Purpose After Retirement

What happens when the climb is over? When the resume is finished, the calendar opens up, and the question is no longer, what do I do next? The “R” word, retirement, isn’t actually in the Bible. I prefer to call this season the post-income years.

For the latest episode of Nuance, I sit down with my longtime friend, Rev. David Kim, to explore the vocation of our wisdom years. David is an ordained Presbyterian pastor, the former chaplain at Princeton University, and the founder of Goldenwood, a community devoted to seeing work revived by love. He is currently researching how the later decades of life are not a vocational afterthought, but a distinct calling marked by availability, discernment, and gift.

We push past the cultural assumption that retirees should just be wallflowers. Here is a sample of what we covered in the episode:

• The “Third Third” of Life: Society struggles to categorize this season of life. Yet, many find that when the nine-to-five distractions fade away, God’s calling actually becomes louder and more clear.

• The Emeritus Project: In academia and the church, “emeritus” is an honorific title that recognizes a lifetime of contribution and maintains an ongoing relationship with the institution. David explains how we can adapt this concept for all industries. This creates win-win scenarios that keep retirees engaged while transferring their generational wisdom to younger employees.

• Companions Over Mentors: The word “mentor” can bring a lot of artificial pressure. David prefers the term “spiritual companion,” reminding us that cross-generational relationships should be an authentic, two-way street where we simply walk side-by-side.

• Atrophied Spiritual Muscles: Men, in particular, often face a stark feeling of irrelevance when they lose their workplace identity. Spiritual formation is just like physical exercise. If you do not build your spiritual muscles before you transition, you will succumb to your own insecurities and fears rather than hearing the voice of God.

If you are nearing this transition, or if you simply want to rethink how our workplaces and churches value their elders, you will want to listen to this one.