Ernest Hemmingway said, “retirement is the ugliest word in the language”.

Was he harsh or is there merit in that view?

On the first episode of Talking About Retirement, Damon, David and Barry explore the concept of the term, modern elder. What does it mean? What does this transition look like in 2020, and what needs to be done to shift the pre-retiree perception of a ‘fulfilled’ life is based solely on your amount of savings?

Global Retirement Expert, Barry LaValley’s says, “it depends on your view”. In his experience, many people enter their post-work life with the wrong view and find out it was not what they thought it would be.

Host, Wealth and Retirement Adviser, Damon Sugden, encourages listeners to reflect on if the image of our parents or grandparents in retirement is still a relevant picture, or has the world changed to include a more flexible approach?

He is also joined by Wealth With Purpose author, Capital Partners Private Wealth Founder and CEO, David Andrew.

According to David, people have realised that retirement today is very different from the experience that their parents and grandparents had. At Capital Partners, this concept is utilised as a vehicle to help clients identify their values and ideal life.

So why are these non-financial aspects so important when setting yourself up for success? According to David, it’s because when we look at retirees, they are never just successful from a money point of view.

In episode two of Talking About Retirement, Where Are We Going, Damon, David, and Barry discuss the ‘rules’ around retirement.

Specifically, who made 65 the magic number?

They draw on the belief that society needs to re-frame how we look at retirement by changing our parameters and understanding that there are many technical considerations to look at beyond a number. They do this by shedding light on the history of retirement. Uncovering how this contradicts modern-day living, life expectancy, government policies and the various types of employment which help to make a certain age redundant.

Of course, the obvious topic of savings is further dissected.

According to Damon, “pre-retirees are unquestionably clear on what they are retiring from, however less clear on what they want to do next”.

The questions they ask are typically centered around their nest egg and specifically, “Who’s going to last longer, me or my money?”.

Episode two highlights that these are the wrong conversations to be having.

Instead, Damon, David and Barry firmly convey ‘the focus should be on accessing what we need in order to live and enjoy each and everyday whilst we’re still here.’

In this episode, we continue to look at PERMA, the psychological side of looking into retirement as the second phase of our life.

To be able to effectively discuss this we need to look at what retirement means to us. This phase of life is rapidly changing in society and doesn’t mean the same thing as it did to our parents' or grandparents' journeys. The cliché of the gold watch, daytime television, the occasional trip here or there.

Post-retirement we are now seeing many people tending to work, not necessarily because they have to but because they love what they do.

It’s meaningful, and provides a strong sense of purpose and self-worth. Pop that with a variety of leisure and social activities, and we have a really dynamic phase of our life.

However, a lot of our attention when we think about retirement tends to be about the money.

Whilst the money is an essential component, to completing the picture, it’s meaningless unless we have a clear snapshot of what our retirement is going to look like. What it means to us and how we can continue or start to live a fulfilling life.