New Retirement: Get Advice from MIT Alumni

The head of MIT's AgeLab asked 200 alumni this summer what advice they would offer for an active and fulfilling retirement. The questioner, Joseph Coughlin, already knows a lot about older people through his studies of successful aging as a complex system.

The MIT group, averaging in age about 79 so their retirement journeys are well underway, quickly jotted down advice. Coughlin reported the results in a Wall Street Journal MarketWatch article Aug. 1. Here are the key points:

1. Set Up a Good Financial Plan

No surprises there but he pointed out that men were more likely to underscore this point and to push long-term planning. Think "continuous preparation" for the marathon of retirement, not just the first few years when people are likely to have relative wealth, health, and optimism, they advise.

2. Keep Working and Learning

Beyond additional financial resources, having a sense of purpose, a place to go, and a refreshed sense of self rank high among active retirees.

3. Stay Fit to Remain Healthy

Keeping fit matters as the decades roll on. Older people care about body image, and regular exercise is good insurance against illness and disability.

4. Build Friendship Networks

Women were the quickest to point out the importance of friends and family, but both men and women benefit from active social networks and making younger friends.

Follow Coughlin's explorations of aging on his blog, Disruptive Demographics including these recent posts:

• "Does Age Predict Technology Adoption?"
• "Early Retirement: A Bad Idea Back Again"
• "Graduation & Retirement: Three Strategies for Surviving Both"