Guest Opinion: The new face of retirement: not the end but a beginning Guest Opinion: The new face of retirement: not the end but a beginning (December 17, 2003)

by Fran Codispoti

By 2010, more than 20 percent of Americans will be over 65. Most will be retired -- that is, they will have left their jobs and entered a new life phase.

The parents of these seniors were Depression children who came of age during the New Deal, welcomed the introduction of Social Security and many received pensions from their jobs.

For them, retirement meant a withdrawal from the usual economic responsibilities and obligations of daily life and a retreat into a more intimate world of family and personal interests. Retirement meant a quieter time to reflect and relax in the sunset of life.

For many Americans, those days are gone. This is true whether they're in their 50s and 60s and trying to plan for retirement or in their 30s and 40s and spending as much as they earn while building a family and professional life.

Retirement today represents not the end phase of a life but the beginning of a new period. How to survive and thrive in that stage is the challenge retirees face.

Medical advances and a growing awareness of health and nutrition practices mean they will live longer than their parents -- by decades, perhaps. Instead of preparing for a few quiet years on the porch, today's retirees may approach their 60s as the start of a new time of life. "Now what?" some ask. "What do I do now? Is there life beyond golf?"

But while many parents of today's seniors left jobs for a future cushioned by financial protection and confidence in a health care system that would provide for them -- Medicare was enacted in 1966 while they were still working -- many of today's retirees don't enjoy the same sense of security.

The economic situation has changed. Pension funds are decreasing while health care costs rise annually. The American medical system has become fragmented. Increased use of sophisticated drugs has led to increased drug costs -- an issue not even considered when Medicare was introduced. More and more, individual retirees need to plan for their financial and health care future by themselves.

This is a new realm for retirees, especially difficult because we are the first generation to make the change. We will have years before us. Yet, for many, the financial future is uncertain.

All retirees need to consider what they will do with the rest of their lives. But for those with financial means and many options, the question is increasingly important. How does one remain engaged? How does one remain needed?

We're in a new place. Nobody is mentoring us. We have few role models. How do we do this?

An obvious answer is planning. Americans in their 40s, 50s and 60s must face the facts of the 21st Century: It's not your grandfather's retirement package.

And within the major issues of finance and health care, retirees need to consider the questions of housing, transportation and social needs, among many others. What about community? As friends and spouses die connection to the society decreases. How do I maintain that social bridge?

Avenidas, which has been serving the senior community of the Midpeninsula since the 1960s, must meet the demands and needs of new and future retirees. Through mentoring, advising, counseling and organizing events and opportunities for baby boomers and others to learn and plan for their futures, Avenidas will serve an expanding and changing population. Avenidas can provide the infrastructure for Baby Boomers to move into the next phase of life.

We're starting Jan. 10 with a one-day symposium on "The New Face of Retirement," which will deal with financial, health care, social and psychological issues facing all of us. The keynote speaker, Ian Morrison of Menlo Park, is an international expert on health care and business. His message may be what retirees need to activate their planning.

Retirees face a challenge but like all challenges it can be invigorating. We expect longer lives with decades to fill with energy and experience. Some simple planning moves can make a huge difference in our lives.

Fran Codispoti is chair of the board of Avenidas and a Los Altos Hills resident. She can be e-mailed at klapres@aol.com.

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