In this inaugural episode of Next Act Ninjas, Rachael Van Pelt explores how to reframe retirement and break free from aging-in-place to thriving with vibrant health and financial freedom. Discover the secrets to extending your healthspan and wealthspan to maximize lifestyle longevity. Start casting a vision for your ideal future, whether that’s a downsized or active sunbird lifestyle. Embark on a journey to live well, love more, and age less.
Takeaways
Chapters
Introduction (00:01.222)
Hello and welcome to Next Act Ninjas, the podcast for longevity -minded adults who are redefining retirement and lifestyle creation. I'm your host, Rachael Van Pelt, a retired healthspan scientist, turned Realtor and coach. Whether you're considering a luxurious downsized life or you're aspiring to be an active sunbird, this is the place to create your best next act. Today, we're diving into a topic that's near and dear to my heart and that's...
how to stop aging in place and start thriving in place. You know how so many people struggle with declines in health and wealth as they age? Well, I want to help you massively improve your healthspan and wealthspan, even if you've been struggling with declines for decades. But first, let's define what I even mean by healthspan and wealthspan. They're of course independent of lifespan or the number of years you live.
Healthspan is how many of those years you live in good health, free from chronic disease or disability, whereas wealthspan's how many of those years that you have the financial resources to support that vibrant, healthy lifestyle you've created. And these things go hand in hand, don't they? So I wanna ask you a question. Have you taken the time to envision the kind of lifestyle that you want long term? What about the kind of health,
and wealth, you need to support that dream. Drop your comments in the chat below. I'd love to know where you're starting from. Because here's the thing, we all need to have vision. Without a vision, we perish long before our time. And I get it, casting a vision, it's not easy, is it? Often we get to a certain age and we simply stop dreaming. But the vision you cast and the choices you make right now,
massively impact your independence, your quality of life over the next few decades. If you want to thrive rather than simply survive the next 20 to 30 years, you must set your sights on that dream. And you will need to make smart investments in your health and wealth right now. If you want to maximize your freedom and quality of life, and/or you want to leave a legacy, it's time to set your intentions and start down the road of mastery.
Busting the Retirement Myth (02:25.35)
Whether you're just a white belt getting started or you already have your black belt and want to fine tune, you are in the right place. But before we go deeper into what mastery might look like, let's start by busting a pervasive myth. The myth that retirement is all about slowing down and frugally living off your retirement nest egg for the next few decades. I mean, is that really what any of us strive for? Why?
When we're just reaching our prime of life, would we simply putter away our years on the golf course or wherever? I have nothing against golfing. I like to golf. But seriously, most people I talk to want to keep leading a fulfilling life, contributing to society in a meaningful way. This is your chance. It's your chance to take all of your hard-earned experience and use it to grow, innovate, evolve, expand.
It's your opportunity to keep creating a lifestyle that's abundant in health and wealth. I call this lifestyle longevity.
Why is busting the retirement myth important? Because I believe traditional retirement is a relic of the past. And holding onto this culturally pervasive idea is costly. It's costing us individually. It's costing us as a society. The retirement age of 60 or 65 was implemented after World War II when average life expectancy was only 70 to 75 years of age. Think about that for a minute.
That gave us just one decade to kick back and enjoy ourselves. And the assumption was that during retirement, we would stop contributing to society. We would become a net recipient, a drain, if you will. And in this context, maybe our pay-it-forward social security-supported retirement plan worked, didn't it? However, I think it becomes problematic in today's world where birth rates have declined, our age demographic has flipped on its head, we have...
Becoming an Asset not a Liability (04:31.718)
older adults than ever in our history. And while we're living longer, we aren't necessarily living healthier during those added years, are we? Social security is insufficient. Medical expenses are skyrocketing. The bottom line, from both a societal point of view and an individual point of view, we don't have any other option but to improve our healthspan and wealthspan. It's time for us to flip the script and become an asset.
rather than a liability to society or a liability to our kids and our grandkids. So why don't we go a little deeper on healthspan? As a longevity scientist and coach, I've seen firsthand how leveling up health mid -life can totally transform the number of years we can rock our health. Oftentimes we think of age-related declines in health as inevitable.
We see our physiology peaking in early adulthood and then declining rapidly thereafter. Think about your own declines in strength, fitness, mental acuity since you were young. But aging, it's not just a downhill toboggan ride. We now know based on decades of scientific research that we can prevent many aspects of our physiology from declining. We can totally expand our healthspan, maintaining function and independence.
right up until the end of life. And I'm not simply talking about maintaining just enough mobility and avoiding disability so that we stay off medications, out of the hospital, out of the nursing home. While that's a great outcome. I'm all for that, of course. It's not what ignites our passion, wouldn't you agree? I mean, why would we stop at simply slowing age-related declines? I think most...
most of us would much rather continue to level up our lives. Why wouldn't we want to stay healthy enough to become a sunbird, maybe purchase that second property in our dream location? Why not maintain enough energy and strength to travel back and forth between two homes in amazing locations, enjoying the best climates year round? Or what about staying strong enough just to be able to keep doing all the wonderful activities you love?
Your Dream Next Act Lifestyle (06:58.822)
Maybe it's scuba diving, sailing, skiing, running, dancing, paragliding, whatever it is that lights you up and makes your heart sing. Isn't that the kind of healthspan we're talking about? Isn't that the kind of healthspan you want? I know it's what I want. Because it's not just about adding years to our life, it's about adding life to our years. But I'm going to tell you right now, that kind of healthspan we're talking about doesn't just happen by chance.
You have to invest in yourself if you want to play the long game. And your window of opportunity is right now. I have to tell you a story. Years ago, I had the unique opportunity to study younger and older athletes compared to sedentary adults. In fact, I am never going to forget the day when I was testing a 57 -year -old postmenopausal woman on the treadmill. We were measuring her aerobic fitness.
