Discovering Your New Life

For most of your working life, someone else set the structure. The calendar did, or maybe the job did. Even on vacation, you understood what you were going back to. What retirement hands you is something most people aren't entirely prepared for: a blank calendar and the question of what to fill it with.

A 2025 Transamerica Institute survey found that 44 percent of retirees say their enjoyment of life has improved since retiring, and 41 percent report increased happiness.

The same survey found that more than 25 percent report a worse financial situation. The range of experiences is wide, and it points to something worth sitting with: retirement doesn't hand you a fulfilling life on a silver platter, so you have to think about the kind of life you want in retirement. Those who have established a financial strategy may not face these same concerns and could have the flexibility to roll with such changes, but that doesn’t mean they know what they want to do with all that extra time!¹

There's a version of retirement that looks great on paper and feels flat in practice. Projects get done, the calendar fills up, but somewhere in the middle, you ask yourself: Is this it? This is more common than people admit, and it usually has nothing to do with money. For most of your adult life, you knew who you were. Now you need a new role and a fresh set of problems to solve.

Some find that they can build a life in retirement that’s more than a simple distraction, but something that makes them feel both useful and rewarded. The hobby artist or craftsperson who started selling work and realized they'd quietly built a second career is one example. Another is a former manager who joins a nonprofit board and finds their skills, developed over decades, are exactly what the organization needed. People in these situations discover that what they have to offer really matters and can even make a difference.

Either way, we'd like to hear what you’re thinking about for your new life and discuss any areas that might require a revisit to your financial strategy. 

^{1. TransAmericaInstitute.org, December 2025}