Retirement security and financial security used to mean the same thing. Save enough, invest wisely, and the rest would follow. That equation has not changed. The world it was built for has.

Zoe retired 10 years ago. Not all at once. She eased into retirement, working part time for several years before finally leaving work behind.

She had plans. More time with her grandchildren. Trips she and her husband had postponed for years. Lunches with friends. Volunteer work. The freedom to decide what each day would be.

As she put it: “I earned this.”

Then I asked what retirement had actually been like.

She looked away for a moment before answering. “I didn’t expect this.”

Confused, I asked, “What didn’t you expect?”

She paused. “Everything. Just name it. The pandemic. Inflation. The grocery bill. Gas prices. The wars. It just keeps coming.”

Then she said something that stayed with me.

“Everything is so complicated. It’s hard to get your head around it, let alone pay for it.”

I don’t think Zoe was talking only about money. I think she was describing something many retirees recognize but struggle to explain.

Retirement Is Not Immune To Events

In just the past six years, retirees have lived through a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, the highest inflation in years, geopolitical conflict, rapidly changing technologies, and increases in the cost of everyday life.

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