The Retirement Wisdom Podcast

Start the new year right with new habits. FREE 3 session program – 3 Fridays in January at Noon Eastern. Sign up here. __________________________ Are you ready to graduate from the grind? Then here’s your most important project: Future You. Learn more. ______________________ You’ve spent decades building a career, mastering a craft, and maybe even raising a family. But what happens when the ‘work’ stops? Do you stop creating? Or do you finally have the freedom to chase the ideas that used to visit you only in daydreams? Today, we’re joined by a father-daughter duo who turned a foggy night’s inspiration into a historical fantasy trilogy. Neil McLaughlin, a veteran of commercial real estate, and his daughter Michelle, his editor and collaborator, talk about their journey writing The Witch Hunt series and the first book Torment of the Bloodlines together. We dive into how skills from a 50-year business career can transfer to novel writing, and the surprising health benefits he discovered of the ‘author life. Whether you’re aspiring to write a book or just curious about a new adventure in your second act, this conversation includes a lot of valuable tips on reinventing yourself in retirement. ________________________ Bios Neil McLaughlin has enjoyed storytelling and writing short stories and poetry since childhood. He wrote his first book, The Witch-Hunt, in retirement after a 5 decades long career in commercial real estate. Neil is passionate about sharing his journey which serves as inspiring proof that retirement can be an opportunity to explore passions, share wisdom, and contribute meaningfully to culture and knowledge. Neil and his wife Linda enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren, travel, wine, murder mysteries, live theatre, books and boating on Lake Ontario. Michelle McLaughlin, with over 20 years of business and corporate experience, brings a wealth of knowledge and strategic insight to every project. She passionately manages the book marketing for her father Neil’s writing business. Combining her expertise in marketing and her deep appreciation for literature, she expertly promotes Neil’s work, helping to expand its reach and impact. Dedicated to blending professional acumen with family values, she thrives at the intersection of creativity, business, and community connection. ____________________________ For More on Neil and Michelle McLaughlin  The Witch Hunt (website) The Witch-Hunt (Torment of the Bloodlines Book 1) on Amazon ____________________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like Why Retirement Was Just the Beginning – Neal Lipschutz The Art of the Interesting – Lorraine Besser, PhD Edit Your Life – Elisabeth Sharp McKetta ____________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ___________________________ On the Origin Story “It started late one night about three years ago. I was staring out the window and it was a foggy evening. And I wondered, we’re all asleep at night. And I was wondering, what happens at night? The coyotes are howling and no one is walking about. What really is going on? So I imagined in my own mind a short story evolving… I had something. Maybe four or five pages. And I showed it to Michelle. And she said, Jeez, Dad, it’s kind of an interesting story. Have you ever considered writing it into a novel? And I thought, well, I never gave it any thought. But now that you mention it, it might be a good idea.” – Neil On Intergenerational Collaboration “So this isn’t the first time we had worked together. We did work together professionally in commercial real estate, but this was the first time we had worked together on a creative project, more of a passion project. And what really struck me was how much we both loved writing and creativity. My dad had written things, as I mentioned, I have written things, but we’d never worked on something collaboratively together. So this to me was really surprising because it was so much fun.  And had I known it would be this much fun, I would have suggested something sooner. The work in this case is the fun. And another point in a professional setting, especially in real estate, my dad was the mentor and I was the mentee. Whereas this was new, this is new for both of us. The editing process, the literary world is a new discovery, which is fun equally on both sides. No one is the expert in this case. We’re learning together, which I found was really refreshing.” – Michelle On Transferable Skills “I found the process of writing a novel to be very similar to what I did for a living for about 50 years. Earlier on, as we were getting ready to build something, we would hire an architect, we would hire designers and planners and tradesmen. And I found myself ironically finding the same in script writers and editors and influencers that came to the party as well. And I found that writing a novel and building a building were very, very similar. And one of the characteristics in real estate development is the attitude of patience.” – Neil 

