Seeking Meaning: Why Baby Boomers Refuse to Retire

As baby boomers my wife and I approach our “third half” of life (i.e., retirement) with both excitement and trepidation. We’re excited we’ve saved and invested so we can travel, be in a warm climate and out of Minnesota winters, and focus on those things we love best like family, friends, reading, learning, and above all, having experiences. But at the same time we’re nervous about being bored and not having a purpose and we certainly don’t want to essentially hang around until we die.

Turns out baby boomers like us are seeking meaning and are increasingly turning away from a life of leisure and instead moving toward ones filled with activity and purpose. Fast Company had this article about it today that is one of the best ones I’ve yet read about the “new” retirement and what it’s like:

How will all these aging boomers thrive in the 21st century? According to many experts on aging, it’s increasingly by staying in the workforce, at the very least on a part-time basis. As noted by Gallup in their “Many Baby Boomers Reluctant to Retire” report, “Nearly half of boomers still working say they don’t expect to retire until they are 66 or older, including one in 10 who predict they will never retire.”

So it’s not about needing money. It’s about what value we’ll bring to the world in our third half and the meaning that will instill in both of us.

Read more at Fast Company….