What happens if “just work longer” isn’t an option for retirement? In this episode of Next Act Ninjas, Dr. Rachael Van Pelt breaks down why the default advice to delay retirement is unrealistic for most Americans—and what you can do instead. From unlocking home equity and downsizing, to creative real estate strategies, smart investing, and protecting your healthspan, this conversation will help you fill your retirement gap without depending on a paycheck.
What if “just work longer” isn’t an option for your retirement? In this episode of Next Act Ninjas, Dr. Rachael Van Pelt exposes why delaying retirement is bad advice for most Americans—and what smarter strategies you can use instead.
You’ll learn how to:
✅ Unlock the wealth hidden in your home (downsizing, house hacking, reverse mortgages)
✅ Reinvest equity to create sustainable income streams
✅ Optimize Social Security and Medicare decisions
✅ Protect your healthspan to reduce healthcare costs and extend wealthspan
✅ Redefine purpose and lifestyle beyond the paycheck
If your financial plan relies on working longer, it may not be much of a plan at all. Discover how to thrive in your Next Act—even when a paycheck isn’t possible.
✨ Ready to design a healthier, wealthier retirement strategy? Book a free discovery call with Dr. Rachael here: https://calendly.com/rachael-vanpelt/discovery
👉 Don’t miss these related episodes: • Episode 25: Is Starting Social Security Early the Best Financial Move? |
• Episode 47: Rightsizing vs. Downsizing: Finding the Perfect Fit for Lifestyle Longevity
Chapters
00:00 When Working Longer is Not an Option
03:16 Shifting Mindset from 'Keep Earning' to 'Growing Existing Wealth'
05:12 Leveraging Real Estate for Retirement
06:36 Re-invest Any Equity You Pull Out of Real Estate
08:17 Intergenerational Strategies for Growing Wealth
09:09 Can we Count on Social Security as a Safety Net?
11:40 Improve Healthspan to Extend Wealthspan
14:02 Creatively Find Alternative Solutions for Extending Wealthspan
What happens if "just work longer" isn't an option when it comes to retirement? That's the advice we hear over and over again, isn't it? From financial advisors, economists, even government policy makers. They say delay retirement, work a few more years, pad your nest egg and you'll be fine. But what if you can't? What if your body says no, or your job disappears to AI, or age discrimination shuts you out of the labor market? What if your spouse or an aging parent needs you more than your employer does? Today, we're diving into the reality that millions of people are facing right now. What do you do if working longer is no longer possible and you still have a retirement "gap" to fill?
I'm going to tell you right now, this is not a theoretical conversation. More than half of Americans retire earlier than expected, and not by choice. In fact, only one in five people retire financially ready. The reasons vary, of course, it could be health issues, caregiving responsibilities, layoffs, burnout. But the story is the same. The decision isn't always yours. And that's why this conversation is so important. Because if your financial plan relies on working longer, it may not be much of a plan at all.
Now before we dive in, I want to say this, talking about money and retirement is emotional, I know that. For many of you, this may hit too close to home. It may stir up fear, frustration, even anger. But I want you to know that's okay, it's valid. The retirement "gap", that space between what we need and what we actually have, is a real challenge. But here's the good news, when the traditional solution doesn't work, it opens up the door to creativity. And sometimes creativity leads to a better Next Act, better than you ever imagined.
But let's start with the myth itself. The idea that working longer is the golden ticket. On paper, sure, it makes sense. Every extra year of work means a bigger social security check, more money in your retirement account, and fewer years drawing down your savings. Economists love that math, but real life rarely looks like the spreadsheets. In real life, our bodies wear out, industries evolve, and caregiving pulls us in new directions, doesn't it?
Think about it. How many people do you know who actually worked to 70 by choice and loved it? Not many. More often I hear the opposite. I hear, "I was laid off before I was ready to retire", or "I just couldn't keep doing what I was doing". So if we know that's the reality, why is "work longer" still the default advice? Maybe because it's the simplest answer, but simple doesn't mean realistic.