“You are what you repeatedly do.” Start the New Year strong. Join my FREE 3 session Tiny Habits program.  Register here _________________________ What’s your most important project in 2026? Future You. Don’t wing it. Design it. Learn more here. _________________________ What happens when a financial columnist and CFP® professional suddenly becomes her mother’s caregiver? Beth Pinsker discovered that her expertise couldn’t prepare her for the relentless tenacity required to navigate Medicare mazes, fight for proper care, and manage the details of her mother’s financial life. In My Mother’s Money , a comprehensive practical and detailed resource, she shares the street-smart lessons that only come from boots-on-the-ground caregiving experience. In this conversation, you’ll learn: Why financial caregiving requires perseverance to advocate effectively for your loved ones The critical difference between big-picture finances and knowing the granular details that matter How Medicare decisions made at age 65 can create enormous consequences for caregivers years later Why humanizing your loved one to healthcare providers changes the quality of care they recei Why “stuff” is such a complicated issue and how to prepare your own estate realistically _________________________ Bio Beth Pinsker is a financial-planning columnist at MarketWatch and has been a  Certified Financial Planner™ since 2018. She won a SABEW Best in Business award in 2023 for commentary for a series of columns about caring for her mother. She turned those into a book, “My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving” (Crown Currency, November 2025). Beth was previously the launch Money Editor for Buy Side from WSJ, providing advice and service on anything having to do with how people handle their money. Prior to that, she was a personal finance columnist and editor at Reuters for eight years. She covered all aspects of financial planning and decision-making, such as retirement strategies, selecting employee benefits, and saving money. In 2018, she was part of a team that won a Front Page award for Live Online Video from the Newswomen’s Club of New York. Beth worked at Fidelity during the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, where she was an Editorial Director handling coverage of taxes and wealth strategies. She also was the editor of Walletpop.com, a personal finance website owned by AOL that launched in 2008 in the midst of the Great Recession and focused on frugality, budgeting and finding the best deals. Beth spent the first part of her career as a film critic and entertainment business reporter, writing for many publications, such as Entertainment Weekly, The Dallas Morning News, The Independent Film & Video Monthly, Variety and the New York Times. She had brief stints at “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and was an intern for “Late Night with David Letterman.” Beth has a B.A. in English from Harvard University. She is the mother of two humans and one dog and lives in Brooklyn. ______________________ For More on Beth Pinsker My Mother’s Money: A Guide to Financial Caregiving Website MarketWatch columns ______________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like Is Your House in Order? – Adam Zuckerman What Matters Most – Diane Button ______________________ I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or send me an email at joec@retirementwisdom.com _____________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. _______________________ Wise Quotes On Becoming a Financial Caregiver “I think what really matters when you’re trying to be a financial caregiver is that you pay attention to the details. Some people, most people in fact, never have the conversation with anybody that they’re caring for, their parents, aunt, uncle, whatever. Nobody knows how much money anybody has. Nobody knows what they’re spending their money on. Everybody keeps that information private. But even if you do step into the conversation, like my Mom and I stepped into it a little bit – big picture stuff. Can you afford two houses? No, we’re going to sell one. So you can’t have a summer place anymore kind of thing. When should Dad stop driving? Big picture stuff. But nobody ever gets down to the little stuff that you have to do when you fully take over for somebody. Like when I had to step in and take care of my Mom’s bills, it got down to such nitty gritty like, do you pay your electric bill on an automated schedule? Or how do you pay it otherwise? Do you mail in a check? Like nobody talks about that kind of stuff. But that is absolutely essential when you are a financial caregiver.” On Advocacy “One of the biggest things I did with my Mom and any care setting she was in was try to humanize her for the caregivers. They needed to see her as a person who was functional.  Now, because they all they saw was a little frail old lady who was out of it most of the time, they just assumed she had cognitive decline or dementia and they weren’t trying to get her back to any sort of baseline. And so what I did was primarily showed them like, Oh, isn’t this funny? I saw this video I took two weeks ago on my phone of my Mom playing Scrabble with us. You know my Mom was fine. And then she wasn’t and they just thought that she was always like she was in the hospital. And so to fight for services and fight for what you what you need out of them with an with a person who’s sick and aging is to constantly humanize them so that people in the medical industry want to help them.” On What To Do First “You need to make sure that you have the proper documents to help somebody. We are all legal adults and nobody can help us with certain things unless they have the proper authorization.  That’s a durable power of attorney, a healthcare proxy and some kind of will or trust for after the person dies plus beneficiary designations. You need to secure the person’s phone because so much today is run,  through our phones and if you don’t have the passcode, you’re going to hit a brick wall of no – and the brick wall of no is unmovable. So you need to secure that phone. You need two factor authentication. You need to know what banking apps, and you need to just know what’s in a person’s phone. Those are the two main important things. But the last thing is even more consequential. You need to know what the person wants. Their wishes matter. Having a conversation about what they want and what you’re able to do is absolutely essential both for your mental health, your wellbeing and for how much money you can spend on any particular thing. You just have to know what page everybody’s on.”

