Retirement lessons from Olympians

Olympic fever swept the nation last month, with many people glued to their television sets to catch the action in Rio. But when it comes to retirement, those winning Olympians just might have some lessons to teach your clients. Among them:

Preparation is key. At just 16, Canada’s Penny Oleksiak seemed to burst on the scene with four Olympic medals. But years of hard work went into her “overnight success.” As Canadian Press reporter Linda Nguyen points out, retirement planning is a long-term endeavour too, and it helps if clients start early.

You might also like…

• ‘Longevity planning’ with your clients leads to a better retirement life
• Build savings as one pillar of a solid retirement income plan
• Funding a second career – using RESPs for your adult clients

Mental conditioning is as important as physical conditioning. Athletes have long been using psychological techniques to tune out distractions and reduce stress and anxiety. This Forbes article by Robert Laura points out that retirement planning for couples is often fatally flawed because of a focus on bulking up bank accounts, rather than preparing for a life together post-retirement. As Laura points out, 80 percent of boomer couples don’t have a written plan for the everyday life aspects of retirement; those things that can make you “well, rather than just wealthy.”

Faced with a setback? Pick yourself up and go on. When British runner Mo Farah stumbled and fell during the 10,000 metre race in Rio, he hardly missed a beat. He sprang to his feet and finished the race, winning a gold medal. Jeff Brown’s article for U.S. News & World Report details financial setbacks that could derail clients’ retirement plans, and advises having a Plan B in place, just in case.

Think of retirement as the next chapter. American swimmer Michael Phelps took home five gold medals at the Games. He recently announced he’s ready to hang up his Speedo after 23 Olympic gold medals – but that doesn’t mean life is over. MarketWatch writer Richard Eisenberg looks at what we can learn from Phelps’ planned encore. And Joanne Richard, writing for the Toronto Sun, explores how retirees can put their passions to work by developing an encore career.