Retirement by Design: An Intentional Third Act

Retirement by design starts with a different premise:

Retirement is not a finish line. It’s a redesign.

Instead of drifting into the next chapter, retirement by design involves intentionally shaping how you want to live—based on who you are now, not who you were mid-career.

Questions to Consider

Creating a retirement by design triggers some powerful questions:

• • How do I want my days to feel?

• • What gives me a sense of purpose today?

• • How do health and energy affect what’s possible?

• • Who are my people, and how do I stay connected?

• • What does “enough” actually mean?

• • How do I continue to grow and contribute?

Finances still matter—but they’re one input, not the entire plan.

Retirement Study Findings

This article is informed by findings from the 24th Annual Retiree Life in the Post-Pandemic Economy Survey, conducted by the Transamerica Institute.

The survey explores retirees’ financial confidence, emotional well-being, health priorities, social connection, and overall life satisfaction in the post-pandemic economy.

The Transamerica Institute conducted a survey of retiree life in the post-pandemic economy survey and found that retirees’ top priorities are enjoying life and staying healthy, ranking higher than financial goals. This survey finding highlights how retirement satisfaction is driven by quality of life, not just account balances.

Changing Retirement Landscape

Today’s retirement landscape looks very different from previous generations’.

Longer lifespans, economic uncertainty, changing family structures, and the loss of work-based communities mean retirement is no longer a short epilogue—it’s a long, evolving chapter.

The Transamerica study noted that while many retirees express confidence in maintaining a comfortable lifestyle, far fewer report being very confident. This gap between confidence and clarity often creates background stress and uncertainty in retirement.

Thriving In Retirement

Retirees who thrive tend to:

• Maintain a sense of purpose beyond work
• Invest intentionally in health and well-being
• Cultivate strong social connections
• Stay engaged in learning and growth
• Adapt as life circumstances change

None of those happen by accident. They happen by design. Retirement coaching is a cost-effective way to create a retirement by design.

Hidden Cost of Winging It

The Hidden Cost of Not Designing Retirement

When people don’t intentionally design retirement, they often default to:

• • Over-focusing on leisure and under-investing in meaning

• • Avoiding difficult conversations about identity, health, and connection

• • Waiting too long to make adjustments

• • Assuming dissatisfaction is a personal failure

Transamerica’s research shows that emotional well-being and social connection are key differentiators between retirees who are simply “doing okay” and those who are truly thriving—yet these areas are among the least planned for before retirement.

But retirement challenges are rarely a character flaw. They’re usually a design gap.

A Question To Sit With

If you take nothing else from this blog, consider this question:

Am I letting retirement happen to me—or am I actively designing it?

If the answer feels uncomfortable, that’s not a problem.

It’s an invitation.

Because the most fulfilling retirements aren’t defined by what people leave behind—but by what they intentionally build next.

In summary, the Transamerica study reminds us that retirement success is multi-dimensional. Financial preparedness matters—but so do purpose, health, emotional resilience, relationships, and the ability to adapt as life continues to change.