0:04

Some

0:04

people sort of think, Ah, I

0:07

don't need to plan it, I can

0:07

just wing it. You know, I'm just

0:09

so happy. I don't have to work.

0:09

Some people feel that way. I

0:12

really think it's very important

0:12

at whatever age you are to start

0:17

thinking about what's the course

0:17

of life that you're hoping for,

0:21

for yourself. We are living

0:21

longer, and people don't want to

0:25

outlive their money. And, you

0:25

know, it may be that, you know,

0:29

people need to start thinking

0:29

ahead of, you know, if these are

0:33

some of the goals and dreams

0:33

that I have, what do I need to

0:37

do to be able to support that?

0:40

Welcome to Now

0:40

or Never Long-Term Care Strategy

0:43

with Kosta Yepifantsev a podcast

0:43

for all those seeking answers

0:47

and solutions in the long term

0:47

care space. This podcast is

0:51

designed to create resources,

0:51

start conversations and bring

0:55

awareness to the industry that

0:55

will inevitably impact all

0:58

Americans. Here's your host

0:58

Kosta Yepifantsev.

1:03

Hey, y'all,

1:03

it's Kosta. Today, I'm here with

1:05

my guest, Dr. Dorian Mintzer,

1:05

experienced therapist life and

1:09

retirement transition coach,

1:09

relationship coach, executive

1:13

coach, author, speaker and

1:13

teacher. Today we're talking

1:18

about what no one told you about

1:18

retirement documents or in 2023?

1:24

What is the successful

1:24

retirement look like?

1:27

Now, I hate to disappoint some of your listeners to say there is no

1:29

right way to retire. Okay. There

1:34

are many different pictures of

1:34

what a successful retirement

1:38

looks like. Because now that

1:38

we're living longer, somebody

1:42

may be retired from their full

1:42

time work, and still want to be

1:47

working in some different ways.

1:47

And using their skills and

1:50

having maybe an encore career,

1:50

or maybe even wanting to phase

1:54

out their retirement during many

1:54

of the, quote, retirement years.

1:59

And many people are just burned

1:59

out. And a successful retirement

2:05

might be a honeymoon stage

2:05

initially. But then what I find

2:09

is that people begin to feel

2:09

like something's missing. And so

2:15

I think a successful retirement

2:15

is when people have taken stock

2:19

on what his work meant to them.

2:19

What's been important, what are

2:24

the things about work, that

2:24

maybe they need and want to

2:28

build into their life, like, a

2:28

reason to get out of bed in the

2:31

morning, some structure, some

2:31

sense of connection, engagement,

2:35

purpose and meaning. So from my

2:35

perspective, what I see with

2:39

people is that a successful

2:39

retirement really is people who

2:43

are feeling a sense of well

2:43

being, maybe using their skills

2:48

in a different way. Perhaps

2:48

volunteering, maybe, you know,

2:52

giving back in some ways,

2:52

writing memoir, writing, having

2:57

some time to really enjoy and

2:57

becoming what I like to think

3:01

about as an elder, which is

3:01

developing a perspective and a

3:07

wisdom that you're able to share

3:07

with the younger generations. So

3:13

a successful retirement is, I

3:13

think, people who feel engaged

3:18

and vital and connected to the

3:18

world, maybe still through their

3:22

work. But maybe having made

3:22

peace with my identity isn't

3:27

just my work. And there are many

3:27

other parts of myself that I

3:31

want to develop in this stage of

3:31

life.

3:34

You know, one

3:34

of the things that I find so

3:37

curious, is how, somebody that's

3:37

25 years old, or let me let me

3:43

put it like this 35 years old,

3:43

and maybe is married and has

3:47

some kids, and somebody that is

3:47

65 or 75 years old, and that's

3:54

raised children, and has, you

3:54

know, essentially worked a full

4:00

career, how differently they

4:00

approach life and problems. And,

4:06

and maybe if you could just

4:06

share from your perspective,

4:10

like, how do people change their

4:10

problem solving habits and

4:17

behaviors as they get older?

4:19

What an

4:19

interesting question. Well, I

4:22

think, in many ways, we are who

4:22

we are, right? But I think

4:28

what's important is that there

4:28

are certain experiences in life,

4:32

that if we allow ourselves we

4:32

can learn from, and so we

4:36

develop a perception, we develop

4:36

a sense of our own resilience,

4:41

we develop hopefully

4:41

appreciation of other people.

