The New Retirementality, Fifth Edition

CHAPTER 14Advice from Retirementors

Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.

—George Sand

In 2018 I worked on a unique study sponsored by Invesco Consulting Group. The study looked at three key retirement dynamics: location, vocation, and vacation. The purpose of the study was to survey those who had been retired an average of seven years, in order to determine what was—and wasn't—working for them. We wanted to get insights from participants who might be willing to pass on their retirement life lessons to those planning toward, or just embarking upon, retirement. We figured that from this size of sample group we were bound to find some retirementors.

The study surveyed 500 retirees who had $500,000 to $3,000,000 in investible assets (i.e., real estate was not included): 68% of the participants were from the private sector, 22% were from the government sector, and 10% were from the nonprofit sector. In this chapter, we'll look at what we learned, including some interesting anecdotes participants shared.

The Realities of Retirement

Through the study, we hoped to discover how retirees had negotiated the balancing act of purposeful (vocation) and recreational (vacation) activities. For purposes of the study, vacation was broadly defined as travel, hobbies, and recreational pursuits.

We found that more than a quarter of participants (27%) described hobbies as “just something to do” ––implying ...