At 34 years old, I became a partner in a strategy consulting firm that we sold to a fast growing venture capital-funded company. If everything went to plan I could have retired by 40, but the dot.com market crash got in the way. The near miss with success made it seem easy to start a business, build it and cash out. So I started a company from scratch with the goal of selling it in a few years and then retiring by 45. It wasn’t that easy and as I passed 50, still working in a traditional job, my mindset about early retirement shifted. It wasn’t full-on excitement anymore and now contained some curious concern.
Mindset Differences
Younger people pursuing RB40 are driven by a proactive mindset. They see retirement not as an end but as a transition to a new phase filled with opportunities for personal growth, travel, hobbies, and projects that align with their passions. For them, retirement is about reclaiming their time and having the freedom to live life on their terms. This mindset is fueled by the desire to escape the conventional 9-to-5 grind and the belief that they can achieve more meaningful and fulfilling experiences outside the traditional work environment.
In contrast, adults nearing retirement at 60 often have a different outlook. Many have spent decades in the workforce, where their identities and self-worth are closely tied to their careers. The thought of retiring evokes fears of becoming obsolete, losing social connections, and facing an uncertain future without the structure and purpose that work provides. As is said at MEA, there is a fear of becoming a PIP (Previously Important Person) and that is a real thing. In my 50s I was feeling that societal burden of expecting a midlife crisis followed shortly by becoming over-the-hill. To counteract that, I started to align with the excitement of pursuing creative projects like writing and making music and developing a documentary. Those were passions that I had given up in my 20s to become a serious adult. At 50 starting back up these creative projects reintroduced excitement about the future and having more time to focus on them.
Financial Freedom and Consumption
Financial independence plays a crucial role in shaping these differing perspectives as well. Young people aiming for RB40 typically focus on aggressive saving and investing strategies early in their careers. They adopt frugal lifestyles and seek multiple income streams to build a substantial financial cushion. This approach gives them the confidence and security to envision a future without traditional employment, a type of frugal financial freedom.
Older adults, however, may not have had the same awareness to adopt such strategies early on. As a result, they might find themselves nearing retirement with insufficient savings, making the prospect of retirement daunting rather than liberating. My wife and I have tried to live a good life and yet also well within our means so we could save aggressively and continue minimizing debt through our 40s and 50s. After our firm was acquired by a large global consultancy as I turned 49, we banked the windfall (I did buy one nice guitar) and kept our spending lifestyle the same, knowing there was mandatory retirement by 60 in the partnership. I thought about it as an RB60 strategy, defending against the pull to buy bigger and fancier things. The unexpected benefit was reducing anxiety and making retirement feel more like the excitement of RB40 excitement.
Ego and Impact
The role of ego and the desire for impact also differentiate these perspectives. Younger individuals often seek to make a big impact in non-traditional ways. They value experiences, personal growth, and contributions to causes they care about, rather than climbing the corporate ladder. For them, a “big job” is less about the title and more about the freedom to choose how and where they make a difference (of course, I’m generalizing here).
On the other hand, older adults who have built their identities around their careers may struggle with the transition. The loss of a prestigious job title and the daily routine can be a blow to their self-esteem. They may fear that without their contributions and relevance in society will diminish. I still oscillate between protecting my ego and letting go. It feels out of character to say, “I don’t care what people think of me anymore” as a way to release the ego. Maybe it is more about caring what impact you have on people and less about how successful they think you are.
Conclusion
The contrasting views on retirement between those aspiring for RB40 and those facing RB60 highlight the importance of mindset, financial preparation, and personal values. Younger generations see retirement as a gateway to new opportunities and a chance to redefine success beyond traditional employment. In contrast, older adults often grapple with the loss of identity and financial insecurity, viewing retirement with apprehension. Making RB60 feel good requires a shift in how you define retirement, financial planning for freedom and the recognition that retirement can be a time of renewal and regeneration for everyone, regardless of age.
My mindset shift, financial readiness and recentering ego over time, as well as investing in two MEA sessions with my wife and with co-workers, has made the shift feel exciting. I’ve just turned 60 and am leaving traditional work behind. It feels more like springing off a diving board into a sea of adventure than walking the plank into a puddle of irrelevance. So with that I say, let’s go jump into RB60 (Regeneration by 60); come on in, the water’s fine!
-Michael
Michael is an experienced founder, corporate executive, published author and visiting faculty focused on Innovation and Ventures at USC’s Iovine & Young Academy. He is also co-author of Big Ideas to Big Results, singer-songwriter and alumnae of MEA Baja and Santa Fe.