Tom Marks, a veteran advertising executive and author, discusses redefining retirement away from conventional imagery. He shares his personal journey from a high-pressure career to discovering happiness post-retirement. Marks highlights the importance of individuality in retirement, the concept of 'mulligans' for mistakes, and stepping off the 'hedonic treadmill.' He emphasizes the power of new passions, daily gratitude practices, and repurposing skills for a fulfilling life beyond work.

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January 2026 is coming soon. Is It Time to Design What’s Next?. Learn more and sign up today Early registration discount ends 12/15 “Now I know what I’m retiring to.” _________________________ What if everything you’ve been chasing in your full-time working years—the promotion, the bigger paycheck—hasn’t been leading you toward the life you really want? Today’s guest, Jon Rosemberg, knows this tension firsthand. After 25 years of climbing the corporate ladder and finally “making it”, he found himself in a heated Zoom call, heart racing, feeling trapped—until a moment with his kids playing Legos changed everything. Within two weeks, he left his job, went back to school, and wrote A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning, a roadmap for moving from survival mode to genuine fulfillment. In this conversation, Jon reveals the crucial difference between success and thriving, why thriving is both a choice and a skill set, why discomfort is essential for growth, and how the beliefs we carry shape every choice we make—especially as we approach retirement. If you feel stuck on the hamster wheel or are wondering what comes next, this episode offers a fresh lens on what it means to truly thrive. Are you in Survival Mode? Take Jon’s quiz Jon Rosemberg joins us from Toronto. ___________________________ Bio Jon Rosemberg empowers leaders and organizations to shift from survival mode into thriving. With 20+ years of expertise in leadership development, coaching, organizational transformation, and workplace culture, Jon combines real-world business insight with cutting-edge research to help people reclaim their agency and find meaning. Jon has successfully led high-impact initiatives at Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Indigo, and GoBolt. He holds an MBA from Cornell University, a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and advanced certifications in leadership, coaching, and complex negotiations. As CEO of Strongpoint Group and co-founder of Anther, Jon guides individuals through powerful personal transformation with clarity and confidence. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Jon’s journey to thriving has taken him from New York and Montreal to Toronto, where he lives with his wife, Adriana, and their two sons. _____________________________ For More on Jon Rosemberg A Guide to Thriving: The Science Behind Breaking Old Patterns, Reclaiming Your Agency, and Finding Meaning Website LinkedIn ______________________________ I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or send me an email at joec@retirementwisdom.com ______________________________ Podcast Episodes You May Like The New Happy – Stephanie Harrison Living Like You Mean It – Jodi Wellman Everyday Vitality – Dr. Samantha Boardman ________________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ______________________________ Wise Quotes On Surviving versus Thriving “You feel like you’re putting out fires, like you’re just moving from one thing to the next. And it’s very hard to see a lot of options. So that’s a really good way to define survival mode.  Now let’s try and define what thriving is not. And I think what thriving is not is success. And we’ve often confused thriving with success. I would say success is often measured by money, status, and power. These are three things that we’re all very familiar with, especially because we live in a system that it’s meant to help us be successful. I’m sure many of your listeners experience most of their lives trying to accomplish these extrinsic motivators that are the success motivators, money, power, and status. Thriving on the other hand is a little bit different. Thriving is about agency, meaning, and connection. And when I mean connection, I mean human connection, connecting with other people. Those are kind of like the three big intrinsic motivators of thriving.” On Agency “Agency is a skill. It’s not an innate thing that we’re born with. It’s something that we develop. It’s like going to the gym, like doing strength training to get more muscles. Agency is also a developed skill. And as I went deep into the research, I found three things that kept coming up and I synthesized them in an acronym, which is AIR, A-I-R, which stands for Awareness, Inquiry, and Reframing.” On Negativity – and Hope “We find ourselves today, because we’re surrounded by so much negative information and constantly bombarded by negative information, we tend to our negativity bias, which is this kind of survival mechanism. And by the way, every second we’re exposed to about 10 million, between 10 million and a hundred million stimuli. Every second we’re exposed, and only about 10 to 50 of those make it into our conscious awareness. And of those 10 to 50, not 10 or 10 to 50,000, just 10 to 50 of those bits of information actually make it into our conscious awareness. And of those, the ratio is about, by some estimates, nine to one of negative to positive. So what I’m suggesting with this idea of positive prospection is hope, really. It’s this idea that if we can be hopeful about the future, then we can create that future. If we give up and there’s no hope, then it’s very difficult. If we’re in that hopeless state, which is very much correlated to survival mode, then it’s much harder to do that.”

