Redefining Retirement | Dean Waggenspack | TEDxDayton

[Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] retirement winners in Florida time spent with grandchildren volunteering in community it's a time for slowing down stepping aside and letting others take charge some people will finally admit that they can get answer the question what do I want to be when I grow up the dictionary definition to retire is it apart remove withdraw do we want to do that for 30 years or more I'd like to have us all collectively rethink retirement how about we rethink and reimagine what this stage in life could be take Nick a lifelong entrepreneur a couple years ago Nick began a consulting practice with some colleagues aimed at helping young entrepreneurs succeed Nick at the time was 98 years old Nick isn't withdrawing in Japan they don't have a word that corresponds to retirement their word for this later stage in life is a key guy which roughly translates into the reason you wake up in the morning sounds a lot better than withdrawing from society so why is it that we Americans define retirement the way we do our definition is based upon a single generation in American history the Greatest Generation no generation before and no generation after will have a similar kind of retirement in the beginning there was no retirement it wasn't until 1883 the Chancellor Otto von Bismarck of Prussia created the first modern pension this pension provided financial assistance to Germans over the age of 65 who no longer wish to work Bismarck was no dummy the average German lived 247 years back then until the last century retirement was pretty much the same for everybody you worked until you're no longer able to and then died then came the exception people born in the 1920s the greatest generation lived through the depression fought World War two and were rewarded Social Security was started in 1936 corporations offered pensions and lifetime employment for the first and only time in history the GI Bill provided free college education those three things provided financial stability the interstate highway system was built and air-conditioning made vacations much better for the first time in history life expectancy crept above 65 the Greatest Generation lived the golden years that's where we get our current definition of retirement life without work but with financial stability for those who doesn't follow retirement will look very different few people work for the same corporation for long periods of time lack of pension plans and high student loan debt undermine financial stability we've added ten more years of life expectancy and with greater education and less physically demanding work we are capable of doing more later in life our generations will have a very very different retirement than the greatest generation more like previous generations however instead of doing back-breaking labor late into life we have the opportunity to create our own unique retirement unencumbered by an outdated definition and welcomed by society redefining retirement also means re-imagining elder hood people over the age of 60 that's not one home would you you think about it we group people in two stages childhood infant toddler adolescent different ages different growth expectations adulthood young adult middle age empty-nester different names different needs different goals different stages but elder hood my 92 year old mother-in-law and my 65 year old neighbor are retired the same no they really aren't people in elder hood have a variety of needs and interests many of us will need the financial stability that comes from continuing to work later in life many will want to overcome the social isolation that comes from not having a job to go to and not doing that physical labor we have the capacity to work late in life like Nik and some will be able to emulate the greatest generation who live the golden years elder hood in retirement is a combination of those things changing over time how about we recognize those differences take two people both worked in an organization for a long period of time each left to start their own business their bloggers they volunteer in the community neither one of them works 40 hours a week now it gets interesting one of them is 38 rose she's an entrepreneur the other is 62 me most people say I'm retired that doesn't make any sense redefining retirement means rethinking the assumptions we make and the questions we ask of people for example many young couples have experienced the annoyance of being asked any children on the way that's a social blunder yet we have no problem looking at people of a certain age age and saying are you retired yet that's equally annoying for some people having coffee with friends every day going to the lake or counting down the days till you reach 65 and can retire are ideal and fulfilling awesome please don't assume that's what I want to do I want to challenge all of us to redefine retirement away from depart remove withdrawal to a new definition a blending of pay passion and purpose pay means generating income to meet our financial needs recognizing that some people may need to or want to continue to work late into life passion means doing something is important to you it may be golfing it could be consulting purpose means doing something for greater good in the community helping others overcome a challenge or devotion to a worthy cause our eyes may be a little weaker and our hair a little grayer but for some of us the fire still burns inside how enlightened would it be if we redefine retirement not as an expectation for withdrawal but instead creating space for those people who choose to be engaged with their own personal unique blending of pay passion and purpose isn't that what we all want to be when we grow up thank you [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: TEDx Talks

Views: 5,086

Rating: 4.8356166 out of 5

Keywords: TEDxTalks, English, Life, Aging, Elderly, Goal-setting, Happiness, Purpose

Id: j5F29F1ev8w

Length: 9min 5sec (545 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 27 2020