workforce planning
Retirement: A View
from the Park Bench
By Shirley Chapman, FAHRA
“The only ones among you who will be
truly happy are those who will have sought
and found how to serve.”
—Albert Schweitzer
As you begin the new year, carrying out the
plans you submitted last year, I invite you
to create just one more. I know you are up
to “here” with paperwork, goals, and proj-
ects, but trust me. You can lighten your
load significantly with a slight shift in per-
spective and a new direction for your
future.
Whether you are in your 40s, 50s, or 60s, there is
much you can do while you are working to ensure
success when you aren’t . . . Commit your talent
and resources to your next best years.
Mission and Vision
If you’re in your 40s, you may still be moving up the career ladder and may have several steps ahead of you. Your mission is to
choose wisely and make decisions that
help nurture your spirit as well as your
intellect and pocketbook. If you’re in
your 50s, you are at or near the top of
your career ladder and you are deciding
whether to stay put or make a move before
you retire. Your mission is to discover your
passion and start to fit it into your life
now. If you’re in your 60s, you are there,
looking over that precipice, trying to time
your jump off the career path. Your mission is to create as soft a landing for yourself as possible.
In your 40s, you have a long timeline to
work with. If you want to achieve more,
then do more. If you want to reach higher,
now is the time to start. Your vision might
include more education, should include
learning all you can about your finances,
and must include what you see for yourself over the next 15 to 20 years.
In your 50s, you are aware of the years
passing and the future looming. You might
be thinking about early retirement, down-
sizing your workload, or trying something
new. These are thoughts we all have as
the days feel longer and the work seems
harder. Your vision must now be translated
to a commitment on paper; to have retire-
ment milestones coincide with your birth-
day milestones. This will always remind
you that you have a personal job to do. You
have 10 to 15 years to look ahead to—do
you have yourself on your to do list?
Strategy
No matter what your age, there are some
strategies you can employ to guarantee a successful future. This is not your parents’ retirement. You have a longer life expectancy. You
will want to do more, see more, and be more.
You may live as many years in retirement as
you did in healthcare administration.
