Latest news with #Leider
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
If You Are Retired, Follow The Handbook
For much of our life, school systems and workplaces teach us the next steps. We learn in elementary school the skills needed in middle school to prepare us for high school. But we don't wait until we are seniors in high school to prepare for college. College preparation starts earlier so we are ready for applying to colleges. Similarly, we don't wait until we are seniors in college to decide a direction for a career. That starts earlier with declaring a major and securing a few internships. Once we begin our careers, we learn the skills needed to advance through experience, mentors, and observation. Employee handbooks outline the policies and procedures to make sure we follow the norms. But when our careers come to an end, where do we learn how to be retired? Where do we find the handbook to guide us in this next phase of life? We are living in uncharted territory—life expectancy has increased, along with changing expectations of aging. While these changes present challenges, it also offers opportunities. Richard Leider, author of 'The Power of Purpose' was involved in a 2009 survey by the MetLife Mature Market Institute, titled 'Discovering What Matters: Balancing Money, Medicine and Meaning.' The study revealed that as people reach retirement age, 'meaning trumps money in defining the good life.' Leider concluded, 'The good life consists of health, finances, and doing what's important. But it is not always easy to figure out what's important. One of my previous articles outlined how to continue to learn and grow. It described learning opportunities such as workshops, classes, online learning, and lessons. These are just a sampling of how we can stay active, engaged, and relevant. While there's no official roadmap, 'user's manual,' or handbook for retirement, the most common practice is to work with a financial advisor to develop a financial plan to ensure you have the funds to support your lifestyle including the costs of health and insurance. But once you have the financial part figured out, it is the nonfinancial aspects of retirement that are of concern: How will I spend my time? What is my purpose? How will I interact with others? What is my reason for getting up in the morning? Create A Vision For Your Retirement Companies create vision statements for where they want the company to go. It is futuristic and should be inspirational. The same is true for your vision for your retirement. Creating a vision depends on your situation such as marriage, children, grandchildren. If you are in a relationship, the vision should be created by the two of you to make sure you are on the same page. When I was younger, I didn't understand when people would get divorced because 'they grew apart.' But I understand how that happens if people are growing in different directions or are not communicating about what matters most to them. It often helps to have a coach, someone who can facilitate conversations around how both of you envision living the next decades of your lives together. What does it look like? How much time do you want to travel? Do you want to invest in a second home? Do your children and grandchildren live close or far away? Seek Out Role Models We can learn from watching how others are living out their lives. Look for role models who are living in ways that look attractive to you. Ask yourself, 'What is it about their lives that inspire and interest me?' You may or may not know these people, but we can learn a lot from observing others. Conclusion A handbook or manual for retirement is a mix of financial preparation, personal reflection, and exploration. Retirement is often a time where we have more freedom and flexibility. You feel more secure if you plan ahead, but life can throw us some curve balls. So we need to also be flexible as life unfolds. A successful retirement is not about having a lot of money or being smart. It is about making intentional choices about how you allocate your resources of time, energy, money, and attention. It is exciting creating your own handbook for how you want to live the rest of your life. How can the rest of life be the best of life for you? What does that look like for you? Who might help you achieve this vision? There is no better time to start than now.
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
For these seniors, celebrating Valentine's isn't about Cupid. It's about good company
'I'm looking for a hookup,' deadpanned Danny Rios. Rios was sitting at a round folding table decorated with a neon heart centerpiece for Valentine's Day. In the background, seniors were getting down to Whitney Houston's 'I Want to Dance With Somebody.' 'Just kidding!' Rios, 71, burst out laughing. It was the Valentine's Day Dance for seniors at the central Hollywood location of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In the far corner of the room, arts and crafts to make valentines were laid out. Dancing hearts decorated the windows of the hall. But for many in attendance, the party was less about the loaded expectations surrounding the holiday and more about the opportunity for community and connection. 'I love to be around people,' said Rios, who is in a relationship and believes others should also find their valentine. 'Life is too short. You gotta go get somebody!' Carmelita Gabriel, 77, a staple on the dance floor who regularly commutes from Alhambra to attend the center's events, agreed. 'I met a lot of people here instead of staying home alone,' she said. 'Since I joined this center, I am so happy.' Mike Lopez, activities manager for senior services at the LGBT center, said that 'the No. 1 thing seniors say they face is isolation.' 'So, any space and community we can provide is the essence of our work,' he said. Ten minutes away, in the Fairfax District, the Pan Pacific Senior Activity Center also hosted a Valentine's Day celebration. The center just celebrated its reopening anniversary after being closed for four years during the pandemic. The Valentine's Day event — centered on card making — provided a way to draw people back in, said Monica Benyamin, the recreation facility director. 'It's just a good time to reflect and to make somebody else happy by receiving a card,' said Joan Leider, 82, a regular at PPSAC. Leider was sporting a bright pink heart necklace that she had crocheted; her dog, Bugzee Siegel, wore a sweatsuit with the word 'Sweetheart.' Leider usually makes and sends Valentine's-themed collages to dear friends and loved ones each year, but this year she decided to do something different after the recent death of her sister. 'When they said they were going to write letters, I knew that my mom and my sister were the special ones,' she said. Leider planned to write her sister a card with all 'the latest' and then frame it for herself. Leider said the community she found at the center was vital to her well-being. It's a sentiment that was echoed by many seniors. 'I have some friends who chuckle when I say I go to the senior center,' said Lloyd Wilkey, 69. And he doesn't mind the ribbing, but he values the connections he's made: 'There's some real people here and a lot of people who deserve attention.' Wilkey teared up as he explained that he proposed to his wife on Valentine's Day. The senior center, he said, has provided him with companionship in the wake of her death. 'I figured I'd sneak in, do my thing and get out, but along the way I've met these folks,' he said, gesturing to a group playing table tennis. 'I can pop through here and get a smile from somebody. I get to play with somebody. You can't imagine what that feels like.' Back at the LGBT Center, Lauren Peterson, 66, a volunteer tap dancing teacher, wowed the crowd with her sky-high battements. For Peterson, Valentine's Day had always felt 'kind of manufactured,' but she said the community she experienced at the center more than made up for it. 'When you're in a relationship, there's a little bit more pressure to step up and do something' for the holiday, she said, and 'when you have a little kid, you do something fun for them and that's less pressure.' 'Now, it's just an excuse for a party without any pressure.'
