You may have heard people talking about ‘The New Retirement’ lately. There certainly are many books written on the subject.

So, what is this ‘New Retirement’? It’s simple - the retirement landscape has changed.

With over four and a half million baby boomers in Australia reaching the age of retirement things are becoming very different to when your parents retired. Gone are the days of sitting at home watching daytime TV, pruning roses and drawing up a new draft of your will. In fact, this conventional, romanticised idea of retirement is fast becoming history. 

"…Boomers will redefine retirement with great energy and creativity working well beyond age 65 and mostly by choice"

The traditional model of a leisure-filled retirement is making way for a new type of retirement; a more active and, for many, a work-filled retirement. As many Australian retirees increasingly postpone retirement, many others downshift to casual or part time work after retirement. Why? Reasons vary from retirees enjoying working or wanting to stay busy to wanting to be a contributing member of society or simply being unable to retire on a comfortable income.

In fact, work is increasingly playing a role in this new retirement, just not the usual nine to five way. As Sherry Cooper, Author or the aptly named ‘The New Retirement’ states:

“…Boomers will redefine retirement with great energy and creativity, working well beyond age 65 and mostly by choice. With the dramatic rise in their longevity, healthy goal-driven boomers will seek purposeful leisure-focusing on regeneration, rejuvenation, and low-stress contributions to society and their own personal wealth.”

Indeed, today’s retirees focus on seeking a balanced and leisurely lifestyle, stimulating and exciting activities, developing new goals and facing the many personal challenges they didn’t have time for during their working life.

Providing the opportunity to reassess, re-evaluate and refocus your life, retirement is no longer about sitting under a crocheted blanket knitting booties for the grandkids, it’s about getting out there, exploring and living for retirement. Whether you’re a few years or a few decades from retirement, you can make this new retirement work for you.

So, how do you plan on enjoying your retirement? Let us know in the comments section below…