In this episode of the One‑of‑a‑Kind Financial Show, Certified Financial Planner Mike Milligan and co‑host Gary Nolan explore why nearly 60% of retirees who go back to work do so for meaning rather than money, citing a 2024 Encore.org study. They introduce the concept of “rewirement,” a shift from viewing retirement as an exit to seeing it as a purposeful transition that integrates community, health, and impact—what they call “retirement chi.” The hosts discuss common pitfalls such as boredom, financial shortfalls, and spousal dynamics that can push retirees back into the workforce. They emphasize the importance of creating a vision‑first retirement plan that aligns purpose with financial resources, rather than letting money dictate activities. Throughout the conversation, they promote One Oak Financial’s “one‑of‑a‑kind” financial planning service, offering free consultations via phone or text, and conclude with a compliance disclaimer outlining the advisory nature of the content and the separation of opinions from Advisory Alpha LLC and associated insurance agencies.
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Welcome to the One of a Kind Financial Show Daily with your host Mike Milligan. It's Wednesday, October 22nd. I hope you're having an amazing start to this hump day. Recently on the One of a Kind Financial Show with Gary Nolan, we discussed about how some people count down days, how some people don't live their fullest. But I want you to enjoy this. I want you to enjoy about 11 minutes from a recent episode where we actually go deeper into what building retirement cheap and what retirement can look like when you don't count down, but you find rhyme and rhythm to your retirement.
Well, some people count down the days to retirement like it's summer break. Others stare at the calendar and panic. The truth is we weren't all designed to just unplug and fade into the background. Retirement can be your Most creative impact and exciting season, not if you see it as an exit, but as a transition. Now, in this segment, we're unpacking what it looks like to rewire your work, your purpose, and your legacy with a few laughs along the way. So, question, why are so many retirees going back to work, but not just for the paycheck?
Well, you know, uh, if you're thinking about going back to work, you retire, you may want to dust off your LinkedIn profile, by the way. Because you don't want that big gap and try to have to explain that thing. But one of the interesting parts is that Encore.org did a 2024 study that found nearly 60% of retirees who returned to work do it for meaning, not money. They're doing it because they don't have, or they haven't built a vision for what retirement looks like. They're bored. They're, they're, they're, they're out of sync with who they want to be as a person. So they're going back and they're consulting and they're mentoring and they're launching nonprofits and some are driving Ubers or Grubhub. And they're doing that just to hear stories and stay active. So, uh, rewirement has becoming the new retirement because, uh, because again, retirement can be where it can be where every day is a Saturday, unless you really define purpose and what it's going to be. People become bored when they don't have activities planned or something to look forward to. So, as opposed to just coming in and planning to retire, You need to get into retirement with a plan that is going to allocate your time to things that excite you. So, you don't end up going back to work one day just for social interaction.
Right. I mean, to go back to work for social interaction is one thing, but go back because you need the money, that's a whole different story, Mike. Am I right?
Correct. You're right. If for some reason you didn't save enough in retirement or you didn't save enough before you retired or You retired in 2008 or 2000, where the market took major downturns immediately into retirement. So, you go back to work to kind of recoup some lost money because you did not want to take the risk of leaving your money exposed to the market. Well, that's one thing. But going back to work just to have somebody to talk to, well, there are communities of people out there that are not going to demand that you punch a clock. Or that you be— that you report somewhere at a certain time, but they'll, uh, they'll give you some meaning and purpose and some social interaction along the way.
Absolutely. So, how do you know if you're retiring from something or to something?
A lot of folks just leave their career exhausted but have no idea what they actually want to do next. That I'll figure it out later plan turns into months of wheel spinning and overcommitting. We in our firm help people create clarity because those that are coming in to talk to us who are not yet retired, we want them to have their retirement. Gee, I'm thinking of one of our radio show listeners who came in and he and his wife are thinking about retiring and they really wanted to know the numbers. Can we retire with this income? Yes. Well, then they have this grandson That I just know when hearing from them that they're going to spend a lot of time with this grandson. And one of them is like, no, we're not. And the other one's like, yes, we are. But the one who's saying, no, we're not, is going to be the one going to drive that kid to basketball practice and picking them up from school. They're retiring because they're exhausted, but their community is going to be their family. They are going to focus on their health, and then they're going to travel a lot because they love to cruise. And then the impact they're going to have is the impact is going to be family-related, right? Where they're going to do some more things together than they have before. So, as opposed to feeling retiring just for being exhausted, you know, you have to retire into something that brings vision.
Brings vision and joy to you as well. The show is the One of a Kind Financial Show. I'm Gary Nolan, your consumer advocate. With us each week at this time is Mike Milligan. Let's get you on Mike's calendar, all set up with that comprehensive plan. There's no cost, there's no obligation. 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. Or text the word ideas to 600-700. I want to thank you for joining us, spending time with us this weekend. Mike is going to be, uh, on the phones himself this weekend, so make sure you pick up the phone and call this number, 800-748-1838, or text the word ideas to 600-700. You deserve a more confident plan to retire. Want to be stress-free? Peace of mind starts by picking up the phone, dialing that number. The folks at Wonok Financial standing by this weekend along with Mike, ready for your phone call. So what's the difference between calling and a career, and how does retirement give us a second chance at both, Mike?
