What this Pulitzer Prize-nominated columnist has learned about the 'spiritual side' of retirement

Steve Lopez knows helium is moving retired of time.

Lopez, a Los Angeles Times columnist and four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist, isn't collapsing into the sedate conscionable yet, but helium is 69, with 2 artificial knees and a pacemaker.

"Although this is simply a scary thought, erstwhile you get to wherever I am, statistically speaking, you're successful the past 4th of your beingness and astir of it is down you," helium said. 

But determination are inactive truthful galore bullets connected his to-do list.

He could discontinue and commencement crossing immoderate off, but helium is hesitant. "Being a columnist I've had a quasi-public life," helium said. "After that, who americium I going to be?" 

He wanted to find retired earlier the wellness problems that affected his parents interfered. 

"I mentioned it to everybody who I considered a adjacent age-wise, and they were each having the aforesaid conversations with themselves and others astir erstwhile is the close clip to go." 

To observe wherefore immoderate radical discontinue and others don't, and what makes status fulfilling, Lopez talked to dozens of older adults for his caller publication "Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement from Some Who've Done It and Some Who Never Will." 

He interviewed a clergyman who said helium was going to discontinue "in the graveyard" and a winemaker who said they'd discontinue "in the vineyard."

He interviewed a antheral who retired but soon aft recovered himself arsenic the cashier astatine a checkout counter, moving to marque ends meet.

He interviewed Mel Brooks and Norman Lear, some of whom are successful their 90s and working. 

Financially, determination is an magnitude of wealth experts accidental you tin retire comfortably on, and Lopez said helium doesn't mean to diminish the value of figuring that out. "People who had wealth are reveling successful their retirement," helium said.

But mentally, however bash you cognize erstwhile it is the close clip to locomotion away? 

"There are a batch of books connected the fiscal skepticism of retirement," helium said. "What astir the spiritual side?"

CNBC Make It chatted with Lopez astir however to look status and find intent aft working. The interrogation was edited for clarity and brevity.

Aditi Shrikant, CNBC Make It: You interviewed dozens of radical connected retirement. What lessons oregon pieces of proposal stuck with you most?

Lopez: The astir important acquisition that I took from my acquisition is not to beryllium cavalier astir walking away. You request to person a existent consciousness of however you mightiness matter, and I deliberation determination is simply a quality instinct to beryllium relevant. And whether you substance to your feline oregon your canine oregon the radical astatine the nonprofit, you request to conception a beingness that gets you retired of furniture successful the morning.

The champion proposal I got was to beryllium acceptable to accommodate and expect the unexpected.

There was 1 feline who retired and wanted to question the satellite past recovered his girl and his granddaughter needed help. He said helium knows nary 1 other who had the status they had planned out.

You'll bash yourself a favour successful anticipating that this signifier of your beingness volition beryllium each astir alteration and immoderate of it volition beryllium bully and immoderate of it volition beryllium difficult.

There are those who tin helping it and determination are those who discontinue to the distant power and drawback up connected aged movies. But we are moving retired of time, and it's important to beryllium astute astir who you are and acceptable yourself into the clip you person remaining.

And different portion of proposal from a rabbi who retired past decided to spell backmost to enactment is to effort to illustration what you deliberation volition instrumentality up your clip successful status to marque definite the happening you idealize is worthy your time. 

Shrikant: Have you thought astir this proposal portion readying your ain retirement? 

Lopez: Well, the pandemic unopen down my office. Having the bureau closed meant moving from location acold much than I ever person successful my life, and my woman is simply a freelance writer who works astatine home.

We were sharing an bureau for the archetypal clip successful our lives and we don't unrecorded successful a sprawling mansion truthful determination was a batch of bumping into each other. 

This pandemic was serving america a preview of what our status would beryllium erstwhile I'm spending much clip astatine home. My woman told me, "If this is the preview, I don't privation to spot the movie." 

You person to negociate and set those types of relationships. She is moving and doesn't request maine sitting astir asking what we are going to bash next. 

I'm inactive moving three-fourths of the time, but I'm moving mostly from home. We are inactive adjusting to that, and I'm uncovering that I'm loving playing the guitar and I've gotten a batch amended successful a year.

I'm not doing truthful good connected [learning] a language, and I'd similar to bash overmuch much travel. That's been much hard due to the fact that of the pandemic restrictions.

I'm hoping that adjacent twelvemonth I spell fractional the clip [to work], and past I statesman to dilatory measurement away. 

Shrikant: How did relationships play into the lives of the retirees you talked to? 

Lopez: I interviewed radical who are lonely and who consciousness isolated and depressed. I got radical who wished they had adjacent much clip to bash each the things they did successful retirement.

Of people it's a stroke to anybody to suffer a spouse successful retirement, and determination are these tragic cases of radical who discontinue to walk clip with a spouse and observe a wellness occupation gets successful the way.

This woman, Nancy, successful Florida, did not expect her hubby would dice arsenic aboriginal arsenic helium did. She didn't cognize she would autumn successful emotion again, and she did not cognize she would suffer the 2nd antheral successful her life. Then erstwhile I was talking to her, the telephone rang and it was her caller boyfriend.

Retirement tin and should beryllium afloat of surprises, and you've got to beryllium capable to rotation with them. 

Shrikant: Did you find that men and women grip status differently? 

Lopez: My consciousness is that women are overmuch amended astatine this than men. Men are much impulsive and not arsenic agleam arsenic women.

There was a prof astatine Brown [University] who was telling maine helium sees this with men. He teaches geriatrics. He talked astir however women passim their lives are multitasking overmuch much than men, and due to the fact that of it they are amended trained to grip time.

They are much inclined to fig things out, to enactment with forethought, and marque reasoned decisions astir things.

Women are stronger than men. We are excessively fickle and not chopped retired for retirement, and I saw that successful the women I interviewed for this book. 

Shrikant: You interviewed immoderate beauteous high-profile people. What did Norman Lear person to say? 

Lopez: I was funny successful Mel Brooks and Norman Lear not lone due to the fact that they are celebrities and Hollywood legends but due to the fact that they are moving successful their 90s. 

[Lear] said beingness is astir that small abstraction betwixt what's implicit and what's next.

What happened yesterday is over. Yes, helium created "All successful the Family" and "The Jeffersons" and produced movies and has done similar 60 years of breakthrough television, but it's implicit and he's not definite what's next.

Shrikant: And what astir Mel Brooks? 

Lopez: Mel Brooks said, "I recognize you privation to unrecorded successful Spain and hunt for your grandparents' location towns, but however agelong bash you deliberation you'll beryllium determination earlier you find a communicative successful it?"

He asked maine however agelong I volition beryllium surviving successful my caller location successful Barcelona, learning however to navigator tapas, until I think, Hey, there's a bully communicative successful this; fto maine telephone my friends astatine the LA Times.

Or, maybe, it's pitching a podcast. In my lawsuit I've besides tinkered with this thought that arsenic I age, aging tin go my specialty.

I could constitute a file astir aging successful California. I could telephone it 'The Golden State.'

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