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January Retirement by Design: Create a meaningful roadmap for what’s next. Early registration discount ends 12/15 Limited to 10 spots per group Learn more and sign up today  __________________________ Should you hire a Financial Advisor or do-it-yourself ? Glenn Frank rejoins us with some food for thought. __________________________ Just Asking for a Friend… Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question (for a friend, of course…) to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com _____________________ Bio Glenn Frank is the author of Your Encore: Retirement Planning Guide – How to Balance Time, Money and Joy. He was named 2019 Financial Planner of the Year in Massachusetts and one of the top financial advisors in the country for 10 straight years by Worth.   Professor Glenn Frank is a partner at https://www.frankandflanagan.com . Glenn’s college teaching experience is extensive. Since 1985 he has taught a large variety of courses in investments, taxes and financial planning. Glenn was the Founding Director of the Master of Personal Financial Planning program at Bentley University. He has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, Financial Planning, The Boston Globe,  and various other media outlets. _________________________ For More on Glenn Frank Current monthly workshops: “DIY or Advisor”, “How to Build a Lifetime Portfolio” and “Finding a Balance between Time, Money and Joy”. Links can be found at Time, Money and Joy.com (no registration required, extensive slides and resources provided). _________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like How to Prepare Mentally for Life After Work – Joseph Maugeri The Purpose Code – Dr. Jordan Grumet The Good Life – Marc Schulz, PhD ________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. _________________________ The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters. ________________________

Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January Your Future, Designed: Turn curiosity into action with design thinking.  Early registration discount ends 12/15 Learn more and sign up today   Limited to 10 spots per group ________________________ What does it mean to age with agility? Dr. Michelle Pannor Silver, University of Toronto professor and author of Aging with Agility: How Elite Athletes and Ordinary Folks Embrace Exercise with Age , rejoins us and shares what she discovered after studying everyone from retired Olympians to octogenarians in their best shape ever. Her core messages may flip your assumptions about aging, exercise, and body image. You’ll hear how elite athletes taught her about the power—and pitfalls—of lifelong discipline; why negative role models can be surprisingly motivating; and how small, practical habits like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand can strengthen both your body and your brain. If you want to thrive as you age, her insights will inform and inspire you. Michelle Pannor Silver joins us from Toronto. ________________________ Bio Michelle Pannor Silver is a Professor at the University of Toronto and author of numerous studies on aging. Her first book, Retirement and Its Discontents, draws from in-depth interviews she conducted with people whose departure from their life’s work meant losing a core and fundamental component of their personal identity. Her second book, Aging with Agility examines how our perceptions of aging shape the way we take care of our bodies. Her work calls attention to ageism and societal loss while highlighting the personal struggles that can be arise when there is a mismatch between personal identity and social expectations about age. Michelle received her PhD from the University of Chicago and completed undergraduate degrees at the University of California Berkeley. ________________________ For More on Michelle Pannor Silver Aging with Agility: How Elite Athletes and Ordinary Folks Embrace Exercise with Age Website __________________ Michelle Pannor Silver’s Previous Visits If You Love Your Work, What Challenges Will You Face in Retirement? – Michelle Pannor Silver The Retirement Roundtable III __________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Stress Paradox – Sharon Bergquist, MD The Benefits of a New Challenge – Joe Simonetta The Joy of Movement – Kelly McGonigal _________________________ I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question (for a friend, of course…) to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com _______________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ________________________ Wise Quotes On Aging with Agility “Aging with agility means understanding, accepting, embracing, and taking care of the body that you have. And by understanding, I mean understanding that that body will change and that your job is to keep up with that body and to understand that you’re probably going to live longer than you think. And the goal is to carve out ways to live and to thrive. That’s aging with agility.” On the Value of Negative Role Models “…learn to adapt to your body, that that was another real takeaway, was