Life after work: Who am I now?

Retire Ready Canada was featured in an article for Renaissance, a RTOERO Magazine.

In the article titled, “Life after work: Who am I now?”, I discuss the chance to create a new identity in retirement.

Click here to view the full Summer 2022 edition of Renaissance Magazine. Below is an excerpt of the article.

“Retirement can be exciting. For the first time, you have the time and resources to do what you want, with others and on your own, to create and find that new identity,”

Jennifer Rovet, Retire Ready Canada

A sense of purpose
“Baby boomers have always challenged the status quo, and retirement is no different,” says Jennifer Rovet, a certified retirement coach in Toronto. “They don’t want the same type of retirement their parents or grandparents had.”

So what do they want?

A recent report from investment dealer Edward Jones and Age Wave, a consulting firm focused on the effects of an aging population, drew on a survey of 9,000 adults in Canada and the United States. Four factors make this a new era of retirement,
the report says:

• People are living longer.
• There are more retired people than ever, and that number will only grow.
• Today’s retirees want to be more active and engaged.
• They find more ways than any previous generation to shape retirement to suit their needs and expectations.

Among the Canadians surveyed, just 25 per cent saw retirement as a time for rest and relaxation. Twice as many — 51 per cent — saw it as a new chapter. Another 19 per cent felt retirement would be a continuation of what life was, while 5 per cent saw it as the beginning of the end.

To live well in the new retirement, the study identified four interrelated pillars: health, finances, family and purpose.

The state of physical and financial health makes many pursuits possible. But as the report notes, social relationships and a sense of purpose can dramatically affect health. Family is often the greatest source of purpose. Health-care costs are a financial worry. And financial stress can have an impact on health.

Of the four pillars, purpose might have the most power.
Retirees with a strong sense of purpose are not only happier,
they also live longer, according to one study that followed
7,000 seniors for more than a decade.

In the Edward Jones/Age Wave survey, Canadian retirees tied purpose to spending time with loved ones, giving back, doing interesting things, meeting goals and having fun.

Another, more philosophical, answer stood out: Seven in 10 people surveyed said a source of purpose is being true to yourself. So, back to the big question: Who are you?

“Retirement can be exciting. For the first time, you have the time and resources to do what you want, with others and on your own, to create and find that new identity,” says Rovet.

And you should. A 2021 study published in the International Journal of Aging and Human Development looked at the experience of Canadian retirees. It said having a balanced identity when encountering age-related change is associated with higher levels of physical and psychological well-being.