When today’s workers contemplate retirement, they don’t want the same old golden years that their parents envisioned.
More than one-third of Americans — 37% — say they want retirement to look different from how post-work life looked to earlier generations, according to a recent Edelman Financial Engines survey of 3,000 people ages 30 and older.
That is especially true among workers in their 30s. Nearly half of them — 46% — seek something new.
Here are some key ways survey respondents are challenging old stereotypes about retirement.
1. More active/athletic
Share of survey respondents with a different vision for retirement who are seeking this particular change: 42%
Retirees long ago left behind the notion that post-work life is about endless days of shuffleboard and quiet nights sipping martinis.
An old age like that of Olga Kotelko — who was competing in track events and setting world records into her 90s, as chronicled in “What Makes Olga Run?” — is closer to the aspirations of today’s retirees.
2. More adventurous
Share of survey respondents with a different vision for retirement who are seeking this particular change: 39%
After years of being chained to a desk, classroom or warehouse, Americans are ready for a little adventure in retirement.
Need some inspiration when planning your retirement escapades? Check out the story of retirees Lee and Jennifer Scott in “Their Bold Retirement Plan Started at Sea.”
3. More ambitious pursuit of passion projects
Share of survey respondents with a different vision for retirement who are seeking this particular change: 37%
During our working years, it can be difficult to find the time to pursue the callings that tug at our hearts. During retirement, we finally have ample hours to pursue passions.
Get ready for your golden-years projects by reading the following:
Other ways Americans want their retirement to differ
Here are some more ways Americans want retirement to look different than it has in the past:
- Something more affordable: 31%
- To embrace a more minimalist lifestyle: 26%
- To be more nomadic/less tied to one location: 24%
- To embrace a more technologically based/digital lifestyle: 22%
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