Purpose, People, and Core Pursuits: Key Ingredients to a Happy Retirement

在《Motley Fool Hidden Gems 投资播客》的周六个人理财版上，主持人罗伯特·布罗坎普继续了他与韦斯·莫斯的对话。韦斯·莫斯是一位注册理财规划师、资本投资顾问公司的首席投资策略师、《更早退休》播客的主持人以及《更早退休方法》一书的作者。讨论深入探讨了成功退休的非财务和财务方面，强调了收益投资、“SWAN资金”（高枕无忧资金），以及友谊和社群的关键作用。 莫斯首先强调了“退休是为了追求某事”而不是“逃离某事”的重要性，并引入了**核心追求**的概念。他将这些定义为不仅仅是爱好，而是“升级版爱好”或“超级活动”，这些活动定期进行——每周、每周几次，或至少每月一次——并且令人热切期待。与简单的消遣不同，核心追求包含热爱、期盼和对进步的渴望，为日常生活提供了目标和日程。莫斯的研究发现，快乐的退休人士在这些追求上花费的时间显著更多，目标是达到五项或更多。 他研究中一个值得注意的发现是**冒险相关的核心追求**的特殊作用。虽然核心追求的类型通常并未显示出对幸福感的显著差异，但旅行、房车自驾、徒步、狩猎、钓鱼或登山等冒险活动却是一个例外。快乐的退休人士平均拥有近两项此类追求，而不快乐的退休人士则只有一项。这与“预期幸福感”有关，即在冒险到来之前的兴奋感可能与体验本身一样令人愉快，甚至更甚。莫斯建议通过从个人价值观出发，然后集思广益地确定承诺，来识别这些追求，从而创建“快乐退休生活地图”——一个可视化的、手绘的活动计划。这种绘画行为有助于巩固意图，使其更有可能被实现。 快乐退休的另一个基石是**社群和友谊**。布罗坎普引用了莫斯调查中一个有力的统计数据：81%的快乐退休人士认为他们有足够的朋友，而不快乐的退休人士中只有38%有此感受。莫斯将这描述为美国正处于“友谊衰退期”，并指出自1990年以来，零朋友或朋友数量少于或等于两人的比例显著增加。他将部分原因归咎于人口结构，因为随着年龄增长，结交新朋友变得更加困难，而且当前人口正在老龄化。有意为之是培养和补充个人社群的关键，因为工作中的朋友和同事在退休后自然会逐渐疏远。莫斯将投资人际关系比作投资财务：正如一个人不会指望没有定期投入的退休账户会增长一样，人际关系也需要持续的投入，最好从退休前就开始。他警告说，若一味专注于工作而没有时间建立这些重要的社会联系，就会达到“无法挽回的地步”，这将使得在晚年“启动”社群引擎变得困难。 谈到财务方面，莫斯讨论了退休后从财富积累到**分配**的转变。他建议在大约退休前五年开始这一转变，重点是创造“SWAN资金”（高枕无忧资金），这通常意味着从支出角度拥有大约三年份的安全性资产。这种心理缓冲有助于管理对资金耗尽的恐惧，尤其是在市场波动的情况下。 莫斯是**多元资产类别收益投资 (MACI)**的倡导者。他解释说，所有投资都归结为总回报 (TR) 等于增长 (G) 加上收益 (I)。收益投资通过分散投资于债券、股票、房地产投资信托 (REITs) 和能源投资等各种资产类别，战略性地利用 G 和 I。每种资产类别都以自己的方式产生现金，提供支付（收益）和潜在升值（增长）。在标普500指数股息收益率可能较低的市场中，MACI允许退休人士纳入收益率更高的资产（2%、3%、4%、5%），从而在增长与更可预测的收益流之间取得平衡。这种组合提供了心理上的舒适感，并有助于退休期间的整体总回报。 最后，莫斯强调了拥有**书面计划**的重要性。他指出，最快乐的退休人士更有可能拥有一个具体的书面计划，而不仅仅是脑海中的一个概念。他建议从时间线开始：设想距离退休还有多少年以及预期的寿命。然后，评估当前的资产和储蓄，并以保守的回报率预测其增长。这种简单的数学练习可以大大减轻对未来的焦虑，并增加实现莫斯所称的“亚里士多德式的幸福”的可能性——这种幸福感源于人生目标和社群，而非纯粹的享乐主义幸福。布罗坎普表示赞同，并感谢莫斯为充实的退休生活提供了宝贵的见解。

On the Saturday Personal Finance Edition of the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing Podcast, host Robert Brokamp continued his conversation with Wes Moss, a certified financial planner, chief investment strategist at Capital Investment Advisors, host of the Retire Sooner podcast, and author of "The Retire Sooner Method." The discussion delved into both the non-financial and financial aspects of a successful retirement, emphasizing income investing, "SWAN money," and the crucial role of friendship and community. Moss began by highlighting the importance of "retiring to something" rather than "from something," introducing the concept of **core pursuits**. He defines these not as mere hobbies, but as "hobbies on steroids" or "super activities" that are done regularly – weekly, a couple of times a week, or at least monthly – and eagerly anticipated. Unlike simple pastimes, core pursuits involve love, anticipation, and a desire for improvement, providing daily purpose and a schedule. Moss's research found that happy retirees spend significantly more time on these pursuits, aiming for five or more. A notable insight from his research is the special role of **adventure-related core pursuits**. While the type of core pursuit generally didn't show a significant difference in happiness, adventure-related activities like travel, RVing, hiking, hunting, fishing, or mountain climbing proved an exception. Happy retirees averaged almost two such pursuits compared to just one for unhappy retirees. This is linked to "anticipatory happiness," where the excitement leading up to an adventure can be as enjoyable, or even more so, than