What advice from well-meaning friends and colleagues will help you in transitioning to retirement? Well, this journalist shares the view that because every person’s retirement is different, it’s best to find your own path. As an author and journalist, Carol Hymowitz has a unique perspective on the world of work, longevity, and how some savvy employers are wising up and leveraging older workers. Recently a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center on Longevity, Carol was formerly an Editor at Large at Bloomberg, and a Senior Editor and columnist at the Wall Street Journal, where she spent most of her journalism career.

Reflections on Transitioning to Retirement and Working Longer

When you begin to contemplate how to retire, there’s no shortage of advice from well-meaning colleagues and friends. But every retirement is different. It can quickly become clear that you need to discover your own path.

In this episode of our retirement podcast, we talk with Carol Hymowitz on her observations on older workers today – and what she’s learning since retiring in 2017 and continuing to work as a freelance journalist. She shares her insights on her journey, what’s surprised her so far and how a co-worker played a role in her decision-making.

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Wise Quote:

On the Value of Experimenting in Retirement:

“I think experimenting was crucial. There was no way not to do that unless I was going to get myself into one lane and rigidly stick to that. But by experimenting, it gave me a chance to try different things out and see how I felt about it and then make changes faster. I mean going from a full-time job in one organization where your days are very structured, you pretty much have an order to what you’re doing. You have instructions about what’s expected of you (and you go to) to not having that.

It’s a big transition and the best advice I got was don’t make too many final choices or set choices quickly. Take your time to play around because it’s the only way to find out how do I really want to spend your time? And if there’s one thing that most people who hit 60 and over feel, it’s that time is precious, it’s obvious, it’s maybe a little cliche, but you do feel it. How do I want to spend my time?”

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For more on Carol Hymowitz:

The article mentioned in this episode:

Looking for a Road Map for Retirement? Good Luck With That – The Wall Street Journal (subscription)

 

Additional articles on Older Workers by Carol Hymowitz:

How Health Care Employers Are Welcoming Older Workers: And Why Other Industries May Wind Up Following Their Lead  –  Next Avenue

Retiring (Again and Again) in America – Bloomberg BusinessWeek        

 

Follow Carol Hymowitz on Twitter:

 @carolhymowitz

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Bio:

Carol Hymowitz researches, writes and speaks about the challenges and opportunities of living longer, including lengthening careers and work transitions, retirement savings, health, and lifestyle and was recently a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Center on Longevity.

She formerly was an Editor at Large at Bloomberg, where she wrote and edited award-winning stories about the longevity economy, gender, and racial inequality and global business leaders. Previously she was a Senior Editor and In the Lead management columnist at the Wall Street Journal, where she spent most of her journalism career, and she also was Editorial Director of Forbes Media’s Forbes Woman website.

She is the co-author of A History of Women in America and a contributing author of Getting Older: How We’re Coping with the Gray Areas of Aging. Carol is a board director at the Women’s Refugee Commission.