just that it’s a journey. It’s a process to find that acceptance and then to use it to help yourself thrive. So, we all have different perceptions about aging. And I think that’s really important to acknowledge, not just gender differences, but, women have different perceptions about aging from men. There’s a ton of heterogeneity in the way that people perceive aging and the ways that that impacts them. And one really interesting takeaway, I think, is this idea that negative role models can be really strong.” On Learning to Anticipate “…learning how to anticipate that there are things that we all inevitably will do. We will all fall if we’re able-bodied enough to be walking. Those of us who are not able-bodied enough to walk, there’s other ways that we need to think about things, but we will all fall. And to think about how to, how to do that in ways that we’re not going to like hurt ourselves before we need to unnecessarily. But I think that was another practical lesson is thinking about, not fearing what’s going to come next, but finding ways to anticipate that changes are coming. And there are practical ways that we can mentally, compartmentalize and mentally prepare ourselves in ways that are optimal that are going to help us embrace those changes better. And then there’s also physical things that we can do, depending on what our abilities are.” On the 80/20 Rule “So we’re talking Pareto principle, so the idea is that like 20% of the peapods generated 80% of the peas. So the idea is identify what is most important to you. Is it not falling? Is it looking a certain way? Is it being able to move with more capacity? And I think the idea is you want to, so like, most our outcomes, they come from a small number of causes, and a small number of actions. So to be efficient, I think part of that is filtering out all the extra noise, all the ideas from society that at X age, you need to look a certain way.” _________________________ The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters.

I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many tough questions. Share your question (for a friend, of course…) to be answered in an upcoming retirement podcast episode. Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com — What really makes for a successful retirement? Financial readiness is only part of the story. After decades in the financial planning world, Joseph Maugeri, a CFP professional and former executive at the CFP Board,  knew what to expect. But when he stepped into retirement himself, he was surprised by  the mental and emotional transition to retirement. In this episode, Joseph shares the lessons he’s learned firsthand—what surprised him, what helped him adjust, and the SHELF framework he built to stay balanced and purposeful in retirement. If you’re planning your own transition or supporting someone who is, Joseph’s insights will help you navigate it with more confidence, patience, and optimism. Joseph Maugeri joins us from Pennsylvania. ___________________________ Bio Joseph V. Maugeri, CFP®  joined the CFP Board in 2011. Prior to his retirement, he was the Managing Director, Corporate Relations, focused on continuing to strengthen and enhance the organization’s connections within the financial services industry. His responsibilities include the growth of CFP® professionals among all channels, marketing initiatives, product development and membership on the Executive Leadership Team. Prior to his appointment at CFP Board, Maugeri was a Vice President and head of the Professional Alliance program at Merrill Lynch; a Director at SEI Investments, Inc., leading its marketing and distribution support services; and worked for more than 14 years as a financial advisor at AXA Advisors, LLC.  He received his Bachelor of Arts from Temple University, an M.S. in Leadership Studies from Northeastern University and has completed a Competitive Marketing Strategy Executive Education program at the Wharton School of Business. __________________________ Two New Designing Your Life groups kicking off in January Early registration discount ends 12/15 Learn more and sign up today  Limited to 10 spots per group __________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Inspired Retirement – Nathalie Martin Retiring: Creating a Life That Works for You – Teresa Amabile The Balancing Act in Retirement – Stew Friedman ___________________________ Mentioned in This Episode Let’s Make a Plan – Find Your CFP®  Professional ___________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ___________________________ Wise Quotes On Resilience & Retirement “People who retire well, I believe, are also resilient. They have handled setbacks in their life and they know and expect that not everything will go perfectly, but their ability to handle and recover from setbacks helps them bounce back. The people who struggle in retirement are in many ways the opposite. They maybe haven’t had time to think or plan about retirement and they may have a failure of imagination about the possibilities, and they also may not have the emotional traits that help them through some of the changes in variable setbacks that they’re