Freedom and fun
“People are coming into this time of life not wishing they were still working and productive, but quite the opposite. They’re saying: ‘Finally, I can do what I want, when I want and on my own terms. That’s what I’ve been dreaming of my whole life.'”
So says Ken Dychtwald, CEO of Age Wave
New retirees, he added, are musing about all the enjoyable ways they could fill their days, thinking about learning to paint, volunteering, or going back to Uni.
The research study surveyed 3,712 adults, along with six focus groups. Its overall conclusion: “Leisure in retirement has evolved into an extended period of newfound freedom.” Or, as Dychtwald interpreted the results:
“Leisure is not just killing some hours, but a transformation of oneself. And people are experiencing it with gusto.”
Best of all, the retirees said, leisure activities generally aren’t expensive. Health, they note, is a bigger limit on their leisure time than wealth.
“The nice thing about leisure is you don’t have to spend a lot of money on it,” said Dychtwald. “Sometimes the best moments are with your grandchild or watching a beautiful sunrise or playing piano for the first time in your life at age 71.”
Also, the report noted, with more freedom to travel, retirees can take advantage of money-saving.
Among the findings from the retirees surveyed:
92% said they enjoy the freedom of a less structured life
86% said it is relatively easy to find inexpensive leisure activities to enjoy
82% said they have the most enjoyable leisure experiences with their spouse or partner (only 27% said those times were with their friends)
75% said that health limitations don’t substantially affect their leisure activities
61% said who they spend time with was far more important than what they do
60% said spending time with grandkids was more fulfilling than spending time with their own children
And people age 65 to 74 (presumably mostly retired) reported having more fun at this stage in life than any other age group surveyed — the ones having the least fun are those age 35 to 54 presumably trying to hang on to their jobs, save for retirement and pay for their kids’ education.