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The Unretirement Playbook
How advisors are helping clients rediscover purpose and passion beyond retirement.
After years of guiding clients toward financial freedom, many wealth advisors are now facing a new challenge: helping those same clients return to work—not out of necessity, but to fulfill a deeper need for connection, purpose, and structure.
These clients have reached a stage where they could easily enjoy the fruits of retirement, yet find themselves craving something more—whether it's the camaraderie of a team, the satisfaction of daily routines, or the sense of worth that comes from contributing to something bigger than themselves.
For financial advisors, it’s not just managing portfolios; it’s all about coaching clients through one of life's most significant transitions and finding creative ways to get back into the game.
The Dark Shadows of Unfamiliarity
Many people dream of retiring, but the reality doesn't always align with expectations. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that roughly 30% of retirees experience a decline in happiness post-retirement. Clients' personal accounts often reveal a longing for the social interactions and intellectual stimulation their work once offered. This sudden void can leave them feeling adrift and isolated.
For those with demanding careers, work often becomes an all-consuming refuge. As psychologist Joy Lere, co-founder of Shaping Wealth, notes, "When some people are newly retired, it’s the first time they are really being alone with themselves. They may have found that over the years, work has gotten in the way of investing in personal relationships."
Much like a seasoned athlete suddenly sidelined by injury, many retirees struggle to find a new sense of purpose and fulfillment in the absence of their primary pursuit. This transition presents an opportunity for attentive financial advisors to help their clients "unretire" and find new paths of enjoyment and meaning in life.
Suzanne Schmitt, Managing Director at Next Chapter, has been studying retirement transitions for years. A critical issue that new retirees, along with their families and advisors, must address is depression. A University of Michigan study indicates that 28% of retirees struggle with depression. For many former high earners, their work was synonymous with their life. As Schmitt explains, "Now that their primary career is in the past, they realize their social network was work – and that’s now gone."
According to Schmitt, many retirees enjoy the initial "honeymoon period" of their retirement, lasting from 6 to 18 months. However, it's crucial to focus on mental and physical health once the excitement of a new, unscheduled life wears off. Schmitt advises retirees and their loved ones to be mindful of potential signs of oncoming depression, such as changes in sleep patterns, appetite, drinking habits, or self-medication.
In some cases, older adults may develop harmful substance abuse habits due to major life changes like retirement. A recent article in Psychology Today reveals that over 87% of the Medicare enrollees over 65 who reported a substance use disorder in the past year abused alcohol. Factors such as the death of a spouse, loved ones, or friends, social isolation, relocating to new living circumstances, or failing health can contribute to substance abuse in later life stages.
Schmitt advocates that retirees must build strong support networks and engage in activities that promote mental and physical health to overcome these challenges.
Fortunately, “unretiring” can be an antidote to these obstacles and financial advisors can play a crucial role in guiding retirees through these transitions, helping them create fulfilling and purposeful lives in retirement.
Connecting the Dots and Tapping into Personal Passions
For some people at the post-primary career crossroads, retirement is an opportunity to try something new. Tony Matheson, CFP®, Wealth Advisor and founder of Sacramento-based Slalom Wealth Management enjoys working with clients at the stage of life that he calls “work optional”. These clients typically retire when they want, have a plan in place, and know what they want to do next.
Matheson recently helped a client set up an LLC to start an antique shop in California. “My client had enough of the grind of teaching high school and wanted to put his energies into something he was passionate about. We set up a sample P&L and helped with the corporate structure to help launch the antiques business.”
Another client turned to Matheson for advice soon after his career ended. “Because I know this client enjoyed golf and had a very high need for social interactions, I made an introduction that led to him getting a part-time job at the Pro Shop at a local golf course. Golf is one of his passions. Now he’s enjoying the business and sales side of it, too,” explained Matheson.
It’s important for advisors to get to know clients on a deeper level, says Matheson. “Find out why they love about their current job (if still working) or enjoy doing outside of work. Then brainstorm on how they can do those things in some other capacity. I helped a client who loved fixing things around the house. In his unretirement, he’s now running a handyman business here in Sacramento – and what homeowner could not use this kind of service?,” asks Matheson.
