What would it look like if you went to a permanent four-day work week? Would you have better life balance? Reduced fatigue? More time for your family? What if you worked for more years but with greater flexibility?  

What would it look like if you worked among people aged 20 to 70? Would you finally realize that age diversity is good for economic growth and your bottom line? 

What would it look like if you did the math to take a month-long sabbatical (planned a year in advance) and embarked on a “vocation vacation” in which you took intensive credentialing to plan your next career?  What if you learned and credentialed throughout your entire life? 

Balance, do-overs, and continuous reinvention are all built-in features of the “New Map of Life” initiative from the Stanford Center for Longevity. Launched in 2018 and reported in 2022, the New Map of Life helps us make sense of the opportunity provided by a 100-year lifespan. Maybe it’s a failure of marketing, but not enough people are paying attention. Yet, this is important and affects everyone.   

 It affects our children and grandchildren who, barring unforeseen health considerations, are certainly expected to live to 100. But it affects us too, the women who will live far longer than we anticipated and who need to make our healthspans–and our wealth–last. (Actuarially, the current average lifespan in the U.S. of a 50-year-old woman is 82. However, the average lifespan of a 65-year-old woman is 87. That means 50% of us will live longer than 87. That’s a lot of Bubbies, no?) 

Our anticipation of doom and gloom in the face of our own longevity is a collective failure of creativity.  The fact of the matter is, there are myriad examples of thriving older women.  They just don’t get the media coverage (or didn’t until they started Instagram and TikTok accounts) of youth. 

Longevity doesn’t have to be the “crisis narrative” the media makes it out to be. We can enhance the quality of our second 50 years. And in turn, what we do with that second half will role model behavior for future generations. A 100-year life, says the report, should not have a static view of aging.  And we can redesign institutions and #Losethe20thCenturyThinking to establish new norms and better ways to thrive. 

As I’ve written in How Much Runway Do We Really Have?, the most productive thing we can do is stop viewing ourselves as deteriorating assets.  Our value as humans increases as we invest in our health, our skills and as we continue to save for our later years. 

At the same time, we can’t stay in the workforce if we’re making ourselves sick for lack of self-care.  So, while we’re on our way to our final big career push, let’s rethink how we approach work. And just maybe the result will enable us to earn longer, avoid spending down too soon, and provide rewarding community and purpose. 

Among the principles articulated in The New Map of Life, one of the most compelling is that life transitions–the ability to double-back and have a do-over–are baked into the pie. Our three-phase life (education, work, retirement) gives way to something flexible, personalized, and free of judgment. Well, isn’t that already the way many women experience life, except for the damned judgment? Aren’t we already going in and out of the workforce, education, caregiving, etc.? It doesn’t sound radical to codify, finally, what we’ve been doing anyway.  

I’ve altered my work trajectory three times: once on an extended sabbatical and twice to change careers, including re-credentialing myself. While that all sounds “empowered,” it’s important to note that my sabbatical at age 44 came about because I recognized that staying the course would have been too great a personal health risk.  What’s more, because I had little guidance, I struggled in isolation. 

But what if transitions lost their stigma? What if transitions were celebrated, just like we celebrate graduations? We need to be more fluid in how we treat milestones. We need to offer up more grace for ourselves as we veer from the old 20th Century path.  

We also need the will to redesign our existing vocations to better support our lives rather than forcing our lives to support our work, unless our work is truly our passion. And that brings me back to where I started: What would it look like if you designed a #StepAwayCareer, something that removed you from the grind, but still produced income and felt rewarding? 

Your step-away career doesn’t need to be a dramatic change. But what if it had fewer–or more flexible–hours? What if it didn’t involve a commute? Could you stay in the workforce long enough to fund your retirement if the workforce were just a little more supportive of you? 

Have you asked for any of this? 

The Stanford report is inspiring, giving us permission to live our lives differently.  However, it does NOT address our potential to fail if we don’t have a financial plan to get what we want. I was well funded for my sabbatical and for all my career changes. We need to be practical and use our F*** You Funds wisely, and frame them with a business plan to make our career and life moves successful. 

We also need updated financial infrastructure, policies and products that enable us to save and spend throughout our lives and not just build a single, giant “pot” for retirement. To that end, we can help ourselves and NOT wait for the government to fix our financial safety net. Here’s my recommendation: Tell your daughters (although you can also do this at any age) that a Roth IRA* is a fantastic vehicle for multi-purpose savings. What many people don’t realize is that, after five years, the principal (the amount of contributions) can be distributed without the 10% tax penalty for being under 59 ½.    

What would a new map of savings look like? 

In the above example, a single Roth IRA account that’s funded early pays for a house downpayment, education, and retirement.  But there are no limits to how creatively you can use that type of account. Of course, it helps if you fund it early so that you get more doublings of your money in the market. 

Nevertheless, at 50, there’s still time for you to fund a Roth IRA up to $16,000 per year ($7,000/year for both you and your spouse, plus a $1,000 catch-up). If you do that for five years and let it percolate for 20 more, you’ll have an extra $320,000 (rounded) at age 70.  

That’s quite a do-over.  
#WeRescueOurselves #Onlytoolateifyoudontstartnow    

Reading:  
Stanford Center on Longevity: The 100-Year Life is Here.  We’re not Ready
The Atlantic : The Future is a 60-Year Career
Reid Hoffman on the Future or 9 to 5 Jobs: A Shift in Perspective

*Roth IRA contributions are subject to income limitations 

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Copyright © Madrina Molly, LLC 2024. All rights reserved.

The information contained herein and shared by Madrina Molly™ constitutes financial education and not investment or financial advice

Sherry Finkel Murphy, CFP®, RICP®, ChFC®, is the Founder and CEO of Madrina Molly, LLC.

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