There is no retirement.
There is an age when you can access your tax-protected investment accounts without penalty. There is an age when certain employers (fewer and fewer) will grant you an annual pension if you leave the employer on good terms. There is an age when a government-sponsored annuity (Social Security) will allow you to begin receiving regular equal payments from the funds that you put into the program. There is an age when term life insurance runs out.
Today, you do not have to “retire.” This concept of retirement began in the late 1800s to allow people who could no longer physically work and contribute to society to stay home and survive on savings, pensions, and annuities until they died and their insurance paid their beneficiaries. By the mid-20th Century, retirement became an objective age goal for people to reach in order to quit full-time work and do whatever they wanted to do before they died. The retirement system is still set up, but people are being retired from their long-term jobs and careers at 50 years old-not choosing to leave at 60 years old. That 10-year gap is requiring people to cobble together contract work or start second careers in different fields.
Take the popular concept of retirement and toss it aside. Don’t retire – redirect. You don’t have a retirement account anymore. You have a tax-sheltered investment account as an income stream to help you survive when your body and mind slow down (watch for more about this in Financial Retirement: Part 2).
Job vs. Career vs. Mission
Some of us are working jobs – we work for a paycheck, we are good enough at what we do, but we do not truly enjoy what we are doing, and we must keep the job to provide for our families. Some of us have a career that includes a series of jobs that increase our income and responsibility based on a similar body of knowledge and skill set. We may or may not enjoy what we do, we may or may not view our careers as callings, and we may or may not be employed at the employer’s whim. Some of us are on a mission, a higher calling that we would do no matter how much we are paid, but getting paid is definitely better than not getting paid.
When we can no longer physically or mentally do our jobs, or we are so burned out and beaten down from our jobs, we may quit work for pay and try to live on our savings and investment income (our retirement fund). When we are forced out of our careers because they are obsolete or we are considered obsolete, we may quit work for pay and try to live on our savings and investment income (our retirement fund). When we have a mission, we try to do it no matter our financial situation, and we may use gigs, contracts, part-time jobs, second careers, savings, and investment income to fund our mission.
While you have a job, while you have a career, find your mission. They may be the same. They may not. If you need help, find a life coach and discover God’s mission that is uniquely yours.
Multiple Missions and Interests are Allowed
We get caught up in being in God’s perfect will and finding His single path for our lives. God is a multi-tasker! You can have more than one mission. You may have more than one role in this season in your life. You may be in a sandwich – caring for aging parents and raising older children. Those are two missions with similar but different roles. There are other missions that you can choose. They can be talents, ministries, careers, jobs, callings, dreams. Missions can be challenging. They can be enjoyable. Evangelism, discipleship, church ministry, church funding, and giving to the needy are not the only spiritual Christian missions that are allowed. You can do a little of all of those or as much as you like. Don’t be guilt-tripped into thinking you are a failure if you do not dedicate your entire full-time working life to them – that may not be your spiritual gift! Those are worthy missions for sure, but we are to represent Christ on any mission, even something that appears to be as trite as professional cornhole tossing. As Christians, we are Jesus Christ’s ambassadors no matter what we do. That is our ultimate mission, as the Apostle Paul says:
Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. - Colossians 3:17 (NASB)
Part-Time Work is Okay – Rest is Important Too
Let’s face it – as our bodies and minds age, it’s more important for us to get more rest. Some of us cannot work a full 40-hour week anymore, let alone 60 hours. We have lost the concept of Sabbath rest, and we pay for it. We know ideally our bodies need at least eight hours of sleep every night, but we always push it a little farther than we should. Having savings and investment income to supplement a part-time job with less stress is okay. Our mental health is just as important as our physical health. We just have to try to plan for it. And more employers are actually embracing part-time work with four-day work weeks, flexible hours beyond the traditional “9 to 5,” remote and hybrid workspaces so that workers don’t have to sit in traffic half the day, and other contract work schedules. Your mission does not have to be so all-encompassing that it causes burnout and disillusionment. We call this “semi-retirement,” but it’s not. It may just be “sane work.”
[Jesus Christ said:] “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB)
Fun Jobs are Fine; You Get Pay for Play
Work does not have to be miserable! When you have savings and investment income, you have more freedom to find a job you enjoy even if it doesn’t pay as well as your career did. If you love pickleball, and there is a pickleball coach position open, do it! If you have an artistic talent that always has been a hobby, figure out how to turn it into an income stream. This is what Financial Freedom is for; the ability to use other talents God gave you to supplement or replace your primary job/career income, and knowing you have savings and investments to back up that mission. Your hobby may turn into a business, so make sure you consult a tax advisor when you’re spending more than half of your time during the week working on your hobby, and you’re making a profit. Remember, you have to report hobby income on your tax returns. Other than that, have fun! Our mission should make us want to get up in the morning excited for the new day. King Solomon said enjoying work and the fruits of your labor is wise.
There is nothing better for a person than to eat and drink and show himself some good in his trouble. This too I have seen, that it is from the hand of God. For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without Him? - Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 NASB
Travel with a Purpose and a Plan
Semi-retirement can have an advantage when it comes to setting your own schedule. You have the freedom to travel more. Travel may become one of your missions. You may be able to work four days a week and travel on three-day weekends. You can also reallocate living expenses that you would have spent at home to your trips, such as groceries. Transportation, lodging, and restaurants can quickly deplete your passive income and your savings if you aren’t careful. Travel with a purpose, plan ahead, and have contingencies (such as travel insurance) when life happens beyond your control. How will you prioritize your travels in the next five years? Do you have children and/or grandchildren to visit? Special holidays to celebrate? Dream vacations? Milestone anniversaries? Mileage adventures (RVs, backpacking, motorcycle tours, etc.)? Landmarks to see? How about service or evangelical missions? Space out your travels so that you can earn money between trips. Or, if you know you will be taking multiple trips in a short amount of time, plan significant downtime to recover financially.
When You Quit Work, Don’t Quit Living
Retirement simply means you are not working 24/7/365. It does not mean that you quit living. It does not even mean that you quit working. In other words, don’t use retirement as an excuse to be selfish and lazy. Continue to balance your life among your spiritual practices, spouse, family, finances, income work, fun work, service, hobbies, gardening, sports, exercise, travel, and other activities. Lean into God’s mission for you. When do you feel closest to God in your activity? What gets you in the zone? Where will financial freedom take you?
Act as free people, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil but use it as bond-servants of God. -1 Peter 2:16 (NASB)
Ask God to reveal your missions in your financially flexible season of life. In Part 2 of this “retirement” series, we’ll discover how to fund your sense of mission.
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