mentioned the importance of talking to a financial advisor to prepare for retirement. But are there any other types you can talk to?
You want to have your own board of advisors. For some people, the spiritual dimensions of retirement are very important, so they want to have some connection there. A psychologist or counselor or therapist will be another part. For fitness, you can have a personal trainer.
And then counselors who can give you life advice.
Any last words?
Don’t enter retirement without reflection and reflection. And then make the most of it. It’s your turn; You got it.
Learn how to shake up your financial career at the Best New Ideas Money Festival on September 21st and 22nd in New York. Join Carrie Schwab, President of the Charles Schwab Foundation.