WHAT ARE YOU DOING AFTER WORK?

Target Audience
Individuals who are within 10 years or less from retirement.

Seminar Goals
The purpose of this seminar is to help participants gain an awareness of the emotional issues that surround the retirement transition. Very often the retirement experience turns out to be different than what we originally anticipated it to be. After an initial period of 12 months the honeymoon phase can wear off for about 40% of the population. Although retirement affords people FREEDOM from the daily 9 to 5 grind, demanding bosses and difficult coworkers, it can quickly become replaced by feelings of boredom, emptiness and a sense of disconnection.

In North American culture we have been led to believe that a happy retirement is synonymous with the accumulation of a big nest egg to fund our retirement life styles. Yet countless studies and research findings indicate that a successful and happy retirement requires vision, preparation, commitment and creativity. It requires that we ask ourselves, “What’s next” long before we exit the workforce.

When people have a better understanding of the challenges they face as new retirees, they are better equipped to navigate the retirement transition and they are more satisfied with their lives once retired.

This seminar provides participants with essential information regarding the psychological, emotional and financial issues that surround the retirement transition. It is an interactive workshop in which participants are encouraged through a series of exercises to share experiences, ask questions, and set retirement goals.

SAMPLE CONTENT FOR WHAT ARE YOU DOING AFTER WORK?

This is not your parents' retirement!
As a result of advances in medicine, life expectancy has increased dramatically and we are now living up to a third of our lives in retirement. Today, retirement is about new careers, travel, going back to school, beginning new hobbies, cultivating new friendships, volunteering and developing interests that could not have been pursued while working.

Your retirement is not your parents' retirement! And sixty is no longer the benchmark for old. Knowledge is power and there is tremendous power in prevention. Learn how to promote and maintain optimal health. Discover that the way you live and how you think have a greater influence on your health and energy levels than do your genes. What myths about aging do you subscribe to?

"I married you for better or for worse but not for lunch after work!"
According to a recent Statistics Canada report, the divorce rate rose 34% among those aged 50 to 54, 47.8% among those aged 55 to 59, 31.7% among those aged 60 to 64, and 9.2% among the 65 and older age group. Experts cite retirement as one of the reasons for this finding because most couples spend more time together in retirement than ever before. If a couple does not discuss how they want to spend their time in retirement, then they may be surprised to discover that they have very different expectations of life in retirement. In this seminar, you will discover what you can do to ensure that your marriage is prepared for this next life phase.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?
If we are lucky enough to arrive at this juncture with enough money to fund our desired retirement lifestyles and healthy enough to explore those things that we did not have time to pursue while working, then many of us are faced with the deeper questions that often plague us at 4:00 am.

What is my purpose? Why am I here? What does all this mean? While such questions surface throughout our lifetimes, they become even more pressing as we get older. The retirement experience is a milestone event. And although it does bear great resemblance to previous transitions, the element of our own mortality does make it different.

In middle age, meaning and purpose take center stage in our lives. There is greater focus on meaning than on money and being significant takes precedence over a previous desire to be successful.

Yet oftentimes we don't know how to navigate this next stage of life and finding a reason to get out of bed in the morning can be challenging for some.

Many people believe that the key to a successful retirement is to keep busy. In fact, the key to a successful retirement and to a happy life is to keep busy doing the things that you love.

According to the work of Dr. Mihaly Csíkszentmihály, psychologist, and John Nelson, researcher, a happy and meaningful retirement consists of pleasurable activities, engaging pursuits and being of service to others. Using their model as a framework, you will discover the ingredients of a happy retirement.

You need friends!
There is a substantial amount of scientific evidence indicating that having a social network is essential to living a long, happy and healthy life. Many people however, don't have the time to pursue new friendships or nurture old connections while working, as they are too busy caring for their families and holding down jobs. Complicating matters is the pervasive belief that people will remain friends and socialize with colleagues once they leave work. Unfortunately, relationships with colleagues are rarely maintained once people exit the workforce. This seminar will teach you how you can nurture new relationships before you leave your place of employment.

What about your social portfolio?
Drawing on the work of Dr. Gene Cohen, psychiatrist, you will learn that you must have a balanced social portfolio that is well diversified to ensure that losses in one area of life are offset by gains in another. A diversified social portfolio must include activities that are solitary and others that are social and both categories must include high energy and low energy activities. An array of activities ensures that if you lose significant relationships, you have others to help you through the transition. Also, having a variety of activities to choose from protects you against disability. In the event that your mobility is severely compromised, you can engage in solitary or social activities that are not physically strenuous.

Pay it forward: Leaving a legacy
Your exit from the workforce may be welcomed as you start to think about how you want to spend your retirement. Or you may find the prospect of no routine and no status rather daunting. Life's challenges do not stop once you leave work. You have the choice and the power to decide how you want to live in this next chapter of your life. Will you reinvent yourself? Will you share your wisdom and pass on your skills? Or will this next phase be the beginning of depression and decline? Gail Sheehy, best-selling author, explains, "life's opportunities expand in proportion to our courage to seek them out". This is the case at every stage of life, but it is especially true as we get older. Don't just share your money, if you do have money to share. Share your stories, your experiences and your knowledge. Cultivate a lasting legacy of success, fulfillment and happiness. What will be your legacy?

Please note that this seminar does not offer financial planning advice. It seeks to explain our emotional relationship and personal histories with money but does not advise participants about investment or savings strategies. Should the client desire a financial advisor as a speaker one can be provided at an additional cost.

For more information please contact directions at 514.824.1967 or 1.866.811.3055 or drop us a line at gill@directionsrc.com