Most Americans aren't paying attention to a key part of retirement that has nothing to do with investing
A 2025 survey from Lincoln Financial found that 77% of Americans in their 50s and 60s view retirement as a "new chapter" to pursue passions they didn't have time for while working — yet, the majority haven't actually planned or budgeted for pastimes in retirement.
While pre-retirees intend to do additional planning for pastimes once they hit retirement, only 38% report having done some or a lot of planning. The majority of pre-retirees have done little to no planning for how to spend time in retirement.
To inspire pre-retirees to flip the script, Lincoln Financial partnered with wellness advocate and podcast host Rich Roll on a four-part video series, " The Action Plan." Roll spoke with tennis legend Andre Agassi, the "The Psychology of Money" author Morgan Housel, and others about how they're planning ahead to ensure they can pursue their pastimes into retirement.
"My generation has a very different relationship with retirement than our parents did," Roll, 58, told Business Insider. "We're not in a job and looking toward that date on the calendar where we're going to hang it up and then go play golf. That's just not the typical experience, and it's not really the way the world works anymore."
Plus, lifestyles and lifespans have changed.
"We're also healthier and living longer and more vital in our older years than that generation, which begs the question: How can I continue to do these things that I enjoy doing? And these things cost money," said Roll.
Perhaps more money than you'd expect.
Lincoln Financial also surveyed retirees age 50 and above, and among that group, 39% underestimated the cost of their pastimes.
To plan for the cost of your hobbies and pastimes, you have to spend time thinking about how you actually want to spend your time in retirement and what will make you feel fulfilled, whether that's picking up a sport or an instrument, volunteering, teaching, gardening, or hosting.
Roll found inspiration in Agassi's outlook.
"What lights him up is creating opportunities for other people," he said of the retired tennis player turned philanthropist. "I think that's a really important lesson, especially for anyone who is approaching the later stages of their career who wants to stay engaged, whether through personal activities or through business: Tie whatever that passion is to something that holds greater meaning than just yourself. And I think that's a recipe for maintaining your connection with your vitality and continuing to pursue a life that is meaningful and purpose-driven."
Catching up on retirement planning and saving
If you're approaching retirement and feeling behind on planning or saving, you have company.
"Less than one in 10 retirees had a firm estimate on what their day-to-day costs were, so anybody who falls in that category, they're not alone," James Reid, executive vice president of Lincoln Financial, told BI. That said, "It starts today. Today starts the wave for the future."
Roll, who started his career in corporate law and quit to train as an ultra-endurance athlete, considers himself a "late bloomer" when it comes to his career and finances, and recognizes that he still has "a lot of work to do."
"In a perfect world, I would have just been stashing away small amounts of money every single month since I was 21 years old. That's just not what I did," he said, adding: "It's not too late. If you're someone like myself who hasn't been putting money away for the past 25 years, that is something that you can still overcome, but you have to face it."
The author, podcast host, and public speaker has no intention of slowing down anytime soon. When asked if he thinks he'll ever retire, he was quick to say, "I don't."
But he's laying the foundation now to have the option of scaling back from work if he ever wants to.
"I don't think of retirement like, I'm just one day going to flick a switch and it's all over," he said. "I don't imagine that day ever coming, nor do I really aspire to that, but I also recognize that everything is impermanent. The promise to myself, at least with the podcast, is that I'll continue to do it as long as I find it invigorating and interesting and nourishing in all the ways that it currently is, but one day will come where I'll say, 'I think I've done enough of this.'"
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