4:45

And I think that if one's on

4:45

kind of that growth trajectory,

4:51

then, you know, as we get older,

4:51

we're really able to deal in

4:56

different ways with uncertainty

4:56

in different ways. As with the

5:01

complexities of life, there's

5:01

actually been some interesting

5:05

studies during COVID, that

5:05

younger people had more

5:09

difficulty because of still

5:09

potentially working, maybe

5:13

having children at home, not

5:13

having a sense of having gone

5:17

through a lot of ups and downs.

5:17

So I think there's something

5:20

that comes from just

5:20

experiencing the vicissitudes of

5:24

life really. And knowing that

5:24

somehow we learn how to deal

5:29

with the ups and downs and good

5:29

and bad of life, and develop an

5:35

internal kind of compass and

5:35

competence. Because when you

5:39

think about it, all of life

5:39

really is a series of

5:41

transitions. And what I find

5:41

really interesting is, you know,

5:46

it's true when you're 25, or 35,

5:46

you've had less transitions, but

5:50

you still may start having a

5:50

pattern of, do you have more

5:54

trouble with the ending, the

5:54

unknown, the new beginning, by

5:57

the time you get older, you've

5:57

had more transitions, and I

6:00

think important to ask the same

6:00

kind of questions, you know, do

6:03

you have more trouble with the

6:03

unknown ones, the messy middle,

6:07

the new beginning, the unknown

6:07

ones, to begin to, if you allow

6:11

yourself learn about yourself,

6:11

and I think just have a greater

6:14

perspective, you know, I think

6:14

you can really in your 60s and

6:19

70s, develop this new identity

6:19

of being an elder where you just

6:23

appreciate kind of the ups and

6:23

downs of life.

6:26

And on that

6:26

note, how can we more accurately

6:30

predict what we actually need to

6:30

retire?

6:35

Now? Are

6:35

you meaning that money wise, or?

6:37

Well, General? I

6:38

mean, I mean,

6:38

I'd say probably both, okay.

6:44

I'm not a

6:44

financial planner, and I'm not a

6:46

believer that there's a number.

6:46

Because what I believe is that,

6:52

how much you have, really, and

6:52

how much you need is really

6:57

based on what kind of lifestyle

6:57

you want, and maybe what kind of

7:02

lifestyle you have. Again,

7:02

there's no right way, I think

7:08

retirement is money, but it's

7:08

more than money. And if you

7:11

think about it, money is it's a

7:11

tool, it's a resource, sometimes

7:17

it gets overvalued. And we think

7:17

you know, that it is just that

7:20

number. But I think people are

7:20

learning more and more that

7:23

there's the, quote, soft part.

7:23

You know, I like the framework

7:27

of puzzle, you know, that there

7:27

are all these pieces in our

7:30

life. And I like puzzles,

7:30

because we have to puzzle it

7:33

out, as well as it's a noun, but

7:33

they're all these parts of our

7:36

life, finances, health and

7:36

wellness, where we live, who's

7:41

important in our life, closeness

7:41

and intimacy, spirituality,

7:46

meaningful relationships,

7:46

obligations with family, legacy,

7:52

all of those things are puzzle

7:52

pieces, and they impact each

7:55

other. And so I think money and

7:55

health and wellness are two of

7:59

the biggest puzzle pieces that

7:59

are going to impact the choices

8:04

that you have. Well, and

8:05

also to that

8:05

note, I mean, money and health

8:08

and wellness are prerequisites

8:08

almost to being able to have a

8:14

long and happy retirement.

8:14

Right?

8:17

Absolutely.

8:17

Although the caveat of that is

8:21

Money doesn't buy happiness.

8:21

That is very important. And I

8:26

think that it is amazing that

8:26

there are many people who don't

8:31

have an abundance of money, but

8:31

they have maybe a mindset that's

8:36

more abundance rather than

8:36

scarcity. And with that sort of

8:41

growth mindset, it's amazing

8:41

that the happiness, the sense of

8:45

well being that people can have.

8:50

What do you

8:50

think is the most overlooked

8:52

aspect of retirement planning?

