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AARP

Q&A: How to have the best retirement possible

Nanci Hellmich
USA TODAY
Jo Ann Jenkins, the new CEO of AARP, recommends that people over 50 keep their minds open to all the possibilities ahead of them.

WASHINGTON — Jo Ann Jenkins, 56, the new CEO of AARP, has some simple advice for retirees: "Take advantage and use this time in your life to do something that is important to you, that is purposeful and meaningful, that uses the skill you have developed during your work life." And keep on learning, especially technology skills, she says.

AARP, which has nearly 38 million members, ages 50 and older, advocates and lobbies for its members. Jenkins has held several executive positions with the group, including president of AARP Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization.

USA TODAY retirement reporter Nanci Hellmich talked with Jenkins about retirement issues:

Q: What are some of the biggest challenges facing people 50 and older?

A: We see three simple areas: health security, financial resilience and personal fulfillment. We like to call it health, wealth and self. How do we get people to focus on those three areas of their life so they can live life to the fullest?

I often hear people talk about, "Oh I can't wait to retire," but we have to make sure they're prepared to retire. We want them to be as healthy as possible because we know that most people over the age of 50 are likely to live some 30-plus more years. We have to be prepared financially. We have to find purpose and meaning in what we are going to do post-retirement, so that we don't fall into this whole issue of isolation and loneliness.

Q: What is the third stage of life?

A: We call the third stage of life the age of possibilities. It used to be it was adolescence, work and retirement, and now people are looking for this whole new phase of life.

As you become older — in your post-50 years — it's a time to find real meaning and purpose, to do something that you have a passion about doing.

Not everybody can retire. And some people are forced into retirement. We like to say whether it's pushed by pain or pulled by possibilities, we need to create the atmosphere and learning experiences so people can live their best life.

Q: What advice do you have for people who want to work until they are 65 and older?

A: Of our (nearly) 38 million members, some 40% are still in the workplace. That number is growing higher every day. Much of the work that we do at AARP is around how do we make sure that all of us are ready for retirement, but particularly those who are less fortunate and more vulnerable. There's a large group of people who depend on Social Security as their sole means of income in retirement, and we know in today's market that's not enough.

So how do we get people to reimagine what they are going to do? We launched, a couple of years ago Life Reimagined (lifereimagined.org) to help people reimagine what they do in their post-50 years, whether that's in the workplace, volunteering or whatever they find as fulfillment.

Retirement is really changing. Many people don't want to retire, or even if they stop working, they are not staying at home. They are volunteering; they're traveling; they're running for office; they're being socially engaged in their communities.

Q: What's your best advice for "pretirees"?

A: Plan. Make sure you are thinking through, "Can I live for 30 or 40 years on what I have saved?" They need to think about what they want to do during this age of possibilities, this stage of life that's occurring post-work that is probably going to be 20 to 30 years.

Q: What special challenges do women face?

A: One of the biggest is caregiving. Two-thirds of caregivers in this country happen to be women. Most are still in the workplace, working at least 20 to 30 hours a week in addition to providing the caregiving.

Caregiving is going to be one of the biggest issues we face in this country. It is an enormous financial strain on families. The average cost of caring for someone in a nursing facility is $85,000 a year.

Women are likely the ones who are going to have the least amount saved in the post-retirement years. So it's important that women plan their retirement in their employer savings plans and saving on their own, because we need them to be secure.

Q: What can be done to avoid loneliness and isolation?

A: We know that people who are isolated or lonely are more likely to have a range of health risks, including high blood pressure, and may suffer from depression, so we need to make sure people who are 50 and older are connected in some way.

One of our solutions is how we teach people to use technology, whether it is going online to learn more about your family's health needs or staying in touch with children, grandchildren and friends. So we have a program called AARP TEK (Technology Education and Knowledge) which is really teaching people 50 and older how to use modern-day technology. It has been an enormous success.

So many of our members tell us they want to use technology, but they are embarrassed to ask how to do it. One of our members was giving the example that her 3-year-old granddaughter was actually showing her how to take the picture on one of the devices.

We are conducting workshops all around the country. We get younger people to work with older people. It not only addresses the isolation issue, but it addresses the technology issue. So many times we see that those people stay connected after the workshop.

AARP CEO: Take advantage of this time of your life to do something meaningful.
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