Trade rocking chair for your best life, urge Victory Lap Retirement authors

November 19, 2020

Time was, write the authors of Victory Lap Retirement, that retirement meant “a few years of passive leisure” once you had put in 35 years on the job, a short period of time in the rocking chair since most retirees in the old days “were not in robust enough health to partake in active leisure.”

Now that we are living longer and in better health, authors Mike Drak, Rob Morrison and Jonathan Chevreau think we should create a new stage of life between work and full retirement, which they are calling the “Victory Lap.”

“In your Victory Lap, you continue to work, but you have the luxury of choosing to do only work that gives you what you want. Money and security are no longer the main motivators, because achieving financial independence has finally allowed you to make a change in your priorities,” they write. So the Victory Lap, they explain, is a “period of freedom… living like a kid for as long as possible and squeezing every ounce out of life.”

The three authors say that “instrumental” factors in the quest for the Victory Lap are:

• Maintaining your physical and mental health
• Adopting a positive attitude
• Ensuring that your financial plan is aligned with your life plan

This well-thought-out book challenges some of our long-held beliefs about work and money. Why, the authors ask, do we allow ourselves to become so financially dependent on our jobs and salary? Why are we “driven into complete economic dependency through debt, new family needs and consumerism… salaries and bonuses may keep racing, but lifestyle inflation outpaces them, resulting in more consumption and more debt.” We work on, “unhappy… and suffering,” the book warns.

An escape plan, the authors suggest, is necessary. “A full-stop retirement is not the best way to go… instead, we should be focusing our efforts on making a great life while we still have the time.”

A “Victory Lap” approach frees you from the rat race, “to start over and design a new life for yourself, without being limited by your job or responsibilities to others.” Turn your paycheck “into a playcheck,” the book tells us – that’s the difference when you have financial independence. See purpose in life over money.

“In Victory Lap Retirement the goal is to achieve a simpler, more balanced lifestyle… look for work that combines personal meaning and social purpose,” the authors note.

They see two good approaches to leaving the full-time world of work. The Glidepath Strategy is for those “who like what they do, but just want to do less of it.” By working part time or casually you may be able to continue on into your seventies and eighties, the book suggests.

The other route to go is the Passion/Hobby Strategy, for those who want “to venture outside their comfort zone and take a swing for the fences.” Moving from data analytics to making custom furniture, teaching to captaining a fishing boat, or from finance to selling wine are examples, the book explains.

Save with SPP (unsurprisingly) was interested in the chapters on saving, and the book does not disappoint. Funding the Victory Lap Retirement starts with saving enough “to replace upwards of 70 to 80 per cent of your current income,” and the book recommends a gradual transition to retirement “while continuing to generate some level of active (work) income.”

This active income can be a huge help if you are not fortunate enough to have a pension from work. “The active income you earn in Your Victory Lap can function much like a pension. Even if this income stream covers only 15 to 20 per cent of your overall spending, it is a separate source of income that… lessens your dependence on your other sources.”

Think as well about your “decumulation strategy,” turning your savings into income. The book says you should think about drawing down from non-registered savings before you crack into your registered money, and of delaying the start of Canada Pension Plan and Old Age Security benefits until age 70.

The book concludes by contrasting people who lived the life of their dreams to those who laboured for decades in jobs they didn’t like, adding that few people late in life say “I wish I’d made more money” or owned more things.

This is a great, and “outside the box” way to look at life after work, one that would make a great addition to anyone’s library.

Living your dreams after work is done is a terrific goal. If you don’t have a workplace pension plan, you’ll need to rely on your own savings to fund that future. One option could be the Saskatchewan Pension Plan. You can contribute in many ways – online, through automatic deposit, and even by credit card – and the cash you contribute is carefully invested for the future. There’s even an option for employers to offer the Plan as employee benefit.  When it’s time to do new things, SPP can turn those savings into income that lasts as long as you do. Why not check out SPP today?

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Jonathan Chevreau, Mike Drak, Rob Morrison, The Glidepath Strategy, Victory Lap Retirement

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