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Visit the Social Security Administration In Your Community

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lunchbox for retirement fund tips in addition to Social Security benefits at lunch counter

There is an official day for nearly everything and today is no exception – August 14 is Social Security Day. 

As a human resources professional, I attend a few conferences each year. One of them is the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) annual conference. This year’s event was in Las Vegas which is still one of my favorite places to visit! 

Almost every conference has an expo hall of sorts and, before the event, I like to plan out my expo hall strategy. One of the organizations that I try to visit whenever they are present is the Social Security Administration (SSA). 

Now I know what some of you might be thinking. Really? Social Security? They probably have a dinky little booth tucked way back in the expo hall and they’re not giving away any good swag. And all of that would be true. But the reason I visit SSA booth is because it’s like visiting the Social Security offices without an incredibly long wait. And the people working the booth are super nice and accommodating. 

I’m not saying that visiting the local offices are a waste of time, but let’s face it, none of us want to do it. We only go there when we have to. Or, we just take care of everything online. Visiting the Social Security booth at a conference is different because I can have a proactive and helpful conversation with them.

For example, this year, I was able to pick up three small booklets on:

Retirement Benefits

Understanding Social Security Benefits

How Work Affects Your Social Security Benefits

I also received information about my Social Security online account and what I can find online about my benefits.

Would I have driven across town and waited in an office to pick these things up? We all know the answer is “no”. But I quickly and easily got them at a conference. And I was able to review them at my leisure. 

So, the next time you’re at a conference or community event and see a government agency like Social Security exhibiting, go up and chat with them. Take the information they have to offer. Then, read it! This will make you more educated about the benefits you’re going to be eligible for at some point. 

Manage Your Digital Life with These Three Tools

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Out of Print Sign digital life and technology

We recently published a list of cybersecurity resources from TechCrunch and Google. If you haven’t seen them, it’s worth checking out.

As technology continues to fill our lives, we need to find ways to manage it. I’m not talking about taking digital vacations, although establishing boundaries is a good idea. When we use technology, we open ourselves up to risk. Even when we do all the right things, it’s possible we will have personal information exposed. Today, it could make sense to evaluate whether or not you need some helpful tools to manage your digital life. Here are three tools that we’ve added to make our digital life more secure. 

Password Managers

Consumer Reports published this informative article on “Everything You Need to Know About Password Managers”. And this article from CNET will give you some suggestions for “The Best Password Managers of 2019”. Personally, Keith and have been using LastPass with good results. They offer a family plan so you can make sure that a designated person can access your information in case of an emergency. 

While it’s not a exactly a password manager, I also recently purchased a Google Titan Security Key. This device provides a super-duper level of two-factor authentication to your accounts. I must admit, I’m still trying to figure it out, but I believe it is worth experimenting with. Oh, and if you saw those recent articles about a flaw in the Titan Key, Google is replacing them. Just contact them.

Identity Theft Protection Services

It’s sad to say that in today’s world we must think about this…but we have to think about this. Identity Theft is an issue. A big issue. According to a study published on ZDNet, around 15 million people in the U.S. have been impacted by fraud. To safeguard yourself, you have two options: you can do this yourself OR you can subscribe to a service. A third option would be waiting for a company to provide you with the service for free after your information has been compromised. (Please detect the cynicism in my last sentence.) I found this article on Nerdwallet that could help you decide “Do You Need Identity Theft Protection Services?”. 

CNET also put together a directory of ID monitoring services in their article “The Best identity Theft Monitoring Services for 2019”.

Virtual Private Network

A virtual private network (VPN) is designed to protect your private web traffic from being snooped by outside entities. The purpose isn’t because someone is doing something sinister. But let’s be real, it’s kinda creepy to know that somebody could be snooping around in my web traffic even if it’s nothing more than cute lemur pictures, shoe sales, and Randy Rainbow videos. 

If using a VPN interests you, this article from CNET on the “Best VPN Services of 2019” might be helpful. 

I really don’t like being cynical about the use of technology, but I do think it’s important to be realistic. Technology isn’t going away any time soon. We must be responsible technology users which means finding tools to help us manage our digital lives. 

Do you need to do these things? Maybe not. Personally, I’m finding this is one of those topics where I regularly ask myself, “Can I do it? Yep. Is this the best use of my time? Not really.” Maybe I need to find some tools to help.

Encore Careers – Part Four: Journal Your Experience

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Garden path as a metaphor for encore careers path

One of the takeaways I’ve tried to stress in this series about encore careers is that it is a path or process that takes time.

