Victory Lap

Once you achieve Financial Independence, you may choose to leave salaried employment but with decades of vibrant life ahead, it’s too soon to do nothing. The new stage of life between traditional employment and Full Retirement we call Victory Lap, or Victory Lap Retirement (also the title of a new book to be published in August 2016. You can pre-order now at VictoryLapRetirement.com). You may choose to start a business, go back to school or launch an Encore Act or Legacy Career. Perhaps you become a free agent, consultant, freelance writer or to change careers and re-enter the corporate world or government.

The costs of Quality of Life in our later years

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SeniorsAdvocate.ca

By Barbara J. Kirby, Certified Professional Consultant on Aging (CPCA)

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Everyone measures quality of life differently but the underlying concern for many older people is how long their money will last? Aging and health conditions may dictate the type of accommodations and amount of support you need now or down the road. However, quality of life does not need to be measured by where you live but more by the effort you put into caring for yourself and planning for the right supports to be around you, including type and frequency of that support.

Whatever our situation we also need to draw on our inner strength to find comfort and solace if our lifestyle is not as expected. Basically, we need to toughen up. What is it that holds us back from having a good quality of life as we age then? Some of it is denial, and refusing to deal withour chronic aches and pains, loss of mobility, loss of hearing and loss of eyesightas well as simple activities such as cooking for ourselves and cleaning.

We either need to have the ability to pay to relieve the stress of these issues, or have other family or community resources and our quality of life can improve dramatically. I have seen the biggest turnaround in the quality of life for people who participate in fitness and social programs. Those who receive in-home physiotherapy get and use hearing aids that work well, have cataract surgery, knee replacements and hip replacements all with a good rehabilitation programs and continued physiotherapy after they come home.

These are all without exception of course to each individual unique circumstances but the simple rule of thumb is plan to pay for these support services. Rehab twice a week may cost anywhere from $50 to $150 per visit and a companion twice a week may cost anywhere from $25.00 to $40.00 per hour and usually expects to work for a minimum of 3 hours; some companies are saying 4 hours now. Having a family member who is a good advocate for you, who makes an effort to understand and ask questions re: medical issues, and who knows how to access resources when needed is a bonus. You can’t always expect a family member to fit into this role.

In addition, hiring a companion to give your family member a break is important: someone who is equal to you as a peer to have engaging conversations with and has the ability to drive. The common questions asked are, where will I live? What is available? How much will it cost? These are not simple questions to answer because there are many variables. Here are just a few questions to consider.

• What is your income level?

• Do you have retirement savings or access to other capital?

• What community do you want to live in?

• What are your health conditions?

• What are your expectations in relation to your future health needs as you age?

• How soon do you want to move and do you have family or anyone to support you In Canada and the Province of B.C.?

Our social system provides us with most of our medical expenses and offers subsidized housing and care if we are lower income. Accessing independent or assisted housing can be confusing. There are many access points to the different types of housing including, subsidized, private, co-op housing, co-housing, market rental housing, and low-income housing. Some of the entry points may be through the health authorities, or BC Housing, or directly through the homes and other various housing societies.

There is not one central point where you have access to all. You can go on line to Seniors Services Society, or call BC211or call a local seniors centre for information or ask for help from a professional housing specialist. Beware of the ones who don’t charge but are paid a referral fee by some of the private assisted living homes.

Here are rough numbers but they will give you an idea of where you fit in. Continue Reading…

Q&A with author David Aston about his new book, The Sleep-Easy Retirement Guide

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Author David Aston, whose book becomes available today

Today is the formal release date for David Aston’s new book, The Sleep-Easy Retirement Guide. Below is a Q&A I conducted with David to mark the occasion. See also my review of the book at MoneySense that appeared in December, as well as the Hub’s throw to that piece. 

Jon Chevreau: What inspired you to write the book after so many years of writing about Retirement?

David Aston: I have covered most of the key issues in planning for retirement in stand-alone articles I have written over the years.  But I wanted to update that advice for current circumstances and figures, show how all the issues fit together as an interconnected whole, and provide it in a combined reference guide that people could have on their shelf and readily turn to when questions came up.

Q2: What do you think about the FIRE movement?

