Do You Want an ELF or HALF Retirement?

My thanks to Joe Polish of Genius Network for the acronyms. I’ve heard Joe refer to ELF and HALF repeatedly in his podcasts at 10xTalk.com as part of his teaching mantra for budding entrepreneurs.

Joe simply asks them: Do you want your business to be Easy, Lucrative and Fun (ELF)? Or Hard, Annoying, Lame, and Frustrating (HALF)?

It occurred to me that maybe that is an appropriate question to ask of those who are contemplating a jump into the retirement pool – or those already in the pool but still in the shallow end.

Why the question? Retirement is always ELF, right?

Easy? What can be hard about doing little or nothing – on my own schedule?

Lucrative? The lucrative thing is done. That’s why you retire, right? You ’ve earned the right to “spend” your lucrative.

Fun? It’s bound to be fun. It’s the 20-years of fun at the end of the 20th-century, 20-40-20 plan that we’ve been indoctrinated with. How could it not be fun after 10,000 days of the un-fun of commutes, bad bosses and building someone else’s dream?

So how could it possibly be HALF?

A reasonable question, considering how entrenched traditional retirement is in our psyche and the “golden years” expectations we have going into it.

How could 35,000 financial planners be wrong or misleading? There are no conversations of Hard, Annoying, Lame and Frustrating as we go over the charts and graphs and talk about the vacation home, world travel, and improving golf handicap.

Well, if we peel the onion back a bit on traditional retirement we see that HALF retirements are a bit more prevalent than we expected. We have a few indicators that maybe ELF isn’t what all retirees are experiencing:

The National Institute of Health reports that of the 35 million Americans 65 or older, approximately 20% suffer from moderate to deep depression.
Men older than age 65 take their own life at more than double the overall rate.
Retirees with alcohol and other drug problems will leap 150% by 2020.
Divorce rate surged 50% in the past 20 years for 50-plusers

The AARP Foundation has unveiled that:

17 percent of American adults 65 and older are isolated.
Research shows a 26 percent increased risk of death due to the subjective feelings of loneliness.

Another indicator of the fact that retirement isn’t the nirvana we’ve expected was revealed in the research conducted by the Age Wave organization, the world’s leader in understanding the effects of an aging population on the marketplace, the workplace and our lives.

In a study in which they polled 55,000 Boomers, they concluded that there are five stages to retirement. You can find these stats enthusiastically presented by AgeWave founder, Ken Dychtwald at the 26-minute point of this YouTube video along with other interesting thoughts having to do with the significance of our aging American population.

Stage #1 – Imagination
- 5-15 years before retirement where mid-lifers begin to imagine positive visions of retirement
- 88% expect to be happy
- 76% expect to achieve their retirement dreams
- 44% feel “on track”
Stage #2 – Anticipation
- 5 years before retirement; excitement builds; financial prep intensifies, post-retirement careers begin to coalesce.
- 91% expect to be happy.
- 80% expect to be able to achieve their dreams.
- Retirement is seen as a remedy for unhappiness. (Uh oh!)
Stage #3 – Liberation
- Begins on retirement day; anticipation realized!
- Average duration: one year
Stage #4 – Re-orientation
- 1-15 years into retirement
- Critical life questions surface: Who am I? What am I doing? Who do I want to be? Am I really meant to be “leisurely” for a quarter century?
- Post-partem depression is common
- The realization that retirement is more challenging and less satisfying than anticipated
- Growing concerns about health problems and insufficient lifetime savings
- Feel a little “used”, bored, unstimulated.
Stage #5 – Reconciliation
- Late 70’s-80’s
- Trying to come to terms with who they really are
- Losing friends, family
- Money and health concerns intensify
- Turn toward spiritual
- Concerns about leaving a legacy

Hmmm. There seem to be some components of Hard, Annoying, Lame and Frustrating in there.

We shouldn’t be surprised

A retirement based on a 20^th-century model and an arbitrary and artificial finish-line of 65 or thereabouts with only a financial plan driving it can set one up for a HALF retirement.

The reality is, many people approach retirement having only invested in their careers and retirement savings, and now they need help investing in themselves.

The charts, graphs, and numbers of a financial plan ignore the fact that retirement is much like an iceberg – most of what goes on is below the surface and rarely part of financial discussions.

Estimates are that 2 of 3 retirees approach their retirement with little or no attention to the critically-important social, mental, physical and spiritual components of a HALF-avoiding non-financial plan.

If you are close to taking the plunge into retirement or are 1-5 years into your retirement, here are some critical questions to address across these four important pillars of a fulfilling, purposeful retirement:

Social:

What am I doing to avoid isolation and loneliness and maintain a high level of social relationships, especially amongst family and friends? The Harvard Study of Adult Development, which tracked the lives of 700 men for over 75 years, determined that those who are more socially connected to family, friends, and community are happier, physically healthier, and they live longer than people who are less well connected.

Mental:

What am I doing to stimulate my mental capacity and keep my brain healthy and vibrant? Use three “C’s” to keep you vibrant and healthy mentally and reduce the possibility of dementia or Alzheimers – Curiosity, Creativity, and Challenge. Being curious and seeking novelty in retirement releases feelings of bliss and well-being. Being creative in the face of a challenge discharges a hormone that elevates mood, increases concentration and improves memory

Physical:

Does my lifestyle include daily physical exercise, including strength training? Exercise is easy to avoid in retirement. TV and the LazyBoy are a powerful draw. Both kill us slowly. When we were in our 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, exercise was optional. In our 50’s and beyond, it is imperative. Exercise plays a key role in brain health and reducing the chances of contracting Alzheimer’s. I’ll share this quote from the book “Younger Next Year” that has inspired my commitment to aerobic exercise six days a week, three of which include aggressive weight-training: “Aerobic exercise will give you life; strength training will make it worth living.”

Spiritual:

Do I have a quest to find meaning and purpose and a way to connect to something bigger than myself? Connecting to the deepest values and truths by which we want to live is a component of healthy spirituality. When our action and behaviors don’t match our personal values, life can be awkward, “out-of-sorts”, stressful and full of internal conflict. Adjusting to a fulfilling retirement means developing a plan and lifestyle that honors one’s values.

Attention to these four important pillars will help avoid a HALF retirement. Will it guarantee an ELF retirement?

No guarantees. Life’s twists and turns make that guarantee impossible.