Do you remember the scene from
The Princess Bride
where Vizzini keeps using the word "inconceivable" at all the
wrong times? Inigo Montoya finally corrects him: "You
keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it
means."
When it comes to the word "retirement" I feel a little like
Inigo must have felt. I keep hearing people use that word and I
don't think it means what they think it means. Most think it is
synonymous with things like travel, leisure, adventure and fun.
It is the time in their life when they will do everything they
have always dreamed of.
A recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows
that, when it comes to retirement, perception may be different
than reality. The study, called the American Time Use Survey ,
analyzes how different age groups of Americans spend their
day.
As you might imagine, everyone spends time sleeping, eating,
shopping, working and enjoying leisure activities. How much
time we spend on those different activities varies depending on
our life-stage. Students understandably spend more time on
educational activities. People in their prime working years
spend more time at the office.
How people reallocate their time when moving from their
working years into retirement can tell us a great deal about
the state of retirement in America. Do we spend our Golden
Years living life to the full or does retired life look
suspiciously like our working years?
The Results
To get an idea, I compared two groups of people from the
study: those in their prime working years (55 to 64) and those
in the years typically associated with retirement (65 to 74).
The study showed that those in retirement spent less time on
things like working, educational activities, and caring for
others like their children. They spent more time on things like
personal care, eating, household activities, shopping, leisure,
civic activities and talking on the phone. In all, a typical
retiree took 2.5 hours per day away from activities like work
and added those 2.5 hours into activities like
leisure.
The Takeaway
If that number surprises you, you're not alone. It surprised
me too. The study seems to show that the typical day in
retirement doesn't look drastically different from the typical
day during your working years. Rather, it is a reallocation of
10-20 percent of our day from things that we are obligated to
do to things that we choose to do. Said another way, retirement
happens at the margins. You won't be handed a 30 year
uninterrupted block of time at your retirement party to do with
what you want. You will be given a few extra hours each day.
How disciplined and creative you are with those few extra hours
will largely determine how fulfilling your retirement years
will be.
How are current retirees doing in that regard? The numbers
are a little concerning. According to the BLS study, retirees
are currently allocating about 9.45 of their extra hours each
week to leisure activities like travel, recreation, reading and
socializing. That seems like a promising start. Unfortunately,
the bulk of that time (5.42 hours to be exact) is spent
watching T.V. The rest is spent on things like relaxing
(about an hour), socializing (44 minutes), and activities like
travel (a whopping 3.6 minutes).
That's not exactly the stuff that retirement dreams are made
of. So why are people choosing the television over travel
and other retirement pursuits? It is likely because more and
more people are entering retirement financially unprepared and
without a clear idea of what they want to do. In other words,
television is winning by default. How can we do better?
Save enough
-Some of the best things in life are free, but pretty much
everything else costs money. If your plans include travel,
hobbies, a vacation home or anything else that costs money,
it's important to make sure you've set enough aside. I'm sure
many retirees in the BLS study would love to do more with their
time, but they just can't afford it. Before retiring, work
closely with a trusted adviser to make sure that you are on
track to save enough to fund the type of retirement you
want.
Simplify
-During retirement you are given the same 24 hour day that you
had during your working years. The more efficiently you are
able to handle things like cleaning the house, getting
groceries, mowing the yard, and going to the doctor, the more
time you will have to allocate to things like family,
relationships, education, adventure, community, hobbies,
travel, and health. Do everything you can to simplify,
condense, consolidate, minimize, or outsource the maintenance
so you can be free to spend more of each day focusing on
milestones.
Have specific plans
-As you transition into retirement, it's helpful to have
specific, new plans that will force you to steer off the
well-worn path you've become accustomed to and proactively
pursue your new goals. If you don't have specific new plans,
it's easy to fall into a routine that doesn't look much
different from your working years, save for sleeping in a
little bit and having more time to run errands.
Retire to something, not from something
-Ralph Waldo Emerson once said "Don't be pushed by your
problems. Be led by your dreams." Retiring to escape a job is a
recipe for misery and discontent. Retiring to pursue things
that you are passionate about is a recipe for meaning and
fulfillment.
Dream big
-When you dream big, something happens. It changes how you
think and how you act. It changes the types of questions you
ask. It inspires and changes those around you. What are your
dreams for the future? What is the vision you have, not just
for retirement, but also for the rest of your life? If you
can't answer that question or if your answer doesn't really
inspire you, then stop everything else you're doing and really
think that through. Don't settle for more Seinfeld reruns when
retirement can be so much more.
Don't quit learning-
Those 65 and older in the BLS study reported spending zero
hours per day on educational activities. That is unfortunate.
Learning new things is a key element to an interesting,
rewarding retirement. It helps to keep your mind sharp. It
helps you figure out what you like. It helps you discover new
things. It gives you people to interact with. It provides
personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. Be a
lifelong learner.
So as you head into retirement, remember to spend your time
wisely. An hour here and there can make a big difference as
long as you spend that time doing the right things. Be
intentional with your day and having a mediocre retirement
would be, well…inconceivable.
FPA member Joseph R. Hearn is the Vice President at
Teckmeyer Financial and author of the books
If Something Happens to Me
and
The Bell Lap: The 8 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid as You
Approach Retirement
.