DA: The Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) movement is certainly laudable.  It’s an admirable concept that people should try to achieve Financial Independence as early as possible, which frees them up to do work that is most meaningful to them (rather than being obligated to do work that maximizes income).  As I understand it, it also includes the concept that people should adopt a modest lifestyle that consumes money carefully and wisely without wasting it, which in turn helps make Financial Independence more achievable at a relatively young age.  But from what I’ve read, many of the FIRE scenarios are oriented to extreme examples of people trying to achieve Financial Independence in their 30s.  So it sometimes comes up as a concept for millennials who are looking for Financial Independence as a near-time goal rather than one that is achieved after a long career at work.  That’s only possible for a tiny minority of people.  In my experience, it is far more common for people in their 30s to go through a very difficult financial crunch period where they are struggling to buy a house, then make humungous mortgage payments, and cover the expensive costs of raising kids.  FIRE goals are not realistic and achievable in your 30s for the vast majority of people.  However, the quality of thriftiness and emphasis on saving can be emulated by everyone. I personally think FIRE makes a fair amount of sense for the far more common case of people of average means who might aspire to achieving Financial Independence in their early 60s or possibly their late 50s, but that may not sound particularly appealing to millennials.

Q3: What’s your take on Semi-Retirement and/or Phased Retirement?

DA: The whole world of work for older workers is opening up.  The once accepted norm that people retired from their career job to live a life of leisure close to age 65 has pretty much gone out the window.  There are lots of expanding options for people to do post-career work that is different than their career job.  Often it involves reduced hours, but it can also be full-time work that is less stressful or more fulfilling, or some combination of these attributes.  There are various forms of part-time work, contract work, self-employment, consulting or temp work.  Often it means switching employers or being self-employed, but it can also mean gearing down to reduced hours or a less stressful role with the same employer.   And these post-career options are often started in your early 60s, but they can also happen earlier or later. So there is a vast array of options out there and it’s really up to people to pursue the opportunities that appeal to them the most.

I should mention that “phased retirement” is a term that is sometimes applied to formal corporate programs that allow older employees to adopt a reduced-work schedule or otherwise gear down with the same company prior to full-retirement from their career job.  If you go back about 10 years or so, there was an expectation that these kind of corporate programs would increasingly catch on and be offered by major corporations.  However, it never really caught on as formal corporate programs that are broadly offered to all older employees. What I have seen happen is that you get a lot of these kind of arrangements to offer reduced hours or less stressful/more fulfilling job functions negotiated on an informal, individual basis. They aren’t offered to everybody in the company.  Whether or not an employee can achieve something like that or not depends on the nature of their job, what their boss is looking for, as well as their individual wants and needs. Continue Reading…

How to enjoy your Retirement years on a Fixed Income

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Photo via Rawpixel

By Sharon Wagner

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

For many new retirees, adapting to a fixed income can be a bit of a challenge. However, living on a limited budget shouldn’t take any fulfillment out of your golden years. With a few budget tweaks and some smart financial planning, you’ll be able to enjoy today and remain financially secure for the future. Here are some quick budgeting tips for financial success now that you’re retired.

Cut unnecessary subscriptions and services

If you’re not careful, memberships and subscriptions can eat up a lot of your budget. For example, canceling your cable subscription and replacing it with an inexpensive streaming service can save you hundreds of dollars a year! Gone are the days of paying for a bunch of channels you never watch. If you decide to cut the cord and do away with your cable box, you’ll want to get a streaming device so you can watch your favorite shows and movies on your TV. Simply compare streaming devices to match the features and the right device with your budget.

Spend less on food

Eating out frequently can eat a massive hole in your budget. According to Nestle Professional, senior households spend thousands on eating out every year! Considering that cooking a meal at home costs a fraction of dining out, you can save a significant amount of money by spending more time in the kitchen.

Get familiar with some quick and easy meals that you can throw together the next time you’re tempted to order takeout. You can also take steps to cut down on grocery spending: review flyers and look for deals, write a shopping list, and don’t buy anything that’s not on your list.

Pay off debt

If you have debt, make a plan to pay it off as soon as possible. Any money you pay in interest on your debt is money you can’t spend on fun retirement hobbies and activities. Kiplinger recommends starting by focusing on high-interest debt. Credit card debt can be particularly burdensome, so do whatever you can to avoid taking on more. Medical debt can also be overwhelming, but credit experts advise against prioritizing this type of debt since it typically carries low to no zero interest. Continue Reading…

Victory Lap: Second Round

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By Mark Venning, ChangeRangers.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Unless you have been hiding in a cave for the last couple of decades, you have likely heard more than enough versions of the dialogue and plays with words around the changing attitudes and approaches to the long-standing social construct “Retirement.”

