Most retirement planning focuses on the search for the most efficient means to save enough money for something called “retirement.” In other words, retirement planning is planning to quit our jobs. We plan to retire from something rather than retire to something. Societal changes only make the traditional view less representative of reality than ever. People today often follow widely different trajectories. Many women begin planning for something different later in life for which the term retirement may not apply. Among these goals may be the start of a career, a career change, a long-dreamed-of business, or a change of location. We have noticed a number of women who have moved to more urban areas from the suburbs. This is a trend we usually associate with young adults. While the number of women who follow what has traditionally been the male career path is increasing, the trajectory is still more variable and individual than we assume through the use of the term “retirement planning.”
Many people also own family businesses or work as consultants. Retirement planning for these people is often transition planning, merger planning, or planning for the sale of a closely-held business. For many of our clients, these events happen as a part of a series of enterprises. Sometimes, a professional man quits his job to join the business of his wife. The variations are endless.
What doesn’t change is the fact that we always retire to something. During the challenges of our day-to-day lives, we may be so preoccupied with the desire to escape from the long slog of a career that we neglect to carefully envision what a fulfilling and happy life will look like when we begin anew. Traditionally, this has been a particular challenge for men, many of whom have defined their lives by their careers. This is especially true in America, where the question “what do you do?” is considered to be less rude than in other cultures.
Among the benefits we provide the clients of Treasure Coast Financial Planning are the multiple ways that we communicate what we learn from you as a group. Our clients are intelligent, thoughtful, and successful people from many walks of life. We use what we learn from you to develop our newsletter, our presentations, and our advice with your needs in mind.