Category Archives: Senior Lifestyle

Squeezing the Most out of Retirement

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Post by Christy Stevens

Baby Boomers have always expected to squeeze as much out of their lives as they possibly could. Why should that stop as they transition to retirement age? And what really is considered “being retired” anymore?

The expectation of working until 65 and then retiring with a pension is disappearing for many Americans. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2022 an estimated 13.2 million workers over the age of 65 will log office hours.

And for many Baby Boomers, that’s just how they want it. It doesn’t matter if slowing down is an option, many Boomers simply don’t want to stop working. They start new companies, volunteer at local schools and community centers and embark on new travel adventures. Retirement to them isn’t about pulling back, it’s about expanding the possibilities of what life still holds.

Experience is the new youth. 60 is the new 40. And an active adult doesn’t need to be told that they’re active. They know it.

A new Denver community discovered this paradigm shift and is celebrating the refreshing tilt in thinking. It’s challenging the idea of what a 55+ community should be and asking for its target market to tell them how they should respond. Instead of following the typical path to creating a 55+ community, Skyestone representatives set about turning the concept on its ear, listening to real Colorado residents about the needs and desires of their lives and their communities.

What the community has found so far is today’s retiree wants:

-  A future that makes financial sense

-  A lifestyle and community that offers intimacy and meaningful relationships

-  A vibrant lifestyle that grows, not diminishes, with age

Which is why Skyestone is aiming to be different from other communities – it’s been designed that way.

The result is a boutique experience, more neighborhood than subdivision, that offers hiking instead of golf courses and community gardens in place of contract bridge.

“With Skyestone, the concept is simple: Deliver an experience that can’t be duplicated because it’s designed specifically for the people who will live there,” said Kathy Curtis, community manager of Skyestone. “When you approach a community this way, no ordinary marketing campaign will do.”

Which is why Skyestone is asking Baby Boomers to be the face of the neighborhood, with the winners featured in the community’s marketing campaign.

The Broomfield, Colorado community launched a six-week campaign to find people who lead interesting and fulfilling lives and best exemplify what it means to live a life greater than their age. The “Greater Than My Age™” contest kicked off May 15 and runs through June 30, 2013.

Once selected, the winners will be featured prominently in the active adult community’s marketing campaign, including a photo shoot that captures them doing what they love. They will be featured for their authentic lives and zest for living, with their love of life splashed across Skyestone’s print advertisements, web campaigns and more. They will also figure largely in the grand opening events for the community, currently slated for October.

But more importantly, they will signal to other Baby Boomers that it’s okay to keep going, to keep striving for more.

“Baby Boomers want more from life, more from their experiences,” Curtis said. “We want to put an authentic face on what we believe is a new kind of community for them.”

To nominate an inspiring person, please visit http://www.facebook.com/skyestonedenver.

What’s New for Today’s Retirees

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Baby boomers have already begun their transition into retirement, with many already over age 65. Age 65 became the official retirement age in the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Prior to that, most people worked beyond age 65. In 1880, 78 percent of men stayed on the job beyond 65. By 1990, this percentage decreased to only 30 percent.

Seniors today are capable of working well beyond 65 in part due to the changing nature of work. Rather than the typical physically demanding jobs of the past, many baby boomers are knowledge workers who use their mind rather than their back. As a result, they have the potential for many productive years beyond age 65. Here’s how the retirement landscape has changed in recent years:

New savings guidelines. Everyone knows the importance of saving for retirement, but guidelines on exactly how much to save have varied. Assumptions about the economy’s rate of growth and average return on investments that held true in the past have come into question. Fluctuations and uncertainty are becoming the norm. At a minimum, we all want to have enough saved to live comfortably and not worry about debt. Fidelity Investments recently recommended that workers save at least eight times their annual salary to meet basic income needs in retirement. At this savings level, by age 67 most workers will have approximately 85 percent of their pre-retirement income to live off of during their retired days.