going to encounter. They know retirement will be a big change, but they’re unsure how they’ll handle the change and they may not be seeing the upside and opportunities they will have. People in many ways are strangers to themselves. Retirement’s a way that we’re forced to confront who we are and what we’re going to do with the remainder of our lives.” On The SHELF Framework “A few months into my retirement, I realized I needed some structure, something to help me stay focused on the right things each week. I wasn’t looking for a formula for happiness or purpose, those are kind of abstract, and I felt those are more outcomes that take time to achieve. I wanted something more like a roadmap to follow that hopefully leads to those outcomes, if that’s makes sense. And that’s how the SHELF framework came about. It’s something I can pull off the shelf whenever I need to get balance in my life. So,  the S is for socialization. There’s a large body of research that says that socialization can improve your mental and physical health and may even help you live longer. So I make it a point to stay connected, keep in touch with former colleagues… And the second part of the acronym is Health,  I think this is pretty straightforward. We can live 25 or 30 years in retirement. It’s not like it was 100 years ago. So staying active is key. And that means regular exercise eating better, periodic checkups, good health, gives you more energy and it keeps you exploring the world, the future self. E is for Experience. We love to travel, and a couple of months ago,, we made a trip to the Canadian Rockies, which was stunning. But experiences don’t have to be big trips, it can be a concert, a movie, a dinner with friends or family, which also gets you points for socialization. And your goal is to keep adding those moments of awe and joy to your life. And those little moments are important. L is for learning. I’ve always believed in lifelong learning, it keeps your mind sharp and your curiosity alive. In addition to the classes, my wife and I take, we’re also enjoying reading, going to a lecture, and  I joined a book club. She’s joined one as well. So that’s important. And then the last is F and that’s Finance –  my career for the CFP Board,  I can’t forget finances. If they’re managed well could be something that really gives you mental well being. When you don’t have enough to retire, it’s a stressor. So, having a plan you trust, brings peace of mind. We work with a financial advisor and it helps us feel secure and allows us to focus, you know, more on living than wearing. So that’s my SHELF system. It’s not complicated. But it’s something I put together and it helps me check in on what really matters. staying connected, health, curiosity, and being grounded. Everyone’s vision I think will look a little different, but for me, it’s been a simple and practical way to stay balanced in retirement.” On Selecting a CFP® Professional “The CFP Board has a great website, where you can search for CFP® Professionals and filter based on various criteria. It’s a good place to start: cfp.net. But advisors are also required to supply disclosures that answer many questions. But it’s always good to hear it in the advisor’s own words. So, you know, once you meet with an advisor, I think there’s four key questions I’d recommend asking. The first one is, what’s your financial planning process? Will you create a written plan? How often will we review or update it? The second would be what areas do you cover and not cover? Sometimes that’s a surprise to clients. Do you include taxes? Really important in retirement planning, estate planning, or employee benefits, or do you focus mainly on the investments? So the third would be, how do you get paid? This is an uncomfortable question. Many people do not like to ask, but it’s an important one. Yes, the disclosures will have it. But for the average person, understanding these disclosures could be they’re written by lawyers and it’s very difficult to understand. So have the advisor explain how they get paid and make sure you understand, you know, when they charge, you know, whether they charge asset based fees, commissions, flat fees, or a combination. And then I guess the last question would be CFP professionals are required to act as a fiduciary. Sothe CFP professionals, should be able to articulate and clearly explain what that means in practice. So understanding that, what differentiates me and what it means to be a fiduciary. So if you get thoughtful, transparent, and I think detailed answers to these questions, you’ll have a good sense of whether that advisor is the right fit for you.” ___________________________ The views and opinions expressed by guests on The Retirement Wisdom Podcast are solely those of the guests and do not reflect the opinion of the host or Retirement Wisdom, LLC. The Retirement Wisdom Podcast primarily covers the non-financial aspects of retirement. From time to time we may invite guests who discuss other aspects of retirement planning, solely for educational purposes. Listeners are advised to consult qualified financial and/or medical professionals on those matters.