Whenever I’m working on a long-term process, I like to think about journaling as a way to keep track of my thoughts. Consider creating an encore career journal to help you document your decisions, skills, and future plans. Here are five things about journals to keep in mind:

  1. Pick a format that suits you. The great thing about journals today is that they can be paper or electronic. Use whatever works best for you. Personally, I love paper and like the idea of rereading my comments. It can help me make decisions. A Bullet Journal might be perfect for the task.
  2. Dedicate it to a single idea. If you already journal, then you might want to create a separate journal focused on unretirement or encore careers. That way all of your thoughts and ideas are in a single place. For a few years, I kept a secret board on Pinterest focused on “unretirement”.
  3. Stuff articles and reminders in them. This is kinda related to the last point. Whether you read an article online or via a paper magazine, you can cut/paste them into your journal. If you’re a visual person, you could create a vision board focused on your unretirement journey or encore career.
  4. Be flexible with your schedule. Because I suspect developing your encore career plan is going to take some time, a journal allows you to set it to the side when life gets busy and pick it up later. The important part is not to forget about it. That might be one advantage to a paper journal, it could stare back at you.
  5. Allow it to help you. What I mean by that is give yourself permission to not know everything. Your unretirement and encore career is a journey. Write down your thoughts and let them sit there. You don’t have to take action right away. At some point, you might want to share your journal with a family member or a retirement coach. 

Journals are an effective way to document your ideas, thoughts, and feelings about a subject. They give you time to think things through and organize information. Your retirement is one of the most important things you will do. It deserves a little planning. You’re never too young to start. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the Ali’i Kula Lavender Farm in Maui, HI

Retirement Planning: 5 Reasons to Have a Stop Working Date

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park bench sitting, retirement, retirement planning, encore career

There’s an excellent read over on the Considerable blog titled, “How long will you be able to work?” Regardless of your current age, one of the questions that individuals should ask themselves is, “When would I like to stop working?” Picking a possible retirement date – and I do mean possible – allows individuals to have a starting point in their retirement planning. And that planning date is important for several reasons:

  1. Think about a Plan B just in case you need to retire before the date you’ve chosen. Let’s say you’ve decided to stop working at age 70. But something happens when you’re 65 and you might need to retire sooner. I hear stories of individuals retiring early to care for their health or the health of a family member. What does a Plan B look like? And can you kick it into gear should you need it?
  2. Consider having two dates: a part-time date and a full-time one. Instead of going from fully employed to fully retired, does it make sense to think about a phased strategy? You could transition to part-time at 65 and then fully retire at 70. Of course, I’m just throwing out ages here. You have to decide what makes sense for you. This could also make a lot of sense when trying to coordinate your retirement and your spouse or partner.
  3. Use a retirement date to map out the transition to an encore career. I know several people in their 40s who work insane hours and travel a lot. They love their lifestyle right now but at some point, want to find a different pace of work. Selecting a retirement date (or dates as in #2) could help with planning an encore or second career. Especially if that next career involves getting some additional education or a certification.  
  4. Reflect on how your retirement date impacts savings and spending. It goes without saying – but I’ll say it anyway, our decision to slow down or stop working impacts our finances. When retirement planning, we do have to think about how the bills will get paid and we can maintain our lifestyle. In fact, we might want to consider making some lifestyle decisions well in advance, so we can get used to them.
  5. Get yourself mentally ready for a change. I’ve always been a person who needs a full-plate of activity. I am getting myself ready for retirement to be a major change. It’s one of the reasons we started this blog. As you think about an approaching retirement date, ask yourself if you’re ready. Do you need to think about starting a hobby? I’m not joking. I do believe many people retire without a plan and get bored.

It’s very easy to simply pick the government’s age for collecting Social Security as your retirement date. But if I had a dollar for every person who turned 62 or 65 and said, “I’m not ready yet.” I would be retired right now. LOL! No one is holding you to that date. It’s simply a placeholder for planning.

And retirement planning is important.

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby somewhere in North Carolina

Your 5 Day Plan to Use Instagram in Unretirement

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Instagram, social media, logo, retirement, Unretirement

We have been showcasing the use of social media sites to help with marketing in your encore career. Whether your goal is to work as a freelancer or you plan to extend corporate work, social media can play a significant role. Demonstrating your skills with these platforms could make you a more marketable employee. So far, we’ve talked about Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. If you haven’t check them out, you can find them here:

Your 5 Day Plan to Using Facebook

Your 5 Day Plan to Using LinkedIn

Your 5 Day Plan to Using Twitter

You might be wondering why you should pay attention to Instagram if you’re already using one or all of the social channels we’ve already covered. You will see as we explore Instagram, there are some very unique aspects to this medium. As such, there are many users who spend hours on their accounts – – far more than any other site. So, as any fisherman or marketer will tell you, you need to be where your audience is!