Retirees moving to cooler destinations. Some retirees have historically opted for the warmer climates found in places such as Arizona and Florida to live out their retirement. However, many seniors these days prefer areas where they can live with four distinct seasons. The cooler climates of Maine, Washington, and Montana are attracting some retirees, sometimes with the added benefit of a lower cost of living and lower tax rates. And should retirees find themselves severely lacking in sunshine, a trip to a beach or tropical island may suffice.

Retirement is not necessarily all or nothing. Some people retire and then discover they miss something about the working world to the extent that they wish to go back. Whether the same job entices them back or something entirely different stirs their imagination, the companionship, interaction, and stimulation offered at work is difficult to replace. Some retirees also prefer to go back and forth between periods of work and leisure. A mix of work and play is now often preferred to an indefinite vacation.

Changing population mix. For every retirement-age person there are currently nine working-age citizens between the ages of 15 and 64. These are the people whose earnings provide the tax base and support for those no longer working. By 2050, this ratio will shrink to five working citizens for every retiree, according to United Nations data. In China the ratio will decrease from the present nine to one to three to one. And in Japan the ratio will be closer to one to one. Such drastic changes in the old-age support ratio will impact the solvency of Social Security, pensions, and public health.

From my US News & World Blog. Dave Bernard is the author of “I Want To Retire! Essential Considerations for the Retiree to Be“. Although not yet retired, he focuses on identifying and understanding the essential components of a fulfilling and meaningful retirement. He shares his discoveries and insights on his blog Retirement-Only The Beginning.

The Best Activities for Retirement

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Post by Emma Carey

Everyone knows that retirement is a big moment of change in people’s lives and it’s not always easy making the adjustment from having a 9-5 career to having days stretching out ahead of you where you’ve nothing particular you have to do.

Of course, there is always something to do, but the transition from working to retirement can be a strange time, especially if you don’t have a burning ambition to use your retirement in a particular way. What follows is a few suggestions of how you might find new activities and ways to keep busy in retirement. Of course, not all of them will chime with you, but you might be inspired by some of the ideas below.

Volunteer

by mrvklaw

Remember all those times you wished you could give something back to society? Well,
retirement is the perfect time to do so. It doesn’t have to take much of your week but there are many volunteering opportunities out there, and many organisations can make use of the skills you have acquired through life and work. You could volunteer at your local library or hospital, mentor children or help out at a local homeless charity, to name but a few ideas.

Discover a hobby

If you’ve never had a hobby, now might be the best time to find one as you’ll be able to give it the time it deserves, without having to put it on hold for work. There are so many different crafting activities and collecting possibilities. You might take up quilting, pottery or scrapbooking. Or maybe you’ll develop a passion for gardening and make your garden an oasis.

And then of course, there’s the internet. There’s a whole world of entertainment out there for you to tap into. You might get into online gaming – whether it’s for real money or just for fun. For example, check out bingo games from UK based Costa Bingo to see the kinds of games you could be playing. Costa Bingo is one of the UK’s biggest bingo sites, and if you don’t like the idea of putting real money down, the site also has plenty of free bingo games to play. Part of the fun of playing bingo rather than other PC games is the social nature of the game – it’s not only entertaining, but you can also meet new people as you chat to fellow players in the bingo chat rooms. Of course, there are a myriad of similar sites to choose from like 32Red and Royal Vegas that offer similar games.

Get fit

Too often, people use work as an excuse not to take any exercise. Once you’re retired, you’ll have no more excuses and you can use the opportunity to try a new sport. Golf is a favourite sport amongst both retired men and women. It doesn’t matter if you’re an absolute beginner – you’ve got plenty of time to practice now! There are so many different sports to choose from – do a few taster courses and see which one whets your appetite!

Hit the road

You don’t have to go down the backpacking route – but now you have the time to do so, why not take time to see all those different places that you’ve always wanted to. Some people spend their whole time on the move once they’ve retired – coming back home for a few weeks’ break between trips.

With so many different possibilities of ways to spend the time, retirement could be one of the richest periods of your life – enjoy it!