8:55

I think

8:55

even doing it, it's part of it.

8:59

I think, some people sort of

8:59

think, oh, I don't need to plan

9:04

it, I can just wing it, you

9:04

know, it'll just all fall into

9:07

place. You know, I'm just so

9:07

happy. I don't have to work.

9:09

Some people feel that way. I

9:09

really think it's very important

9:15

at whatever age you are to start

9:15

thinking about, you know, what's

9:20

the course of life that you're

9:20

hoping for, for yourself? We are

9:25

living longer, and people don't

9:25

want to outlive their money.

9:28

And, you know, it may be that,

9:28

you know, people need to start

9:32

thinking ahead of, you know, if

9:32

these are some of the goals and

9:36

dreams that I have. What do I

9:36

need to do to be able to support

9:41

that? So I really encourage

9:41

people to think ahead and plan.

9:46

It's like a financial portfolio.

9:46

It's not written in stone, but I

9:50

think it's helpful to have a

9:50

vision. And if you're part of a

9:54

relationship, to look at your

9:54

vision, your partner's vision,

9:57

see where they align where

9:57

they're different. And if it's

10:01

not a partner, it may be

10:01

siblings, or it may be good

10:04

friends that maybe whoever's on,

10:04

you know, sort of on the journey

10:07

with you to really think about,

10:07

you know, if I want, hopefully

10:12

to reach the end of my life

10:12

without regrets, if they're

10:15

things I want to accomplish

10:15

deucey say, then come back to

10:20

now, whatever your age is, and

10:20

start thinking about, Well, how

10:22

am I going to make that happen?

10:22

And that's where the planning

10:25

comes in.

10:26

You know, I'm

10:26

kind of a numbers guy. So I

10:28

follow a lot of the statistics

10:28

in for retirement planning, just

10:34

retiring in general aging,

10:34

things like that. And one of the

10:37

things that I find most

10:37

fascinating is about 22% of the

10:44

US population actually saves for

10:44

retirement. And on average, they

10:50

only save about two to 300,000.

10:50

And I mean, that's not a whole

10:56

lot. If you're wanting to retire

10:56

for an extended period of time.

10:59

Granted, there are such things

10:59

as, obviously Social Security

11:02

and VA benefits, and sometimes

11:02

even a pension. I mean, me and

11:09

Morgan, were just talking about

11:09

this. Like, where are you going

11:13

to find a company that pays you

11:13

a pension nowadays, you know,

11:17

that that is in the past.

11:20

But with that

11:20

being said, if people are taking

11:24

the time to plan for their

11:24

retirement, in your opinion,

11:28

because I have some opinions on

11:28

this, but I want to hear your

11:30

opinions about the greatest

11:30

risks for derailing retirement

11:34

plans, and how do we avoid them?

11:37

Well, I think sort of what I was alluding to before, I think

11:39

health. I mean, there's so many

11:42

unknowns in the world. I mean,

11:42

there's can be economic

11:45

downturns, there can be health,

11:45

I mean, you might have a vision

11:49

that you are going to work a

11:49

certain number of years, and

11:52

that either you or someone close

11:52

to you, child, spouse, partner,

11:58

sibling parents, has a health

11:58

crisis. And that can just kind

12:03

of put everything into kind of a

12:03

chaos crisis mode. So I think

12:09

that can derail. I think another

12:09

thing that can derail is if and

12:14

this may seem more subtle, but

12:14

if your only sense of yourself

12:18

is your work, and you're not,

12:18

either by choice or life,

12:23

circumstances not working. If

12:23

you can really go downhill,

12:29

there can be a dark side to not

12:29

having a sense of the

12:34

connection, engagement and

12:34

purpose and meaning. I think too

12:38

much isolation, you know, can be

12:38

a derailleur. I think that, you

12:44

know, if, in fact, somebody's

12:44

you know, maybe it's a

12:48

retirement isn't by choice. You

12:48

know, unfortunately, the

12:52

statistics say that, you know,

12:52

people can drink too much use

12:56

drugs and really go through a

12:56

real bad rabbit hole. But it

13:02

doesn't have to be that way. But

13:02

it can I mean, there are many

13:06

things that can be derailleurs.

