MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Your 401(k) Isn’t Enough: To Invest for Retirement, Build Friendships and Hobbies

Five takeaways:

1. This piece is a valuable reminder that retirement planning is far more than 401k contributions. We must consciously cultivate habits, hobbies, and relationships that will make retirement rewarding.
2. A long running Harvard Study of Adult Development, which has tracked Harvard grads in adulthood since 1938, surprised researchers by showing that the greatest predictor of happiness in retirement is not to be found in health measurements like cholesterol or financial metrics like financial savings. It is in the presence of meaningful lifelong relationships.
3. There is every reason in the world to neglect friendships during middle age: the demands of raising children or caring for aging parents while navigating careers, and so much more. But it is this period where concerted effort to maintain friendships is the most important.
4. Tergesen says that making lists of what gives one meaning can unearth hobbies and areas of development to focus on as we approach retirement.
5. When viewed together, friendships and hobbies give life purpose, especially in retirement’s newfound absence of time spent developing one’s career.

From Anne Tergesen at The Wall Street Journal:

Read the whole story.

Note: At the time of this posting The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to read this article.