Redefining Retirement for Executives and Owners (Ep. 34)
You’re a leader one to three years from retirement. The financial plan is coming together, but you still can’t picture what an ordinary Tuesday will look like once the title, the calendar, and the team are gone. Filling your free time seems like the obvious task, yet a busy schedule alone may not replace the identity, belonging, and purpose your work has given you.
In this conversation, Danton Troyer and Kyle Luetters talk with Thomas Auffenberg, founder of The Next Chapter Institute and author of Discerning Retirement, about the non-financial side of leaving a long career. Danton shares that people often underestimate the retirement transition and the loss of identity, even after the numbers are in place. Tom explains why deciding who you want to be in your next chapter can help guide how you choose to spend your time.
Tom discusses:
- Why loss of identity, loss of community, boredom, and lack of structure, meaning, and purpose are common concerns for successful people approaching retirement
- How, in his experience, about 95% of program participants arrive focused on filling their time, and most end up focused on who they want to become
- Why the being question can help answer the doing question, from being more generous to being more patient
- How his own spiritual approach, grounded in Ignatian discernment and prayer, shapes the program and who it tends to fit
- How small peer groups that meet monthly may help turn a written next-chapter plan into action through brainstorming, encouragement, and accountability
- Why deciding on the right balance matters, since people can become just as busy in retirement as they were at work
- And more!
Resources:
Connect With Danton Troyer:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Danton Troyer
- dtroyer@monetagroup.com
- (314) 735-9087
Connect With Kyle Luetters:
- Moneta Group
- LinkedIn: Kyle Luetters
- kluetters@monetagroup.com
- (314) 536-8297
Connect With Thomas Auffenberg:
About Our Guest:
Tom retired in 2016 after careers in teaching, law/financial planning, and twenty-five years as a business owner. His education includes a BA in philosophy from the Santa Clara University, a law degree from St. Louis University, a Certified Financial Planner®
designation, an MA in Theology and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Aquinas Institute, and training to companion people making the Spiritual Exercises. Tom participated in a one-year program focusing on transitioning from the work years to the retirement years at The Halftime Institute and afterward became a Certified Halftime Coach. In addition to serving on several non-profit boards in the St. Louis community, Tom previously served as the Regional Coordinator for Contemplative Leaders in Action – St. Louis, and is currently the Program Director for The Next Chapter Program.
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