13:06

And that's where I think

13:08

planning is helpful. I mean,

13:08

it's true. You know, I think

13:12

your percentage is probably

13:12

right on, about the number of

13:15

people who plan even those who

13:15

do have some retirement savings,

13:19

health costs can come up. There

13:19

may be, you know, tuition costs

13:23

for children, was even a recent

13:23

article about even the tuition

13:28

that older people are still

13:28

paying off, you know, or people

13:31

who go back to school. Yeah, and

13:31

people who want to go back to

13:35

school. And when I think the, I

13:35

think when you go bankrupt, you

13:42

still have to pay loans and

13:42

student student loans, you know,

13:46

and so many people have thought

13:46

that they've been saving for

13:50

retirement, but then, you know,

13:50

many are in what has been

13:54

referred to as that sandwich

13:54

generation. So taking care of

13:57

parents having children and, and

13:57

maybe even wanting to retrain

14:01

yourself and things cost money.

14:04

You know,

14:04

what's interesting about that is

14:06

I was having dinner with some

14:06

friends who are some in the

14:10

millennial generation, and they

14:10

are in the Gen X. And I feel

14:14

like Gen X really got a bad

14:14

hand. Like, if if you really

14:21

take it into like, obviously,

14:21

you know, the millennials and

14:24

Gen Z's probably can't afford to

14:24

buy a house, but Gen X is just,

14:29

they are under a lot of

14:29

pressure. When you talk about

14:32

sandwich house, I'm thinking

14:32

more of like vise grip,

14:36

or squeezed vise grip. Yeah. Probably more apt metaphor. It's

14:39

true. You know, and it used to

14:42

be that parents wanted the next

14:42

generation to be better off.

14:47

And, you know, and that's where

14:47

it's, you know, falling by the

14:51

wayside somewhat.

14:52

But we can I

14:52

mean, we can, I'm optimistic

14:56

that things will will will start

14:56

to improve because we're having

14:59

more and more Have these types

14:59

of conversations are starting to

15:01

occur? And people are like, you

15:01

know, I don't know if this is

15:05

actually supposed to be like

15:05

this, you know? So Alright,

15:09

moving on. As a retirement

15:09

coach, do you think that there's

15:13

a difference between what people

15:13

think they want, and what they

15:17

actually want out of retirement?

15:21

I think

15:21

that's true. And again, it may

15:23

vary. If one has done some

15:23

reflecting and thinking ahead of

15:27

time. So you know, I say it's

15:27

true, but it depends, in a

15:32

sense. There are many different

15:32

kinds of retirees. I mean, there

15:36

are, and many different kinds of

15:36

visions that people have. I

15:41

mean, some people really have

15:41

loved their work and want to

15:45

keep working and want to keep

15:45

contributing, maybe not full

15:50

time. But in some capacity, some

15:50

people are just totally burned

15:54

out. And when you think about

15:54

the concept of retirement, I

15:58

think it's changing. It used to

15:58

be, you know, I mean, back when

16:01

Social Security was developed,

16:01

you know, people had more

16:05

industrial jobs. And people

16:05

were, you know, by the time they

16:10

were in their 60s, they were

16:10

burned out. It's very different

16:13

now, in the 21st century, not

16:13

only are we living longer, but

16:17

there's just more desk work, or

16:17

head head kind of work. I mean,

16:21

not totally. So what somebody

16:21

wants from retirement may vary,

16:28

depending on what your prior

16:28

experiences where, I mean, I

16:32

think there's always been this

16:32

vision that there can, there's

16:35

more time for leisure. And many

16:35

people, I think, as I mentioned

16:41

before, there can be this

16:41

honeymoon phase. But kind of

16:45

like, like this expression,

16:45

there's only so much golf you

16:47

can play or someone's sailing.

