Yesterday I attended a funeral for one of my medical school classmates. He was only 58 and left behind a beautiful family. He retired last spring, not because he wanted to, but because cancer had drained him of the energy to work and limited the future time with his family. Prior to his illness, he was vibrant and active, loved sports, and took good care of himself. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with recurrent prostate cancer and by the time it was discovered, it was widespread. He lasted about a year.
As a physician, I have heard this story too many times, though it is more impactful when it hits someone close to you. As a financial planner, I spend a lot of time helping my clients plan, save, and invest for what we hope will be a financially secure retirement. It involves a lot of number crunching and goal setting. And it is a valuable exercise.
But as I sat in the pews of the church yesterday, I realized that we often overlook perhaps the most important variable in the quality of our retirement years: our health and that of our spouse.
I think we all envision a retirement full of travel, golf, fishing, time with family, volunteerism, or whatever else brings you fulfillment and adds meaning to your life. That might even be what gets us through some of our more difficult days at work. However, many people don’t get to experience such an active retirement — even if they have enough money to fund it.
It is just a reality that the older you get, the more health issues you are likely to have. Sometimes these are the annoyances of aging, but sometimes these are debilitating conditions that can severely impact the quality of life. And even if you are not the one affected directly, if it is your spouse, it can be just as difficult. Maybe more so.
My grandfather worked hard all his life as a truck driver. Though never wealthy, he eventually saved enough to retire and to buy a fifth wheel trailer and a new truck. He was excited to finally be able to spend some time with my grandmother traveling around the country, visiting family and appreciating time together. But, almost immediately after his retirement, my grandmother became chronically ill and couldn’t travel. So, he sold his trailer and bought a small farm to keep himself busy. It wasn’t what he had hoped for, and I remember always feeling sorry that they missed out on that time together.
Health challenges can come through no fault of your own and are unpredictable. My medical school friend’s was like that. There is not much you can do to plan for those situations other than to just adapt.
But many problems with our health are preventable or can at least be delayed. Are we paying as much attention to our health as we do our retirement accounts? Are we willing to spend what it takes to invest in a healthy future? Is that time away from work? A gym membership? A personal trainer? A new bike? A healthier diet? Are we avoiding the things that we know are bad for us? Are we getting good sleep? Are we managing stress? We preach all of that to our patients. How well do we follow our own advice? I think whatever it costs to motivate you to take care of yourself is a very worthy investment.
My friend’s funeral also reminded me to never put off spending time with your family or doing the things that you enjoy with the intention to save it all up for later. You might not get the chance. He was a great example of never letting work take priority over his family. And it was evident in how they remembered him. He had a household full of love and support and left a wonderful legacy. The thing that brings the most meaning and joy in life is not money. It is not even purpose. It is the quality relationships with those you love. You should never put those off.
Practicing medicine is difficult. It is not easy to maintain a good work/life balance with so many demands on our time. It is hard to prioritize taking care of ourselves and our relationships. But even harder would be looking back at the missed opportunities that you assumed you would have later. Yes, invest in your 401(k). But, more importantly, invest in your health. Invest in those whom you love and who love you. They are infinitely more valuable.
Bryan Jepson MD, CFP®, ChSNC® is a retired emergency medicine physician and now a full-time financial planner who works at Targeted Wealth Solutions. His practice focuses on physicians and other high impact professionals, as well as on families with special needs. He has a blog called Financial Grand Rounds, is the author of The Physician’s Path to True Wealth (available on Amazon) and the cohost of a new podcast called The Second Shift that focuses on discussing the challenges and opportunities of what comes after you retire from medicine.
Animation by Diana Connolly