the experience itself. Moss suggests identifying these by starting with personal values and then brainstorming commitments, creating "happy retiree life maps" – a visual, drawn plan of activities. This act of drawing helps embed intentions and makes pursuing them more likely. Another cornerstone of a happy retirement is **community and friendship**. Brokamp cited a powerful statistic from Moss's survey: 81% of happy retirees felt they had enough friends, compared to only 38% of unhappy retirees. Moss described this as being in a "friendship recession" in America, noting a significant increase in people with zero friends or two friends or fewer since 1990. He attributes part of this to demographics, as making new friends becomes harder with age, and the current population is aging. Intentionality is key to cultivating and replenishing one's community, as friends and colleagues from work naturally drift away in retirement. Moss likened investing in relationships to investing financially: just as one wouldn't expect a retirement account to grow without regular contributions, relationships require continuous investment, ideally starting before retirement. He warned against the "point of no return" where an exclusive focus on work leaves little time for building these crucial social connections, making it difficult to "start the engine" of community later in life. Transitioning to the financial side, Moss discussed the shift from wealth accumulation to **distribution** in retirement. He advises starting this transition roughly five years before retirement, focusing on creating "SWAN money" (sleep well at night money), which often means having about three years' worth of safety assets from a spending perspective. This psychological buffer helps manage the fear of running out of money, especially given market volatility. Moss is a proponent of **multi-asset class income investing (MACI)**. He explained that all investing boils down to total return (TR) equals growth (G) plus income (I). Income investing strategically harnesses both G and I by diversifying across various asset classes like bonds, stocks, REITs, and energy investments. Each asset class generates cash in its own way, offering both payments (income) and potential appreciation (growth). In a market where the S&P 500 might have a low dividend yield, MACI allows retirees to incorporate assets with higher yields (2%, 3%, 4%, 5%), balancing growth with more predictable income streams. This mix provides psychological comfort and contributes to overall total return during retirement. Finally, Moss stressed the importance of having a **written plan**. He noted that the happiest retirees are far more likely to have a concrete, written plan rather than just a concept in their minds. He suggests starting with a timeline: visualizing the number of years until retirement and the expected lifespan. Then, assess current assets and savings, projecting their growth with a conservative rate of return. This simple, mathematical exercise can alleviate significant anxiety about the future and increase the likelihood of achieving what Moss calls the "Aristotle brand of happiness" – a sense of fulfillment derived from life purpose and community, as opposed to purely hedonic happiness. Brokamp concurred, thanking Moss for his invaluable insights into a fulfilling retirement.