16:47

And I think COVID put a crimp in

16:53

the fantasy of traveling. I

16:53

mean, it's opening up again, but

16:57

you know, it still exists. But I

16:57

think, you know, sometimes

17:02

people don't think ahead and

17:02

realize what it's going to feel

17:05

like not to have a paycheck, if

17:05

you're not getting a paycheck,

17:08

or not to have that identity if

17:08

it's been so much of your

17:11

identity. So, retirement,

17:11

sometimes can feel structureless

17:19

until you realize it's okay to

17:19

have and you need actually some

17:23

structure in your life, you

17:23

know, exercising, taking care of

17:27

yourself. I always like the

17:27

statistic that by the time

17:31

you're 65, it's 30% genetics,

17:31

which is not insignificant if

17:35

you've got some genetic

17:35

components. But 70% are things

17:41

you can have some control over

17:41

lifestyle choices, taking care

17:45

of your body and your brain,

17:45

spirituality, meaningful

17:49

relationships. So if you think

17:49

just doing nothing, if that's

17:53

the vision you have of

17:53

retirement, you probably will

17:57

end up being unhappy. I do think

17:57

that, again, there are different

18:07

stages of retirement. But if,

18:07

you know, some people actually

18:11

have a good picture of

18:11

retirement, and they combine in

18:14

beautiful ways, some voluntary,

18:14

maybe a little bit of working

18:19

time with family time with

18:19

friends, I'm for traveling time

18:23

for leisure, I mean, some people

18:23

truly do create, you know, what

18:27

they were envisioning. But some

18:27

don't.

18:30

So when I was

18:30

listening to your TEDx, one of

18:33

the things that you mentioned in

18:33

there is that our perception of

18:37

middle age is actually shifted,

18:37

and it's more, or between the

18:42

ages of 55 and 75. So, I want

18:42

to, I want to, I want you to

18:48

touch on that and kind of

18:48

explain it. But also, I'm

18:52

curious, you know, I'm sure

18:52

you've done some research and

18:56

have seen the statistics on

18:56

this, but how long do you think

19:00

people will be living in the

19:00

next like, 20 to 30 years, will

19:04

we be living into like, 125 or

19:04

150? I mean, I hope we are, you

19:10

know, but just curious.

19:13

Well, there are a few questions in there. So no, but in terms of

19:15

lifespan, a lot of people now

19:19

are talking about healthspan

19:19

just lifespan. So you know, I

19:25

truly myself am a believer that

19:25

it's it's not just the number of

19:29

years, but I really I mean, I'd

19:29

like to live a good long time.

19:33

But I I also have a sense of

19:33

what for me quality of life is

19:38

so that just adding, you know, a

19:38

little years to my belt, if it

19:44

doesn't feel like a quality of

19:44

life. I'm not so sure I want

19:46

that. Just sticks are saying

19:46

that kids born now pretend you

19:52

know have a 5050 chance to live

19:52

into their hundreds. I don't

19:55

know that it's going to get to,

19:55

you know, way over 100 It could

19:59

be But again, it's hard to know.

19:59

But I do think that with the

20:05

extension of lifespan now and

20:05

hopefully healthspan, which is

20:10

being able to feel and be kind

20:10

of in the middle age, not old,

20:14

old and you know, more unable to

20:14

do things, you know that that's

20:18

maybe more at the final final

20:18

end. But during, you know, it is

20:23

interesting to think about this

20:23

extended middle age, you know,

20:26

it used to be 40 to 60. And 60

20:26

was old now, it's, you know, as

20:30

you say, 50 to 55 to 75. It's

20:30

like a second adulthood, or some

20:37

people actually even call it

20:37

middle essence now, that, you

20:42

know, Adolescence is only was a

20:42

term coined maybe 100 or 100

20:47

plus years ago, because there

20:47

was an awareness that there was

20:51

a time between being a child and

20:51

being an adult. And issues about

20:56

who am i Where do I want to

20:56

live? What do I want to do?

21:02

Parallels if you think about it.

21:02

So now we have this extended

21:05

middle age, you know, and people

21:05

are realizing, first of all, 62,

21:10

or 65, might be too young to

21:10

retire. Because if we're living

21:16

longer, and want to have some

21:16

lifestyle choices, we may need

21:20

to work longer if we're able to

21:20

and interpret. That's where we

21:24

can. And so, you know, thinking

21:24

about the parallels to

21:31

adolescence is we're dealing

21:31

with our identity we're dealing

21:34

with where do I want to live?