What if your brain’s health in retirement depended as much on who you see as on what you eat or how you move? Neuroscientist Dr. Ben Rein, author of  the new book Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection, joins us to reveal how social connection shapes your brain. He explains why isolation is as toxic as chronic stress, how friendship fuels brain resilience, and why your dog might be one of your best wellness allies. In this e, ye-opening conversation, you’ll learn how staying socially engaged literally protects your brain from decline, the science behind “nature’s medicine” — oxytocin — and practical ways to rewire your social habits for longevity, joy, and emotional well-being. If you’ve ever wondered why friendships matter more than ever in retirement, this episode will change the way you think about your brain — and your calendar. You’ll learn: Why social interaction is a fundamental pillar of brain health, as critical as sleep and nutrition – and what happens when we don’t get enough of it The invisible pattern of retirement isolation: how time spent alone steadily increases while connections with coworkers, friends, and family decline simultaneously Why text-based communication doesn’t satisfy your brain’s need for connection (and what to do instead to restore the social cues your brain craves) The surprising neuroscience behind why dogs are so good for us—and how they activate the same brain reward systems as human connection Two scientifically-proven exercises you can start today to train your empathy and strengthen the brain regions associated with compassion and social connection Ben Rein joins us from Buffalo, New York. ____________________________ Bio Ben Rein, PhD, is an award-winning neuroscientist, chief science officer of the Mind Science Foundation, adjunct lecturer at Stanford University, clinical assistant professor at SUNY Buffalo, and a renowned science educator. Dr. Rein’s research focuses on the neuroscience of social interactions, and outside of the lab he teaches neuroscience to an audience of more than one million social media followers. Dr. Rein and his research have been featured on major media outlets including Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, and he has received awards from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the Society for Neuroscience; and elsewhere. _____________________________ For More on Ben Rein Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection Website You Tube Channel ______________________________ Mentioned in this Podcast Loving Kindness Meditation Affect Dyad excercise ______________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like Our New Social Life – Natalie Kerr & Jaime Kurtz The Laws of Connection – David Robson The Self-Healing Mind – Gregory Scott Brown, M.D _______________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ___________________________ Wise Quotes On Why Social Interaction is Essential “As a social neuroscientist, so I have spent a decade studying the biology of our interactions and not just in my own studies, but in reading a ton of literature, there is so much science out there on this. Basically, interacting is really, I consider it a fundamental pillar of wellbeing. And that goes for throughout the entire lifespan. But I think there are especially sensitive periods where we really need interaction. And that is early life. And that is also late life. In early life, it really shapes the development of our brains. And in late life, it sustains the health of our brains.” On the Hidden Crisis of Retirement Isolation “The data show that as we get older, the number of hours we spend alone continues to rise. And similarly, imagine if the amount of fast food you ate went up steadily as you got older, or the amount of hours you slept went down steadily as you got older. We would be pointing at this and saying, oh gosh, this is really not bad. 75 year old people are not sleeping. They are eating fast food. This is super bad for their health, but we are not really looking at the social component of it. And that is why I really point to it and say this is something that actually I think has to be a need-to-have because it is really significant for the brain and body.” On the Nightmare That Changed His Life “That was the first time where I realized I am interested in the organ behind the behavior. I mean, what incredible computational power to be able to do that, that same computational power is behind all those behaviors that I am interested in from a psychology viewpoint. I cannot ignore this anymore. I need to change my major. And I did. And what is funny is the reason I shared the story of The Nightmare is because I actually think it reflects my brain playing out an undesirable future where I do not listen to that inner voice. And I end up in a career that controls me and does not let me do what I want. And I feel distorted. My identity is distorted. And I think that was sort of my subconscious trying to tell me, wake up. It is the brain. Study neuroscience.”