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a free photo and video sharing app where subscribers can upload graphics and share them with their followers. Instagram launched in 2010 and quickly grew in popularity with more the 1 billion registered users as of May 2019. They were acquired by Facebook in 2012 and are arguably the most popular social media site in operation.

The reason for the popularity? Images! The main focus of Instagram is visual, and this has attracted a huge amount of creativity. It allows users to get a glimpse of the lives of their favorite celebrities and engage with beloved brands at the same time they enjoy vacation and children photos from friends and family. 

You can sign up for Instagram easily and, like all other social sites, it’s free to create an account. 

Your 5 Day Plan to Learning Instagram

DAY 1 – Download the Instagram App. The whole idea behind Instagram is to quickly and easily share images and video you capture with your mobile devise. For that reason, it’s easier to use the mobile app which is available for iOS or Android.

DAY 2 – Start Following. Like most social sites, you have a feed that will showcase the people and brands you follow. At the bottom of your screen you will see a magnifying glass so click on that. Here you can enter names of people you know and follow elsewhere or topics you find engaging – like retirement. Just like with Twitter, hashtags will bring users with similar interests together. If you find an image you like, click on it to launch a window with all the posts within the hashtag. From here, you can immediately follow them simply by clicking “Follow” or click on their user name to see everything they’ve shared. After a short while, clicking on the magnifying glass will give you recommendations on people and brands to follow based on your interests and likes.

Day 3 – Engage, engage, engage. Social media is all about engagement and Instagram is no different. Now that you have people, brands and hashtags to follow, you are bound to find photos and videos you really like. If so, go ahead and click on the “heart” under the image. That will tell the person – and Instagram – that you like it. You can also post a comment by clicking on the “word balloon” or you can “heart” other peoples’ comments. Pay attention to the hashtags that your followers share. If you like their content, chances are good that their hashtags will lead you to others who share similar – but different – images.

Day 4 – Post a Photo. By now, you should be pretty comfortable getting around the app. You found some people to engage with and you want them to interact with you. It’s time to post a photo! Once you have a subject, take 2 – 3 photos at different angles. At the bottom of the Instagram app is a plus sign – clicking on that will bring up your camera roll where you can choose the best image to share. Click on the image then click “Next”. This will take you to an editing screen where you can quickly edit the shot before posting. Or you can quickly apply a “filter” which applies a preprogrammed set of attributes to your image. For now, just keep it normal and click “Next” again. In this screen, you can say something about the image (don’t forget hashtags), tag people, and add location information before sharing. 

Day 5 – Set Audience Goals. To be really successful at something, we need to have goals. As you can see with Instagram, like most social channels, success is centered around growing your audience. And growing an audience takes more following, posting and engaging. You can make your goal to follow 5 new people every day and follow one new hashtag every week. Set aside 20 minutes every morning to like images and share comments. And don’t forget to snap some photos and share them as well. Remember, there aren’t any shortcuts for this so just schedule the time. Before you know it, you will have a fun and engaging audience!

BONUS! Repost for Instagram. You may have noticed that Instagram differs from most social platforms in that they don’t easily allow you to share other people’s images. The idea behind Instagram is to informally let others get to know “the real you” through pictures. So, they want you to share YOUR pictures. Fortunately, enterprising app developers have created independent apps that will allow you to repost what other people share. Just look for them wherever you download your mobile apps.

Instagram has set itself apart from other social platforms by creating a unique and exciting ecosystem and remaining true to their brand. That should be a lesson for all of us! Another thing to know is that 80% of Instagram users follow a business brand. That shows the power of Instagram in brand marketing. Just think what it can do for your personal brand in Unretirement!

Encore Careers: 4 Ways to Find a Thriving One

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dream job, encore careers, never tire, careers

In a recent AARP Bulletin, they published a list of the “99 Ways to Add Healthy Years to Your Life”. Number 83 caught my attention. It was “Don’t cling to a dying profession.” 

We’ve been talking about encore careers here at Unretirement Project. One of the things to consider as you’re thinking about an encore career is what the jobs of the future might look like. Here are a few recent articles that you might find interesting.

The fastest-growing job in the US is expected to grow 105% by 2026—here are the other 19.