21:34

Which is your area to? You know,

21:41

who do I want to be connected

21:41

to? Parallel things, but

21:45

hopefully, at this middle

21:45

essence stage, the second

21:48

adulthood, we have an added

21:48

perspective and wisdom of just

21:53

having weathered a lot of the

21:53

ups and downs of life. But but

21:56

there is this transition. And I

21:56

think I really find it so

22:00

helpful and freeing to think

22:00

about this extended middle age,

22:04

it really is a time to keep

22:04

growing and learning and

22:07

evolving. And it doesn't have

22:07

it's not the old paradigm of

22:11

aging, which is it's all

22:11

downhill after 60. It will be if

22:15

you want it to be and let it be.

22:15

But it really doesn't have to be

22:19

there's many, many choices that

22:19

are out there.

22:22

Let's say

22:22

somebody doesn't plan for

22:25

retirement, or just doesn't have

22:25

a plan in general. What's your

22:30

advice to the children of

22:30

parents that have no retirement

22:34

plan?

22:35

Another

22:35

good and hard question. You

22:38

know, it's interesting,

22:38

sometimes adult children don't

22:41

want to bring up things to

22:41

parents, and sometimes parents

22:43

don't want to bring up things to

22:43

young children, younger, adult

22:47

children, it is important to

22:47

have a conversation. I mean, I

22:51

I'm a believer that

22:51

conversations and they can be

22:54

very difficult ones. But it's

22:54

important to talk about so you

22:58

know, a son or a daughter can

22:58

maybe sit down and not you

23:03

aren't doing that's blaming

23:03

shaming you statements, you

23:06

know, you should be you're not.

23:06

But to say I'm worried about

23:10

you, you know, I'm worried that,

23:10

as far as I know, I don't think

23:15

you've been thinking about this

23:15

at all. And I worry, you know,

23:19

are you going to be able to keep

23:19

working in the way that you are

23:22

now or what happens if their

23:22

health issues, I'd like us to

23:26

sit down and talk about it. So

23:26

if you can use an if statement.

23:30

And you know, if you're in a

23:30

situation where you're not used

23:34

to talking together, and you're

23:34

able to have it be just the

23:38

start, let it be a short

23:38

conversation to start with, but

23:40

then know that you can come back

23:40

to it. But I really do think

23:46

they're hard conversations to

23:46

have. But I think whether you're

23:49

the adult trying to talk to, or

23:49

the parent trying to talk to

23:53

your adult children or adult

23:53

children T talking to your

23:57

parents try to think about using

23:57

I statements avoid you don't you

24:01

should you never those, even if

24:01

it's your heart is not intended

24:07

that way. It's blaming and

24:07

shaming and people get

24:09

defensive. But it's really

24:09

important conversations, you

24:13

know, I'm worried about you and

24:13

I don't think you have had

24:15

enough money saved. Can we just

24:15

figure out, you know, what do

24:20

you have in mind? What have you

24:20

taken care of What haven't you

24:23

taken care of, and this can be

24:23

tied in also to end of life

24:26

issues and wishes, you know, if

24:26

the adult children are going to

24:32

be you know, healthcare proxies

24:32

or power of attorney, it's so

24:36

important to have these

24:36

conversations and people often

24:40

put it off it's tied into your

24:40

question about why people don't

24:42

plan sometimes people don't want

24:42

to plan because if you think

24:46

ahead then you have to think

24:46

about up. I'm not gonna live

24:49

forever, and people with that.

24:53

Yeah, and I

24:53

mean, literally when when you

24:55

say they want to avoid it, or

24:55

they'd like to avoid it like I

24:58

have heard from so Many people

24:58

when I say why are you not

25:02

having a more thoughtful

25:02

conversation with your parents

25:06

about preparing for long term

25:06

care or just buying long term

25:10

care insurance? It's because

25:10

we're wired in this way, that we

25:16

know that death is an

25:16

inevitability, right? But we

25:20

don't think about it. Because

25:20

when you accept that component,

25:25

at least, this is what this is

25:25

what the good the greater

25:27

society teaches you. And once

25:27

you accept that component, then

25:32

you're essentially going against

25:32

your instincts. And you're, you

25:38

know, you're not going to live

25:38

every single day to the fullest,

25:42

but I believe that it's the

25:42

opposite.