Even though you invest in getting to know you clients, you still have to be ready for surprises, says Matheson. “Out of the blue, one of my clients bought a condo in Telluride, Colorado. The couple says it was a great deal and I think FOMO also played a role. Fortunately, they had the resources and risk capacity to handle this investment. But not all clients do, so I like to remind folks, I do financial planning, not financial emergencies.”
The Power of Building Trust over a Long Career
For 25 years, Rob Schultz, CFP®, CDFA, has worked with physicians throughout the country to provide financial advice and services from "Residency through Retirement."
But despite the prestige and financial resources, going from a position of power as a medical professional to being retired is a difficult transition period, says Schultz, Senior Partner & Wealth Manager at NWF Advisory in Encino, CA. One unretirement path he’s seen many doctors take is working for a competitor health group or hospital with a higher quality of life satisfaction. The tradeoff: they might mean not saving but enough money to cover expenses so not drawing down assets.
According to Schultz, many physicians want to keep working well into their 60s and beyond, just not at the same pace. “They’re looking for jobs that no longer require weekend work or having to take calls at night. They’re willing to take a pay cut, but hopefully by this stage, they’re saved and invested enough to create multiple retirement income streams.”
Says, Schultz, “In this business, trust is paramount. After medical school, these physicians become clients and I invest my time in them because their negative net worth (due to massive student loans for medical school and years of residency) will turn around quickly upon full-time employment. I’ve earned that trust, so when it comes to all-things-retirement, they now trust me.”
After leaving full-time positions, some doctors are using their skills in related ways, outside of direct patient care. “I have several clients who are now teaching part-time at local medical schools, consulting with emerging biotech companies, and working on direct-to-consumer products that are designed to disrupt the legacy health care system in the U.S. I’m helping these clients unretire while continuing to put their education, deep experience, and passion to work,” says Schultz.
A “Glide Path” to Retiring and Finding New Purpose in Life
According to Reed Nothwang, Wealth Advisor at Compound Planning, we as humans, all crave some sort of structure and purpose to our lives—and that’s a big challenge for his clients, many of whom were partners at large law firms in the San Francisco Bay Area. “Our careers become a huge part of our identity, and without a purpose to drive you in retirement, many of us will feel like there's something missing.”
To help clients tap into meaning and purpose, it’s important to try new things while tapping into the emotional or mental part of retiring, says Nothwang. Some law firms have a “glide path” to retirement and wealth advisors are playing a role in that transition. For example at one law firm, partners begin winding down careers at age 58. They are no longer working 60+ hour workweeks. Some become the face of the law firm, mentoring junior associates, doing speaking engagements, and serving on nonprofits boards. It can also be an opportunity to pick up a new hobby or support causes that they’re passionate about.
For example, Nothwang has a recent client who was passionate about serving teenage students from a nearby underserved community in California. The client owns a vacation home near the Yosemite National Park. He and wife run a support and hospitality program for local churches and youth organizations. They open up their large vacation home to charities several weeks a year. But they don’t just provide access to a wilderness retreat, they also cook all the meals and help mentor high school students, an expression of their passion to extend their parenting expertise.
Creating a Positive Framework
For advisors looking for practical advice, start by thinking how clients can create a positive structures in their lives, mentally and physically. According to Next Chapter’s Schmitt, cognitive health activities in retirement are important to ward off dementia. In the era continuous learning, she suggests retirement side hustles such as tutoring, substitute teaching, translation, writing, and consulting as ways to earn money while boosting brain health and mental agility.
For those still physically able, she suggest exploring part-time jobs in sports coaching or officiating, dog walking, tour guiding, or garden consulting.
Either way, most people need to tap into a process to finding passion and purpose at this stage of life, says Schmitt. “Whether you’re reigniting an old passion or finding a new one, you have to put yourself out there. That means getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks and meeting lots of new and younger people.”
Related: The Emerging Role of Lifestyle Coaches in Wealth Management