The 20 Fastest Growing Jobs in America—And How Much They Pay.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Fastest Growing Occupations

These types of lists can be used to identify a potential encore career. It’s possible that you have many of the transferrable skills that would make a shift logical and easy. Or you might see something completely different that looks interesting and exciting, so you can go to school and get the necessary skills. Either way, these lists serve a purpose. That being said, there are bigger messages here. 

  1. We should be regularly evaluating our career possibilities. Whether you’re 30, 40, 50, or older.The last thing you want to hear is that your long-term career potential is dwindling. These lists might offer some insight about your current career that would be helpful. And of course, your current career could have an impact on the decisions you make about an encore career.
  2. Career choices involve decisions about knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs).It’s important to keep the KSAs for your current job relevant. It’s also important to think about the KSAs you’ll need in the future. I cannot emphasize enough the need to embrace lifelong learning. Not only is it good for your mental health, but it’s good for your career and encore career. 
  3. Figure out how you like to learn and what you need to learn.The conversation about KSAs and being a lifelong learner is really about self-learning. As we start to think about our unretirement and retirement, we need to think about how we will continue to learn. There won’t be any more corporate training programs. Or vendor sponsored webinars. Our learning will come in different forms. But it will start with us personally. 
  4. Today’s hot jobs might be lukewarm tomorrow. While lists of growing occupations can be helpful, we must be careful when it comes to taking these lists as the only truth. If today’s fast-paced, technology-driven business world has taught me anything, it’s that today’s bright shiny concept could be a dud tomorrow. As you’re looking at your future career, make sure you’re not trading one dying career for another.

There are many factors that go into the encore career decision including what we like, what we’re capable of doing, how much money the job pays, etc. One important factor is the future for that role. Will it be around in a decade? Researching industries and occupations can help us find an encore career that’s growing and thriving. 

Image captured by Sharlyn Lauby while exploring the streets of Disneyland and San Francisco, CA

5 Activities to Avoid Becoming the Indoor Generation

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indoor, indoor room, indoor office, indoor generation, retirement, Unretirement

I heard a term recently that fascinates me – the “Indoor Generation”. As the name implies, it’s a label for people who spend most of their time indoors. They’ve figured out how to do as many things as possible without leaving the house. 

I totally get it. We can do our shopping on our home computers or mobile devices. We can order food, and have it delivered to our home. We can talk with a doctor via webcam. Keith and I are building a house and we talk about it being both the place we work and our sanctuary. I can absolutely see how the term came into existence. 

The indoor generation is also a term that defies age. I see young people who spend a lot of time inside – maybe reading or watching television and playing video games. But for today’s post, I want to talk about the indoor generation in the context of getting older.

In a study sponsored by Velux, it’s been found that there are health risks to being indoors all the time. We need sunlight as part of our wellness. The research found that daylight can improve learning abilities up to 15 percent. We need fresh air for our health. Living in damp or moldy homes increases our risk of asthma by 40 percent. And a lack of sunlight impacts our general wellbeing. According to the research, a lack of daylight makes 15 percent of us sad. 

So, what’s the answer. Well, it’s easy just to say get out more. But the reality is, going outside needs to feel good. Otherwise it will be a chore and we won’t get the desired benefit. Here are five things that might help us get outside more:

  1. Talk and walk. I’m going to mention this one first since it’s the most obvious. Find time to take a walk. Keith and I have what we call walking meetings. Instead of sitting inside the house to talk about stuff, we take a short walk. It’s good for us and we can still have a productive conversation.
  2. Take up an outdoor activity. People laugh when we mention that we play Pokémon GO. But it gets us out of the house every single day. We also discovered a nearby botanical garden that has lots of Pokémon Gyms and PokeStops. So, we purchased an annual membership. We get to see the gardens and play at the same time. 
  3. Build outdoor time into our daily routine. One of the things we’re looking forward to in our new home is drinking our morning beverages outside. It doesn’t seem like a lot, and it’s not, but it’s a few more minutes outside. 
  4. Turn outdoor chores into something worth looking forward to. This is totally not me, but Keith loves working in the garden. And he enjoys mowing the lawn. Once a year, I’ve been known to assist with mulching (well, maybe). My point is, find a way to turn being outdoors into something more than drudgery. 
  5. And finally, if all those ideas don’t work, try to bring some plants and sunlight into your home. We’ve discovered that we enjoy having live plants in our home. And dark walls might be on trend, but they make the house dark. So, we’re opting for lighter colors.

As we age, it can be very easy to shift our routines, so we spend more time inside and less outdoors. It could have a negative impact on the way we feel. Maybe we just need to change what we do outdoors. Find new activities that fit more with our unretirement lifestyle. 

Image created by Sharlyn Lauby