She was crushing it. Her fitness was better than most 20 -something year olds. And when I looked at the rest of her data, I realized her metabolism was better, her cholesterol was better, her bones were stronger. And that's when it hit me. There's a huge difference between biological aging and chronological aging. While I was 30 years younger than her chronologically, and supposedly at my peak,
She was younger biologically at the cellular level and she hadn't been athletic her whole life. She'd only picked up running in her early 50s. So it's never too late to get started. What I learned that day and repeatedly throughout my research career is that much of what we think of as an inevitable consequence of aging is not at all inevitable. It's modifiable. It's preventable.
but it takes a comprehensive lifestyle approach. We found that the healthiest masters athletes we studied, they weren't just physically more active. Their entire lifestyle was healthier and wealthier. On the other hand, we also have plenty of clues from unsuccessful agers. We have data from geriatric research that you can't wait indefinitely. It only gets harder and harder the older we get. Declines in muscle.
Window of Opportunity (09:24.614)
and bone, increases in fat, memory declines, they all do eventually become irreversible. I hate to say it. And although in the past I worked with older adults in their 70s and 80s, we did find that there are still lifestyle changes that they could make to keep functioning independently. It did get exponentially harder for them. But I'm sure that's why you're here.
If you're listening to this podcast, then you are the type of person who knows that you have to take things into your own hands and be proactive. And you probably intuitively know that there is a distinct window of opportunity in midlife when it's still within your power to reboot your physiology, completely change the trajectory of your healthspan. And the same is true for rebooting your wealthspan. Clearly,
If we are going to live longer, healthier lives, we need the wealthspan to support our lifestyle. I mean, what good is living healthier longer if we're worried about outliving our retirement funds? Now, the good news is that simply staying healthy enough to keep all of your nest egg from going to big pharma and major medical is going to greatly improve your financial situation. However, few of us here,
Want to simply reduce metal medical expenses do we? Again slowing age-related declines is not what gets us out of bed in the morning. It's not what excites us! What's really exciting is having the economic freedom to keep having fun continuing to have choices It's the ability to keep expanding your life rather than seeing it shrink year after year
Wouldn't you like the option to keep doing all those fun activities you stayed strong for? Traveling to your heart's content, living where you want to live, living how you want to live. live. live.
Healthspan and Wealthspan are Interconnected (11:27.782)
Let's flush out that dream even more. What if you not only have the health and wealth to, for example, keep skiing in your 70s, but you can even pay for the kids and grandkids to join you at the ski resort for a fabulous family vacation? And what if you're even strong enough to keep up with them on the slopes? How does that feel? Okay, maybe skiing's not your thing. Maybe you have other dreams and desires. It doesn't matter. The concept's the same.
your healthspan, your wealthspan, they go hand in hand. Like healthspan, the kind of wealthspan that we're talking about doesn't just happen by chance. You have to invest in yourself now if you want to win the long game. And that window of opportunity closes fast, doesn't it? So how do we do that? How do we make sure we're thriving in place rather than simply aging in place like most people? Well, I think it starts with
three simple steps. First, we need to reframe retirement. I don't even like the word retirement. It just sounds, well, tired. We're not retiring from anything, are we? We're transitioning to our next act. We are stepping powerfully into our best years and creating a lifestyle that lights us up. This transition is an exciting time to pursue passions, start new adventures, build encore careers. It's a time to
keep creating, innovating, leading. It's not an end. It's an exciting new beginning. And let's face it, this is our chance to finally get it right. That second step, level up your health right now. Regular physical activity, a nourishing diet, mental stimulation, they're not optional. In fact, they're non -negotiable in our 50s and 60s.
As a health longevity coach, I want you to be stronger, fitter, more well -nourished, well -rested, less stressed than you've ever been before. And you have to work both smarter and harder. What you got away with in your 20s and 30s won't fly today. And clearly, your health goals are going to be totally different now than they were before. We have to be thinking long game at this point.
Playing the Long Game (13:53.446)
And third, you have to make critical investment decisions right now. As a Realtor and investor, I think a lot about how important it is to make smart financial decisions the closer and closer we get to retirement. Some of the biggest decisions will revolve around your real estate moves. Maybe you're contemplating downsizing and simplifying. Maybe it's relocating to be near your family. Or maybe you want to invest in a vacation property.
Whatever that next move looks like, your real estate decisions should align with your lifestyle goals. They just need to.
Ideally, that decision you make today will enhance your wealthspan and healthspan tomorrow. We have to think beyond the traditional 401k retirement plan and get strategic. Your next moves are not just financial. They're about crafting the lifestyle longevity you desire. In upcoming episodes, we'll dive deeper into each of these areas.
we'll help you decide whether downsizing or becoming a sunbird are right for you. We'll talk to people like you who've taken various paths to create their best next act. We'll share innovative health trends, smart investment strategies, real estate tips, tax and estate planning, all of the topics that are going to help you make smarter decisions to be a master of your health and wealth longevity, a ninja, if you will.
when it comes to crafting your next act. I don't think most of us want to age in place. Doesn't that just sound like a slow, tortured, contracted existence? Wouldn't you much rather thrive in place? Because remember, aging doesn't have to suck. Your next act could be your best act, but only if you set that intention and you start moving in that direction. We're going to help you do that here.
Until Next Time (15:58.246)
Thank you for joining me on this journey. I'm Rachael Van Pelt and you've been listening to Next Act Ninjas. Don't forget to share, like and subscribe and join me next time as we continue to master our lifestyle longevity. Until then, live well, love more, age less, my friend.