In this captivating discussion, Dr. Susan Reid, an award-winning vision expert and retired university professor, explores the transformative journey of re-visioning retirement. After an unexpected realization of feeling adrift post-retirement, she delves into crafting a meaningful life ahead. Susan highlights the importance of ongoing purpose, the dangers of loss aversion, and shares essential components of an effective vision. She also discusses the benefits of maintaining work in retirement and the societal impact of re-visioning this phase of life.

I’m Just Asking for a Friend Retirement brings so many questions! Share yours (for a friend….) Click here to leave a voice message or email me at joec@retirementwisdom.com ____________________________ What does it mean to live life fully — without any unfinished business? Today’s guest, Diane Button, knows the answer. As a compassionate end-of-life doula and author of What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living, she’s spent years walking beside people at the end of life — and she’s learned lessons that help all of us live more fully right now. In this podcast conversation, Diane shares what she’s learned about forgiveness, gratitude and legacy — and how each of us can create peace long before the final chapter. You’ll hear touching stories of regret, reconciliation, and joy — including how one man’s “joy counter” became a simple but profound reminder to notice beauty in everyday moments. If you’ve ever wondered how to live more intentionally, strengthen your relationships, and make sure nothing important is left unsaid — this episode will move you, inspire you, and change how you think about how you want to use your time. Diane Button joins us from California. ________________________ Bio Diane Button is a founding partner of the Bay Area End-of-Life Doula Alliance in Northern California, a frequent podcast guest, and best-selling author of several books related to end-of-life, meaningful living, and the growing impact of death doulas worldwide. She is an instructor at the University of Vermont’s End-of-Life Doula Certificate Program and was a former board member of the National End-of-Life Doula Alliance (NEDA). She holds a master’s in counseling psychology from Goddard College in Vermont. Her master’s thesis, The Components of a Meaningful Life, became the genesis for her life’s work of supporting people to find meaning, comfort, joy, and peace in life and in death. Diane’s best-selling books have been featured on numerous programs and podcasts, inspiring others to leave a meaningful legacy. Her other books include the best-selling titles Dear Death: Finding Meaning in Life, Peace in Death, and Joy in an Ordinary Day which combines the insights gained from her research on “The Four Pillars of a Meaningful Life,” with over a decade working with hospice and doula clients in their final days and The Doula Tool Kit: The Complete Practical Guide for End-of-Life Doulas & Caregivers, which was co-authored by Angela Shook and Gabby Jimenez. In October of 2022, during the pandemic, Diane wrote an article that went viral article for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper that remains widely-read and one of their most popular articles. What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living is her latest book, written at the invitation of Maria Shriver and published by Penguin Random House. Diane is also a breast cancer survivor. Immediately following her diagnosis of breast cancer at 48, Diane and her young children established the nonprofit Dream of a Better World. Through grassroots fundraisers and local events, they have supported underserved children and families around the world. Their motto is: “You’re never too young or too old to make a difference!” _________________________ For More on Diane Button Website What Matters Most: Lessons the Dying Teach Us About Living __________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Well-Lived Life – Dr. Gladys McGarey Live Life in Crescendo – Cynthia Covey Haller The Inspired Retirement – Nathalie Martin __________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You’ll get smarter about the investment decisions you’ll make about the most important asset you’ll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master’s degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. __________________________ Wise Quotes On What Matters Most “Death is just one day. All the other days are for living fully.” On Unfinished Business “Just being in the moment, which means pausing which means looking people in the eye, which means having deep conversations…not being afraid to say how I feel to have to live my life with a clean slate – so that I don’t walk around carrying unfinished business with people. More than anything, I say I’m sorry. I say I love you. I say thank you. I show up for my friends and people in my life so that if this were my last day everybody knows that I love them and everybody knows that I’m sorry for the things that I’ve done. I think it’s really important because if we don’t say the words now they build up and at the end of life it can be just so excruciating to watch somebody who hasn’t healed something from their past scrambling to get it done at the end of life. So I think I’ve learned that lesson and I really try to stay on top of that.” On Joy “The real beauty of life lies in the simplicity of an ordinary day — the coffee on the porch, the laughter, the quiet moments. That’s where joy lives.”