25:45

I agree

25:45

with you. Yeah, I totally agree

25:48

with you. I mean, I honestly

25:48

believe that knowing that death

25:53

exists, and none of us are going

25:53

to live forever makes life more

25:56

precious. also believe that it's

25:56

an act of love to sit down with

26:03

parents and adult children or

26:03

whomever I mean, not everybody

26:06

has children, and but whoever is

26:06

important in your life to sit

26:10

down and talk about these

26:10

things. It's an act of love.

26:14

Because if you don't, then, you

26:14

know, if something happens

26:19

unexpectedly, and you know, you

26:19

died, suddenly, I mean, we see

26:24

it happen all the time, with

26:24

natural disasters, too, or with

26:27

terrorist attacks, or any many

26:27

different ways. At the time of

26:32

loss and crisis. It's hard

26:32

enough. And so if the survivors

26:37

are left not knowing what you

26:37

would like, it's just it

26:41

compounds it. So I view it as an

26:41

act of love. And just on a

26:44

personal example, like, what was

26:44

about 40 years ago, now, when my

26:49

father was dying, he, you know,

26:49

he used to be a pretty

26:54

controlling person, and I didn't

26:54

like that, but I liked that he

26:56

was controlling in this way. And

26:56

he, my brother, and I flew out

27:01

to California where they lived.

27:01

And he knew he was sick, and he

27:05

knew he was dying. And we didn't

27:05

know when it was going to be,

27:09

but he said, We need to talk.

27:09

And my brother said, Well, no, I

27:12

don't think we need to talk. And

27:12

I said, Yes, we do. And it was

27:14

so helpful. And it really helped

27:14

me appreciate that he gave us

27:19

the information about what the

27:19

accounts were, where keys were,

27:25

I got my name on the checking

27:25

account, not to have it and but

27:30

it was or, you know, and knowing

27:30

that I wasn't going to do it

27:33

unless I had to talked about

27:33

what he wanted, end of life. My

27:39

mother talked about what she

27:39

wanted, you know, I was her

27:42

health care proxy, my brother

27:42

was his, it was such a relief,

27:47

to have that information. So

27:47

when he did die, you know, it

27:51

still took a while to deal with

27:51

all the stuff we had to deal

27:54

with. But we knew we knew the

27:54

passwords. I mean, that's

27:58

another thing. We have a digital

27:58

life as well as a real life. And

28:03

it's a, it's an act of love to

28:03

survivors, that at the time when

28:08

you need to take over, that you

28:08

know how to do it. And, you

28:12

know, return to so I you know, I

28:12

speak from personal experience,

28:16

and I, you know, work with my

28:16

clients on that, too. So,

28:21

before we

28:21

wrap up, I want to talk about

28:23

everyone's favorite topic,

28:23

inflation. How does inflation

28:31

impact retirement? And how much

28:31

can inflation change someone's

28:36

retirement plans?

28:37

You know,

28:37

I would, I do know that

28:40

everybody is focused on

28:40

inflation. I think inflation is

28:43

part of it. But not the whole

28:43

thing. I mean, I think the

28:47

reality is, things cost money,

28:47

and that sometimes they cost

28:52

more money, other times, maybe

28:52

less money. I think the issue

28:56

from my perspective is we're

28:56

living longer, and we really

29:01

don't want to outlive our money.

29:01

So I think if right now, we're

29:07

there's some inflation that

29:07

needs to inform in some way. You

29:12

know, your notions about when to

29:12

retire, you know, a people I

29:17

think it's, you know, the idea

29:17

of 62 or 65. You know, it really

29:22

was when the lifespan was much

29:22

shorter. I think it is really

29:26

helpful, whether it be inflation

29:26

or knowing there's the unknown

29:29

of healthcare needs or whatever

29:29

else might happen in the

29:33

economy. Many people it is

29:33

important to rethink that the 60

29:38

to 65 is not such a magical age.

29:38

And if you really want to have

29:44

you know, options for your

29:44

lifestyle choices, then part of

29:48

it may be needing to recognize

29:48

that you need to work longer

29:51

doesn't necessarily mean working

29:51

longer, full time. But it may be

29:55

that part of your retirement

29:55

vision is you know, let's not

29:59

work out as much but let's still

29:59

bring some money in so that, you

30:04

know you're adding to your nest egg.

