Jo Ann Jenkins, the new CEO of AARP, has some simple advice
for retirees. AARP, which has nearly 38 million members, ages 50 and older,
advocates and lobbies for its members. Jenkins has held several executive
positions with the group, including president of AARP Foundation, the
charitable arm of the organization.
USA TODAY retirement reporter Nanci Hellmich talked
with Jenkins about retirement issues:
Q: What are some of
the biggest challenges facing people 50 and older?
A: We see three simple areas: health security, financial
resilience and personal fulfillment. We like to call it health, wealth and
self. How do we get people to focus on those three areas of their life so they
can live life to the fullest?
I often hear people talk about, "Oh I can't wait to
retire," but we have to make sure they're prepared to retire. We want them
to be as healthy as possible because we know that most people over the age of
50 are likely to live some 30-plus more years. We have to be prepared
financially. We have to find purpose and meaning in what we are going to do
post-retirement, so that we don't fall into this whole issue of isolation and
loneliness.
Q: What is the third
stage of life?
A: We call the third stage of life the age of possibilities.
It used to be it was adolescence, work and retirement, and now people are
looking for this whole new phase of life.
As you become older — in your post-50 years — it's a time to
find real meaning and purpose, to do something that you have a passion about
doing.
Not everybody can retire. And some people are forced into
retirement. We like to say whether it's pushed by pain or pulled by
possibilities, we need to create the atmosphere and learning experiences so
people can live their best life.
Q: What advice do you
have for people who want to work until they are 65 and older?
A: Of our (nearly) 38 million members, some 40% are still in
the workplace. That number is growing higher every day. Much of the work that
we do at AARP is around how do we make sure that all of us are ready for
retirement, but particularly those who are less fortunate and more vulnerable.
There's a large group of people who depend on Social Security as their sole
means of income in retirement, and we know in today's market that's not enough.
So how do we get people to reimagine what they are going to
do? We launched, a couple of years ago Life Reimagined (lifereimagined.org)
to help people reimagine what they do in their post-50 years, whether that's in
the workplace, volunteering or whatever they find as fulfillment.
Retirement is really changing. Many people don't want to
retire, or even if they stop working, they are not staying at home. They are
volunteering; they're traveling; they're running for office; they're being
socially engaged in their communities.
Q: What's your best
advice for "pretirees"?
A: Plan. Make sure you are thinking through, "Can I live
for 30 or 40 years on what I have saved?" They need to think about what
they want to do during this age of possibilities, this stage of life that's
occurring post-work that is probably going to be 20 to 30 years.
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