Rethinking Life After 60: Day 3 30 Years Without a Paycheque? Let’s Talk About That

One of the biggest surprises in retirement isn’t the extra time it’s the long, stretch without a regular income. If retirement now spans 25 to 30 years for many of us, that’s an entire second adulthood without a paycheque. And yet, many people still plan as if retirement will last a decade or less.

This gap in planning is one of the biggest threats to well-being in later life. A longer retirement requires not only more money, but a very different approach to managing it. It's no longer just about saving, it’s about making your money last, and knowing how your needs will change across three decades.

Consider this: A person who retires at 65 and lives to 95 will need to support themselves for 30 years. That’s as long as many people spend in the workforce. And during those years, expenses may shift, from travel and hobbies in the early years to increasing health costs later on.

The traditional retirement model, relying on a combination of employer pensions, government benefits, and personal savings, is showing signs of strain. Employer pensions are less common than they used to be. Government benefits provide a base, but not enough for most people to live on comfortably. That puts more pressure on individual savings, which many people find difficult to build.

So, what can be done?

1. Start early, but it’s never too late. While saving in your 30s and 40s is ideal, people in their 50s and even early 60s can still take meaningful steps. That might include downsizing, reducing debt, or boosting retirement contributions during peak earning years.

2. Think beyond the nest egg. Generating income during retirement can mean more than withdrawing from savings. It might include part-time work, renting out part of your home, or turning a hobby into a small business. Retirement income today is often a mix of sources.

3. Plan for three stages of retirement. Early retirement (age 60–75) may include active travel and lifestyle spending. Middle retirement (75–85) might see a shift toward home-based activities. Late retirement (85+) often involves more medical care and support services. Financial planning should reflect this evolution.

4. Protect against inflation and rising costs. A dollar today won’t go as far in 20 years. Consider financial products and strategies that can keep pace with rising costs over time.

5. Get help. Many people find retirement planning overwhelming. A trusted financial advisor can help you map out your options and understand how to stretch your resources.

Retirement isn't just a destination, it’s a journey, and one that requires resources, flexibility, and a bit of strategy. The earlier you begin thinking about what 25 or 30 years without a regular income looks like, the better your chances of making it a fulfilling, financially stable stage of life. I started looking at this when I was in my late 40s, I should have started in my 20s but life happened and I finally got around to this, but I was late. My advice is to start now, no matter what age you are.

And here's the good news: retirement planning isn't just about scarcity, it's also about freedom. With thoughtful planning, those years can be among the most vibrant and meaningful of your life.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about work, and why it doesn’t have to stop completely when retirement begins.

Rethinking Life After 60: Day 2 Retirement Isn’t the End, It’s a New Launchpad

For most of the 20th century, retirement was framed as a wind-down, the final stage of life. It was often seen as a time to rest after the hard work of adulthood. But with lifespans stretching into the 90s and beyond, that framing no longer fits.

Instead, retirement today can be a powerful new beginning. After all, we’re talking about 20, 25, even 30 years, a full third of your life, unfolding after you’ve stopped working full time. That’s not a wind-down. That’s a launchpad.

What makes this phase so unique is that, for the first time since childhood, time becomes your own. For many, it’s the first opportunity in decades to ask: What do I want to do with my time, talents, and energy? The answer might be something familiar, spending time with family, traveling, or diving into hobbies. But for others, it could mean building something entirely new: starting a business, going back to school, learning an instrument, volunteering in the community, or even working part-time in a new field.

We’re seeing a quiet revolution unfold. Around the world, retirees are starting “encore” careers that reflect their values. They’re launching nonprofits, becoming coaches or consultants, and sharing wisdom that only years of lived experience can provide. Some are discovering passions they never had time for during their working years.

Research backs this up. Studies show that people who engage in purposeful activities after retirement report higher levels of happiness, better physical health, and even longer lives. In contrast, those who drift into retirement without a plan often struggle with isolation or loss of identity.

It’s not about staying busy, it’s about staying connected, engaged, and relevant. When retirement is treated as a fresh chapter, not a conclusion, people are more likely to thrive.

But making this shift takes intention. It helps to ask a few key questions:

• What gave me a sense of purpose during my working years?
• What have I always wanted to try, but never had time for?
• How can I contribute to my community in meaningful ways?
• What do I want to learn, experience, or create in this chapter?

