The Retirement Reformation Finding a Better Way to Experience the Final (and Best) Decades of Your Life By Bruce Bruinsma ADVANCE READING COPY FOR THE RETIREMENT REFORMATION ROUNDTABLE NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION Partial Manuscript Chapters 1-10, 15 (Revised November 5, 2018) Copyright 2018 Bruce Bruinsma Section 1 “How in the world did we get here?” Chapter 1: The Dinner Date Chapter 2: “People Don’t Plan for Retirement” Chapter 3: The Dream of Doing Nothing Chapter 4: A Life of Leisure Chapter 5: The Longevity Revolution Section 2 The Retirement Reformation: Changing the Way We See the Seasons of Life Chapter 6: Faithful for a Lifetime: A Personal Journey Chapter 7: It’s Complicated: The 6 Retirement Questions You Can’t Ignore Chapter 8: The Longevity Bonus: Six Great Benefits of Aging that Seniors Savor Chapter 9: Preparing for the Three Stages of Retirement Chapter 10: The Power of a Plan Section 3: Chapter 15: The Retirement Reformation: Transforming the Way We Live the Last Decades of Our Lives Section 1: “How in the world did we get here?” Chapter 1 The Dinner Date They had that deer-in-the-headlights look you can recognize when first-time visitors come to your church. We welcomed them warmly. I reached out to the man and Judy said hello to the woman. Both seemed to be in their 50s. "So, what brings you to our church?" I asked. “Well, we drove past this church the other day, so we actually know where it is and how to get there,” said Dave, who explained he was a manager with one of the big home-improvement chains and had just been transferred to run a new store in Colorado Springs. “We need to find a church home to go with our new home,” said Terri, who had been involved in a Christian women’s book club and a women’s small group at the church they left behind in Topeka. Terri worked as a freelance technical writer and was scheduling interviews with local firms. “We think you will like Colorado Springs,” said Judy. "This may just be the place where we finally get to settle down for a while," said Dave, who wanted his fifth new-store-transfer in 20 years to be his last. "I sure hope so!" said Terri. Judy and I were meeting our kids for lunch after church, so we couldn’t hang around and talk after the service. "Well," I asked, "how about if the four of us to get together for coffee or dinner some time?" "We would like that!" said Dave. "That would be wonderful," said Terri. "We don't know a soul here." We scheduled dinner for the following Friday evening. Breaking Bread After the four of us ordered our meals, we started getting to know each other. Dave and Terri had moved from city to city for Dave’s work. Now they were two empty- nesters in their late 50s, and they were looking for a place to call home. They had raised three kids but remained in contact with only two of them. They shared a vague sense of sadness that they could have done better raising their children if they had given them more time and attention. “I’m tired of being a vagabond,” said Terri. “We’re just hoping we could settle down here for more than five years,” “And after what I’ve been through this week with our Human Resources office,” said Dave, “I can’t wait for retirement.” David didn't realize it, but when he said the word “retirement,” alarm bells started going off in my head. I’ve spent decades working in the retirement industry. Envoy Financial, the company I founded with my daughter Bethany, works with hundreds of churches and religious organizations to provide quality retirement packages to tens of thousands of their workers. “What do you mean you can’t wait?” I asked. “Our company is changing employee benefits again,” said Dave, “and the new material about all the choices and options is impossible to comprehend. How in the world did we get here with all these confusing retirement options? It's the kind of thing that makes me dream of hopping behind the wheel of an RV and heading off to the mountains." “I’m not sure what Dave will do around the house all day,” said Terri, “but I do get tired of how the company keeps yanking his chain all the time by changing his benefits.” “Let me ask you two a question,” I said. “Do the two of you believe God has a plan for your life right now, in this stage of your life?” “We believe it,” said Terri, “but we’re not sure what that is.” “I'm on a mission to change the way people think about retirement.” The Confession "I've got a confession to make," I said. “I have spent my life working in the retirement industry. But don't worry. I'm not trying to sell you anything. My work is mainly with Christian ministries and churches, not individuals. “But I'm also on a mission to change the way people think about retirement. I believe most people have it all wrong, and they're missing wonderful opportunities to serve God in their later years when they could be most effective serving His kingdom. “I'm working on a book about all this and would love to sit down and pick your brains. Could the three of us do that sometime? I know Judy doesn't need to hear me talk about these ideas anymore. And like I said, I promise I'm not trying to sell you anything.” Dave and Terri looked at each other, then looked at me and said, “Well, that sounds like it could help us.” The three of us agreed to meet for lunch a couple weeks later. Chapter 2 People Don’t Plan for Retirement Dave and Terri slid into the booth at the restaurant, which was filling up with a lunch-time crowd. They had agreed to meet me, so we could talk about retirement. After the three of us caught up and ordered lunch, I asked them a question. “When we met for dinner a few weeks ago, the two of you said you had already done a fair amount of retirement planning,” I said. “Can you spell out for me what kind of planning you have done?” I had asked them to bring along any documents or retirement planning information they had, and Terri had spent a few hours organizing her big, thick retirement notebook. For the next five minutes, Dave and Terri led me through the extensive research they had done. Terri led me through her notebook, which included information on all their retirement accounts, including 401(k)s, IRAs, and Social Security accounts. The notebook also had section containing a copy of their will, and other important documents. “This is truly impressive!” I said. “I’ve talked to thousands of people about retirement, and few have been as organized, or done as much research, as you two have.” “Thanks,” said Terri. “We’re really proud of the work we’ve done to prepare.” “But I have one question for you. Do you have anything in that notebook that isn’t about money?” The two of them looked at each other, then gave me a quizzical look. “Not really,” said Dave. “What do you mean?” There’s More to Retirement Than Money I opened my laptop, went to Google, and typed in the words “retirement plan." In less than a second, I had more than 80 million results—the vast majority being links to major financial firms selling various investment products. “I want you to look at something,” I said, turning my laptop around so we could scroll through the results together. The Google search results were a catalog of companies selling retirement products and investments. Looking To Save For Retirement? said one online ad. Vanguard Can Help. Saving For Retirement Now Is The First Step. Let Voya Help You Get Started. Start preparing for your financial future with a retirement savings plan from Nationwide Financial. Plan For An Income That Lasts All Of Your Retirement, said an ad from Prudential. Start Here. I could tell Dave and Terri were wondering where I was going. “It’s not surprising,” I said. “After hearing millions of commercials and seeing millions of ads, all of us have been effectively trained. We have now largely accepted the idea that ‘retirement planning’ means ‘financial planning.’ “What are you saying?” Terri asked me. “Well, what I’m saying is that I talk to people every day who believe retirement planning means learning all about various investment options and products. These people can tell me all about traditional and Roth IRAs, defined-benefit 401(k) plans, and other financial products. But they’ve never really stopped to ask what it would take to use their retirement years to develop and use their God-given gifts and calling to achieve meaning and purpose.” I went to the Investopedia website and showed them the home page, which boldly declares its finances-only emphasis in its opening-sentence: “Retirement planning is the process of determining retirement income goals and the actions and decisions necessary to achieve those goals.” Financial planning is very important. But there’s much more to retirement planning than financial planning. “Wait a minute,” Dave said. “Are you telling us that financial planning for retirement isn’t important?” “No, that’s not it.