Rethinking Retirement Planning

Men, more so than women, base much of their identity on their professional accomplishments.  They tend to have fewer social connections outside of their work, their professional networks, and associated clubs.  As such, when they retire, many tend to lose their sense of direction and worth, which results in early death. 

People should either invest in social connections and friendships outside of work, or run a business.  The former is accessible to everyone, the latter is not.  As such, we should relook what we understand about retirement planning.  Retirement planning is no longer about putting money aside, and then whiling away the time until death. Because we live longer, that time is now measured in decades.  Retirement planning is about maintaining a desired standard of living while medical costs rise, and income slowly diminishes.  That means funds must be set aside for extent activities.