Recently Edward Jones and Age Wave authored a report entitled Longevity and the New Journey of Retirement. I’ve been following Ken Dychtwald, founder of Age Wave for decades because his insights into human behavior help me understand how and why people make decisions. This is a worthwhile read for anyone of any age because it identifies key traits and habits to achieve a successful retirement.

While I plan to circle back to this study in future blogs, there are several key takeaways I’d like to highlight today.

Dychtwald and his team identify four distinct “journey paths” people take regarding their preparation for retirement and their level of enjoyment once they arrive.

Purposeful Pathfinders (PP)

o Active, purposeful, prepared for retirement

Relaxed Traditionalists (RT)

o Prepared well financially, free to enjoy themselves

Challenged Yet Hopeful (CH)

o Trying to make the most of retirement despite financial uncertainty

Regretful Strugglers (RS)

o Enjoying retirement least of all

Three key traits characterize the differences between PP/RT’s and CH/RS’s:

PP/RT’s started saving for retirement at a younger age

o RR/RT’s (ages 34 and 37 respectively)
o CH/RS’s (ages 45 and 42 respectively)

• As I discussed in a January 2022 blog this nearly 10-year difference can make a huge difference when applying the rules of compounded interest.

52% of PP/RT’s work with a financial advisor while most CH/RS’s do not (6% and 8% respectively).

PP/RT’s have a higher likelihood of having a spouse/partner

o PP/RT’s (80% and 76% respectively)

o CH/RS’s (43%)

One may question the correlation between these various survey results, however, the habits of saving early, getting professional financial advice and being in a committed relationship seem to be common-sense approaches to happier and healthier retirement.

There are many good lessons in this report for people of all ages. Contact us to learn how we can help you during any portion of your journey towards or in retirement.