There’s no single right answer, and that’s the beauty of it. This stage of life is as individual as the people living it. But it’s worth planning for, emotionally as well as financially.

When we stop thinking of retirement as a slow fade and start treating it as a personal launch, the possibilities are extraordinary. It’s not about having all the answers on Day One. It’s about staying curious, open, and brave enough to imagine something different.

Retirement isn’t the end of the road. It’s the beginning of a road you get to build.

Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the financial side of this long journey, and how to prepare for a retirement that could last just as long as your career.

Rethinking Life After 60: Day 1 Are We Planning for a Life That No Longer Exists?

 In the past, life expectancy shaped everything about how we viewed aging. Retirement was often imagined as a short, restful reward after decades of work. A gold watch, a few trips, some time in the garden, and then a quiet fade into old age. But today, that picture is out of date.

Many people retiring at 60 or 65 now have 25, even 30 years of life ahead of them. That means the time spent in retirement could be longer than the years spent in school, or even working. Yet the systems we rely on, from pensions to healthcare, are still based on 20th-century timelines. And culturally, we still act like life wraps up around 70. That mismatch creates real risks, financially, socially, and emotionally.

Take it from me: I retired at 60. I’m now approaching 80. With good health and a bit of luck, I may have another decade or more. I’ve built a fulfilling life after work, but it didn’t just happen. It took conscious planning and a willingness to try new things. Luck helped, yes, but people shouldn’t have to rely on luck alone. That’s why I’m writing this series.

We need a new mindset, not just about retirement, but about aging itself. We must stop seeing retirement as the end of something and start seeing it as the beginning of a new and potentially long chapter of life. This shift has implications for everyone:

• For retirees: it means being ready not just to stop working, but to build a new kind of life.
• For workers in their 40s and 50s: it means preparing now for the possibility of a long, active retirement, emotionally, socially, and financially.
• For businesses: it means recognizing that older workers are an asset, not a burden, and exploring new models for phased or flexible retirement.
• For healthcare systems: it means rethinking how we support well-being over a longer lifespan, not just treat disease.
• For pension and policy planners: it means designing systems that reflect longevity, not short timelines.

Most importantly, this is not just about statistics, it’s about people. People who want to contribute, connect, learn, grow, and matter well into their 80s and 90s. The good news? We’re already seeing this shift in action. Older adults are starting businesses, writing books, mentoring others, volunteering, taking classes, falling in love, and discovering new passions, long after they stop working.

Still, too many people are caught off guard by how long retirement lasts. They run out of money, lose their sense of purpose, or feel disconnected. That’s what we can change.

In this series, we’ll explore what it means to live into your 90s and how to plan for a retirement that might last 30 years. We’ll look at health, finances, relationships, learning, work, housing, and most of all, identity. Each post will be grounded in current research, but written with a warm, practical tone to which you can relate.

Because the real question is not just, "How long will I live?", but "How well will I live, and how do I prepare for that?"

Let’s start rethinking retirement together, and building a future that works for all ages.

Life after 80?

I recently realized that I have been retired for almost 20 years. I retired at 60 and am now approaching my 80^th year. I plan to be around for at least another few years. 

I am not in the minority. In modern society, people are still acting like life wraps up at 60 or 70 yet we're now living well into our 90s and beyond. This disconnect between how we live and how we think about aging is one of the most significant societal misalignments of our time. Retirement, healthcare, employment, and even personal identity are still being structured around outdated assumptions rooted in the 20th century. This mental model assumes a brief window between retirement and death, but today, that “retirement phase” can span 25 to 35 years ,  nearly a third of a person’s life.

If society fails to adjust to this new reality, retirees may face isolation, inadequate income, and identity crises. Businesses might lose valuable workers prematurely. Health care systems may be strained by avoidable chronic illnesses. Pension systems may become unsustainable. And workers in their 40s and 50s ,  who are likely to live to 90+ ,  may be preparing for a retirement based on faulty timelines and expectations.

We need a new narrative: one that views aging not as a decline but as an evolving stage of life with value, productivity, creativity, and continued contribution. Thus, my writing to help people think about a new narrative. Over the next two weeks I will be exploring the idea that many of us are planning for a life that no longer exits. Have fun with me as I explore rethinking life after 60 in fourteen posts.