Well, you may have built like a 30-year resume in finance or healthcare or education, but maybe your true calling was never, uh, was never tapped into. See, we, uh, the Bible gives some some, some things that you should look at, like in Ephesians 2:10, it says, we are all his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand. So retirees, even like, for those people who have faith, God has even prepared like what you should do in retirement. For those who maybe you're not as faith-driven, right, the same purpose you had, or the same thing that drew you to the job that fulfilled you in life, The same things that you did to analyze it, where it was taking a self-assessment character trait test, or maybe you went to a guidance counselor when you were 18 years old at the end of your high school career, or a career placement when you were at the end of college, and that person helped identify what your career was going to be from a fulfilling standpoint. That's something we could do together. Because for instance, a retirement company, a financial planning company, an investment company, an insurance agent, who just focuses on one part of what retirement should be like, or they're just focused on a product to help solve the problem of getting your retirement income, but they're not looking at the big picture about what the vision of your retirement and your time's going to be like. That's not who you want to deal with, folks. You want to deal with folks like us who are going to go through and talk about vision and purpose for life. And then we're going to assign how your money can help fulfill that versus the other way around, counting every dollar and penny and then having nothing to do. Vision and purpose come before transacting. And that's how we look at things different.
It's that retirement chi that you talk about, right, Mike?
That's 100%. Retirement chi is about what your community health and impact's going to be in retirement. Retirement chi is really derived from chi, which means inner peace. And so, if you want to have retirement inner peace, you focused on what your community is going to be, what your health is going to be, and impact. And by the way, folks, that's from nearly 2,000-plus interactions with people who were preparing for retirement in my 26-year career.
All right. Couple of minutes left. Can rewiring help prevent some emotional burnout we see early in retirement?
Yeah. Research shows that retirees without purpose often face declining health, boredom, or even regret within the first 18 months. But those who stayed engaged mentally, relationally, and vocationally often thrive. Purpose is just as important as portfolio returns when you get to this phase of life from retirement to legacy.
So, how do you rewire without burning out again? Or here's a good one, or stepping on your spouse's toes to get into each other's space, you know, can be a problem.
Holy cow, man. If we want to talk about not stepping on spouse's toes, we need to go off the air, guys, right? Come into the conference room, right? Because you got a bigger problem if you're working about stepping on your spouse's toes. So, uh, so, so let's take this from the radio to my conference room for more, for more conversation on that. But one partner, you know, if one partner wants to start a nonprofit and the other thought they'd finally have help around the house, Well, that becomes some issues, guys. So, that's why when you come into the One Oak Financial Center on Colley Avenue, or you come into the One Oak virtual room on Zoom with me, we are actually going to be able to talk through those together in a peaceful, harmonious way. And we're going to be able to build a vision for what your one-of-a-kind life should look like.
All right, there you go. Let's talk about the one-of-a-kind financial plan one more time, Mike.
Well, you know, Gary's going to give you the phone number and a text Code, a few, a few other texts in just a second where you can call in. And the goal is to eventually, I want to talk to you because you are the most important part of your journey. It's not my portfolio recommendations. It's not my guaranteed income solutions. It's not my tax strategy. It's not my long-term care plan, or it's not my legacy. It's me listening to you and where you are. And then implementing my over 25 years of experience and over 10 years of academic experience and putting things in place around taxes, retirement income, investments, long-term care, and legacy. Because when it's about you folks, and then with my tools that are there, we can build a plan for you that has vision and purpose so you can live a life that is truly one of a kind. So call, because We're going to talk about you mostly, and then we're going to build a one-of-a-kind financial plan for your one-of-a-kind life.
The first step is sit down with a financial coach. Just sit down with Mike and the team. If something we've been talking about resonates with you, maybe you feel the need to get the second opinion. You want to make sure your plan is really aligned with your goals or your very important risk tolerance we talk about. If you don't have a plan at all, that's when you really need to pick up the phone. 800-748-1838. 800-748-1838. Or text the word ideas to 600-700- Do it right now. The folks at One Oak Financial standing by, ready for your phone call this weekend. You deserve a more confident plan to retire. Want to be stress-free? Peace of mind? Well, Mike and the team cannot help you get that one-of-a-kind financial plan unless you pick up the phone and dial that number one more time before we take our final break. 800-748-1838, or text the word IDEAS to 600-700.
One last message from our compliance team. As a reminder, Mike Milligan, Certified Financial Planner, is an investment advisor representative of Advisory Alpha LLC, an SEC registered investment advisor. All opinions expressed by me, Mike, or any podcast guests are solely our opinions and do not reflect the opinions of Advisory Alpha. This recording is for informational purposes only, should not be relied on solely for investment, tax, or legal decisions, and it's in no way intended to communicate or guarantee specific performance or suitability of any security instrument or product as we may have discussed. Investment advisory and financial planning services offered through Advisory Alpha LLC, a registered investment advisor. Insurance products are provided by Ideas Mike, a licensed agency located in Norfolk, Virginia, and licensed to do business in all 50 states. While tax and legal issues may be discussed in the general course of financial and investment planning, Advisory Alpha does not provide tax or legal services. Please consult with your tax or legal professional prior to making decisions related to these issues.
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an appointment with Ideas by Mike or One Oak Financial, please reach out via our website. This podcast is produced in conjunction with Mike Milligan, LLC.
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