What makes a dream retirement? 6 advisors share their visions

July 16, 2024 8:00 AM

The dream retirement means different things to different people. For one financial planner, it includes a side gig at Disney World.

The ideal retirement looks different for everyone. Financial advisors know that's true of their clients — but it's also true of the advisors themselves.

"Oh my gosh, it's such a wide variety," said Tiffany Lee, an associate exit planner at Ellevate Advisors, a firm that helps wealth managers with their succession and retirement planning.

The fun part of Lee's job, she said, is helping her clients envision what they'll do after they leave the workforce. It's an important question, because many planners are quickly approaching that transition. The average age of an American financial advisor is 56, according to a 2023 study by J.D. Power. And according to the research firm Cerulli Associates, 37.5% of advisors plan to retire within the next decade.

"I love talking about what they want to do next," Lee said. "We have them list out anything they're curious about — whether it's a bucket list item, or a lifestyle thing, or a skill they want to learn, a subject that they've always wanted to know, a language they wanted to learn."

Lee has facilitated a wide range of dream retirements. One client, an amateur pilot, has been planning out how to spend more hours in the sky. Another, a fitness buff, wants to compete in more marathons and bike races. One couple wants to roam the United States in an RV they picked out, and another wants to travel through Europe. The list goes on and on.

The common thread in all these lifestyles, Lee said, is that they give the retiree a sense of meaning and purpose — not just leisure.

"One unrealistic expectation is thinking, 'If I can live like I'm on a vacation, I'll be happy,'" she said. "And that's just not true. … It really comes down to the day-to-day life and filling that with things that are meaningful to you."

For wealth managers, what are those sources of meaning? Financial Planning asked planners across the country to describe their dream retirements. Here's what they told us:

Travel

Many Americans hope to explore the world during their golden years, and financial advisors are no different. Some already have a home base picked out for their travels.

"My dream retirement would be to settle down in Hawaii with my wife and kids," said Andrew Herzog, a wealth advisor at The Watchman Group in Plano, Texas. "I would swim, hike, read, drive a soft-top Jeep, have weekly poker nights with buddies, eat out, drink fruity tropical drinks and bounce around the other islands with my family."

When the "travel itch strikes," Herzog said, he and his family would fly to Europe and enjoy the continent by train. Others plan to not only explore Europe, but to live there.

"My dream retirement would have me spending my winter months in my vacation home in Sicily, with Mount Etna as the perfect backdrop," said Steven Calio, co-founder of CSG Financial in Dover, Delaware. "As an avid traveler, that would be a central theme in those years."

New gigs

Part-time work may not sound like retirement, but it's increasingly common among American seniors. According to one study by AARP, 26% of U.S. adults aged 50 and older do gig or freelance work.

Is that a fun way to spend one's golden years? According to many advisors, it can be — especially if it's an outlet for an interest they already had.

"My grandma was a cool lady, and when I was a teenager she was always involved in the local theater scene and local films," said Crystal McKeon, a financial advisor at TSA Wealth Management in Houston. "While I don't like speaking in front of people as much as she did, I am currently training to do some behind-the-scenes stuff to be able to work in short local films during retirement."

Matthew Payne, founder of Plan of Care Advising in Gardendale, Alabama, hopes to do some acting in another context: the Haunted Mansion ride at Disney World.

"It's always been my youngest daughter's favorite ride, and one she still has to ride with me every time we go," Payne said. "I want to spend my golden years close to those memories and be a part of creating those memories for millions of others."

The simple life

For others, the ideal retirement means something simpler, but no less luxurious: slowing down.

"My dream retirement would be to live with as much balance as I please," said Noah Damsky, founder of Marina Wealth Advisors in Los Angeles. "That means I can set my schedule across work, time with family, travel and volunteering."

For Damsky, retirement wouldn't mean ceasing all work at his firm. But it would mean stepping back enough to make time for other things that matter to him.

"Perhaps I can hire someone to replace my full-time role at my firm so I can step back in a part-time capacity or advisory role," Damsky said. "That way, I'm still involved at a strategic level, but not dealing with the day-to-day fire drills that arise when running a business."

Not everyone starts retirement with a clear plan in mind. Mike Gertsema, the former CEO of Gertsema Wealth Advisors in St. Joseph, Missouri, stepped down earlier this year. At first he didn't know what to do — he wasn't interested in travel, and he had left all his work responsibilities to his son, Nick.

"I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do," Gertsema said. "The first thing I did was I bought some old furniture, and I thought, 'OK, I'm going to refinish it and see if I like it.'"

Before he knew it, Gertsema was building Adirondack chairs, school desks, picnic tables and other furniture. Without meaning to, he had found a new hobby — and, since much of the furniture was for his grandkids, a new way to connect with his family.

"There's all these things that I'm finding that I enjoy and I never took the time for when I was working, because all I thought about was the practice and the family," Gertsema said. "I'm a different person now, because I don't have that stress."