30:06

What is the

30:06

more appropriate age to retire

30:10

if it's not 62 and 65. And I

30:10

know you're not saying that it's

30:14

a just a specific number, but

30:14

like if you were a policymaker,

30:19

and you had to put a number on

30:19

when people should retire, and

30:25

bring it back to when they first

30:25

created the law in 1937, where

30:30

Social Security was, you know,

30:30

eligible at age X, what age is

30:35

more appropriate now?

30:38

I think more and more people are working into their 70s. But, but part of

30:39

it depends on what the kind of

30:44

work is. I mean, some people

30:44

truly reach their prime in their

30:49

70s. And I mean, I'm in my late

30:49

70s, I still work and love it,

30:55

my husband actually just turned

30:55

91, he still works part time.

31:01

And so there's no right, but but

31:01

he is doing it because he loves

31:06

doing it. Right. And, you know,

31:06

not everybody loves their work.

31:12

But if you can, you know, if

31:12

you're so lucky to have a

31:14

profession that, that you do

31:14

love, or, I mean, the beauty of

31:18

getting older is it's not too

31:18

late to learn something new. And

31:23

you might want to morph some of

31:23

the skills you have into

31:26

something else and maybe work in

31:26

a different way. But I think I

31:32

think more I'm seeing more and

31:32

more people work into their 70s.

31:34

I mean, I think early 60s is way

31:34

too early. But again, if people

31:40

have some physical issues, or

31:40

it's, it's a really difficult

31:44

job in terms of stamina, and

31:44

their, you know, health issues

31:49

and stuff like that, you know,

31:49

maybe you do need to work later.

31:52

But think about how you might be

31:52

able to repurpose some of the

31:56

skills you have. If you still

31:56

need to earn some additional

32:00

money. So you have more choices.

32:05

We always

32:05

like to end the show with a call

32:07

to action. For anyone that feels

32:07

behind or like they didn't start

32:13

preparing early enough. What can

32:13

we all do today to start

32:18

planning for a better retirement.

32:20

So I

32:20

always say it's never too late.

32:23

And it's never too early. It's

32:23

harder when it's later. But I

32:27

think it's not too late. So I

32:27

think I'm a believer, no matter

32:31

how much or how little money you

32:31

have to talk with a financial

32:35

planner, preferably one that has

32:35

what's called a holistic view,

32:40

which is they're they're viewing

32:40

money as a tool, and helping you

32:44

really think about what your

32:44

lifestyle options are and what

32:48

you want. But I think that would

32:48

be one way to start. I think

32:52

that there's a lot of resources

32:52

out there. I actually have a

32:57

list but it's okay to say I have

32:57

a monthly free webinar series on

33:00

the fourth Tuesday of each

33:00

month. Free open to public and

33:06

professionals called

33:06

revolutionize your retirement

33:09

interview with experts series to

33:09

help you create a fulfilling

33:13

second half of life. I encourage

33:13

you it's free signups always the

33:17

week before. And it's every

33:17

month except December. I'm in my

33:21

11th year of it. And to

33:21

celebrate the 10th year starting

33:25

last year earlier, interviews

33:25

are now released his podcasts

33:30

that you also can have access to

33:30

for free. So there's a lot that

33:33

I have out there. There are

33:33

other organizations out there.

33:38

So I think it's helpful to think

33:38

about it's not too late, you

33:42

know, you can talk with a

33:42

financial planner, their

33:45

retirement coaches around, talk

33:45

with friends, you know, often

33:50

people don't think they should

33:50

talk about retirement next stage

33:54

of life, I really encourage you

33:54

to realize you're not alone. And

33:57

there's a lot of help and

33:57

support available to you. So

34:00

that would be kind of little

34:00

action steps.

34:03

Thank you for

34:03

joining us on this episode of

34:05

Now or Never Long-Term Care

34:05

Strategy with Kosta

34:08

Yepifantsev.If you enjoyed

34:08

listening and you wanna hear

34:11

more make sure you subscribe on

34:11

Apple podcast Spotify or

34:15

wherever you find your

34:15

Podcasts,leave us a review or

34:19

better yet share this episode

34:19

with a friend. Today’s episode

34:22

was written and produced by

34:22

Morgan Franklin. Want to find

34:27

out more about Kosta? Visit us

34:27

at kostayepifantsev.com