What Is Your Definition of Retirement?

What is your definition of retirement?

Not society’s traditional definition. Not the picture that has been handed down to you. Not simply the day you stop working and start collecting a pension.

What does retirement mean to you?

It is an important question to contemplate as you get deeper into your career.

For many of us, retirement has been sitting somewhere in the distant future for decades. We have imagined the freedom, the travel, the slower pace and perhaps the chance to finally do the things we never had time for.

But retirement is not simply about what you are leaving behind. It is about what you are moving toward.

And that can look very different from one person to another.

For some, retirement may mean completely stepping away from work. For others, it might mean working fewer hours, starting a business, volunteering, mentoring, learning something new or pursuing a long-neglected passion.

It might mean having more time with family. It might mean adventure. It might mean contribution. It might mean simplicity.

There is no single definition.

The challenge is that many people reach retirement without ever really asking themselves what they want it to mean. They have planned financially, but haven't necessarily thought deeply about the life they want to create once work is no longer providing the structure, identity and purpose it once did.

Your definition of retirement matters because it becomes a blueprint for the next chapter.

So, as you move deeper into your career, perhaps the better question isn't “When can I retire?”

Perhaps it is:

“What do I want retirement to mean for me?”

Not sure where to start? I can help with that!!