Not to mention the numerous metaphors we have applied to interpret this later life transition from a full time working life to…whatever we think we should call it…whatever works for you. In this case, it’s a Victory Lap.

Exactly three years ago in a two-part blog post, I interviewed the then co-authors of the book Victory Lap Retirement: Mike Drak and Jonathan Chevreau, published October 2016. Now in May 2019, the second edition arrived. Based on the success of book sales for version one and some strong endorsements from a number of respected specialists and writers in the financial services field, this no doubt is good cause for this second round.

Beyond those reasons, I asked Mike Drak recently, “What prompted you to arrive at the 2nd edition and add a third contributor, Rob Morrison?”

Mike: “Our intention is to keep revising Victory Lap Retirement as we learn more from ongoing research and also from our own experiences. We added Rob Morrison CFP® as we wanted to release the book in the US and he could bring US expertise to the table as President of financial services firm Huber Financial Advisors, LLC, in Lincolnshire, Illinois. He is well versed with respect to Retirement.”

Smart decision, given the size of the US market and that fact that perspectives are not that much different between the US and Canada when it comes to older adults rethinking pathways in a later life journey. And in this manner, when it comes to co-authors working together as Mike Drak says, “We speak the same language and share the same beliefs that traditional full stop Retirement is a thing of the past and that we need to develop a better concept, one that will work today.”

As I mentioned in my 2016 post on the first review of Victory Lap Retirement, over my twenty years in the career services world, where I worked directly with business executives in their later life transitions – leaving the corporate crow’s nest, as I called it, since 2001 I produced three Retirement programs, delivered countless seminars and engaged many coaching conversations. Continue Reading…

Comparative saving for Financial Independence: Is the world financially stacked against women?

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By Billy and Akaisha Kaderli, RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

Special to the Financial Independence Hub

Why do women lag in retirement savings as compared to men?

Are women at a disadvantage for reasons too numerous to list? Is it sexism? Are females not good savers? Big spenders? Is it really true that women get paid less for the same work performed? Is the world financially stacked up against women?

I read lots of articles noting all the reasons that “women have it harder” than men when it comes to saving for retirement. Regularly listed are the following:

  • The difference in men’s and women’s wages, also affecting their Social Security amounts later: but the articles don’t give honest insight into why the wages vary. This leads the reader to conclude that it’s sexism that determines pay.
  • Women often live longer than their spouses, “forcing” them to live on one SS check instead of two:  however, by women living longer, this gives more time for their investments to compound.
  • Women take off work to raise children or to become a caregiver to a family member, thus affecting their career path earnings. See the tools offered below which – if used – both stay-at-home-moms and caregivers can become financially independent.

Think outside the box

I don’t enjoy reading articles that tell me “statistically,” I’ll be settling for less and that I don’t have options. Or that “according to the numbers” – somehow – I am doomed to a mediocre savings rate and career path. Or because I am a woman, I’m going to have it tougher in life: all across the board.

So, let’s think outside the box for a moment.

First things first: education and career choice

It’s called OPEH.

OPEH is an anacronym for Occupation, Position, Education and How many hours worked a week. These four things affect a person’s income far more than one’s gender.

And we, as women, have choices in all of these categories.

Occupation

Georgetown University composed a list of the best paying college majors and the percent of men and women majoring in those fields.

The highest paying majors were Engineering, Math and Science. Men dominated these job choices, so their career path was set to earn a good, solid wage with upward mobility.

The lowest paying majors were those in Psychology, education, and social services. Women dominated these fields, so their career path was set to earn less than the above-mentioned choices that males made. These different career choices limited their upward mobility within their jobs.

We women have a choice as to what field we want to excel in, and we need to choose wisely.

Position

Teaching young girls the value of STEM courses (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) will place them in careers where they will earn more. Upward mobility in STEM careers is greater and this will translate to better earnings on their future bottom line.

Education

Within those STEM fields, males tended to gravitate towards a specialty or training that paid better. In other words, males once again made different choices for their focus. Nothing is stopping us from making these same choices. Our brains are every bit as good, wouldn’t you agree?

Hours worked per week

Even within the same job categories – and this is important here – one of the things that differentiated male workers from female workers was the willingness of male workers to put in more hours per week on the job. Males were more inclined to be on call or be at the office any time the firm might call them. Continue Reading…