Baby Boomer Sabbatical Sisters!
Baby Boomers are redefining retirement just as they have every other aspect of their lives. There are 78 million of us and 10,000 turn 65 every day.
In fact, we “sabbatical sisters” fit that category of people born between 1946 and 1964 and we have dealt with, or are dealing with, this redefinition. The fact that we are writing books, running retreats, doing research and consulting is but an example. We have much we still want to do in our next chapter.
So we are writing our next book, which we are still to title, on this topic! For now we are calling it the Baby Boomers Guide to the Next Chapter. Just as we are exploring what this next phase of our lives means, we are also looking for new words to describe it. Retirement is a word that has multiple interpretations, we are finding.
The idea came to us not only from our own experiences and that of our friends, but from the voices of people who attended our Reboot Your Life Retreats and those we interviewed. The majority of 45-65 year olds who come are looking for meaning after ending their primary career, or are saying “now it’s time to follow my passion,” or want to know how to design their next chapter of life.
You will begin to see more articles, blogs and tweets on the subject as well as our newsletter coverage as we uncover new ideas and meet fascinating people. The Sag Harbor Retreat in August will begin to bring in some new exercises and the Sun Valley Retreat in October and the Santa Fe one in January 2014 will focus primarily on that next phase of our lives. It doesn’t mean we won’t still focus on sabbaticals or reboot breaks….we will teach that you can “reboot your life” at any age!
We will share our findings as we continue to research, talk to recent and soon-to-be retirees, talk to organizations who want to help their employees plan for retirement and create new material for our retreats and the book.
Here are 5 things to think about in designing your next chapter:
- What are my real interests and passions and how do I go about finding them again?
- Do I need to have income coming in throughout my next chapter? Do I have enough saved and invested if I live to 100?
- Where do I want to live? Near grandchildren? Near friends? Near healthcare providers? Near the ocean or mountains?
- Is my spouse or partner ready to try a new life? What might hold us back?
- Do we want the same things? Have the same dreams?
- How can I design my next chapter so that I have enough money and time to follow my dreams? What do I need to do now?
These and other questions are what we are researching and will hope to answer by showing you examples of what people have done or are doing.
Stay tuned!