Sure, of course, you can find another job, start a consulting business, find a side hustle you love. But this episode isn't about finding new ways to keep earning income from a job. It's about what to do when working longer just isn't an option. When working for a paycheck is off the table, you need to be creative about other ways to generate income. And this is going to require a big mindset shift. Instead of asking, "How do I keep earning from a job"? The better question is, "How do I make what money I already have work harder for me"?
So if not work, then what? Well, as a Realtor and real estate investor, I always have to start with the asset that quietly holds the most power, your home. For most Americans, housing is the single biggest piece of their retirement puzzle. It's where a big chunk of equity sits. It's our biggest drain on our monthly expenses, and it's the least flexible part of our finances. That is until we are no longer working. Once we're not tied to that home that's close to work, options open up, don't they? I've seen people completely transform their retirement by getting creative with where and how they live. They might choose to downsize, become a sunbird, or even vagabond across the country in an RV.
Of course, we talk about downsizing all the time here on Next Act Ninjas. And it isn't just about simplifying lifestyle. It's about freeing up your money and your energy. A large two-story house with a big yard might be a beautiful symbol of your family years, but if maintaining it drains your finances and your health, it's not an asset, it's a liability. Moving to a right-sized home, something that's more efficient and aligned with your lifestyle, can unlock hundreds of thousands of dollars and cut your monthly bills in half. And you may not even have to move very far. Many people just move across town to be close to family, community, or better healthcare. Because at this stage of life, where we live is much more about lifestyle than that daily commute to work.
Of course, some people get even more creative when it comes to leveraging real estate for lifestyle and wealthspan. They'll create a sunbird lifestyle, one where they split their time between a higher and a lower cost of living location, which then can reduce total yearly out-of-pocket expenses. Maybe they spend six months to be near friends and family and then six months in a warmer climate that supports year-round activity. And then they rent out those properties when they're not there to generate extra income. I think this is a great strategy for leveraging real estate to produce income in retirement, while at the same time supporting lifestyle.
House hacking is another option that's gained a lot of popularity recently. If you can turn a part of your home into an income generator, maybe renting out a basement, or if you have an accessory dwelling unit, an ADU in the back, that's pure gold. I've seen people cover their retirement "gap" with one small rental unit.
And if downsizing, house hacking, or renting out a vacation property is not an option for you, don't forget about home equity conversion mortgages (HECM). It has to be structured wisely, but for someone who wants to stay in their home and needs the cash flow, a reverse mortgage can be a lifeline. I think it's a great way to live off of the equity that you have in your home.
But I want to go deeper on ways to extend wealthspan when working for more years is no longer an option. Remember, we need to keep generating income, not simply living off whatever we already have. For example, if you do decide to downsize and pull equity out of your home, you can't simply live off that freed-up cash. You need to reinvest that equity to keep it growing throughout your retirement.
Talk to a financial planner, someone who can help you with this. Maybe you put the bulk of it into an S&P index fund while allocating a portion to dividend paying stocks. Those dividend stocks may not be flashy, but they can provide a bit of stability. For many people, turning a lump sum of savings into guaranteed monthly checks can provide some peace of mind. Just make sure you keep making your money work for you. Growing your retirement doesn't stop when you retire, you must keep investing.
If you have a second property, sometimes it will make sense to sell that property to pay off the mortgage on your primary residence and reduce your living expenses. Other times, it's going to make more sense to rent that second property out to generate monthly cash flow. Alternatively, you might decide to sell and reinvest that freed-up equity elsewhere.
In that case, you're just moving a portion of your portfolio from real estate into the stock market. Whether that makes good financial sense is going to depend on the market and of course your particular cash flow needs. But again, the mindset shift is about making your money work for you when you're no longer able to collect a paycheck.
Interestingly, we're starting to see more intergenerational strategies gain in popularity. As older generations decide to downsize and younger generations struggle to buy their first home, many families are getting creative and finding ways to pool their resources. In some cases, adult children are moving in with parents, in others, parents are moving in with their adult children. Regardless, families are finding living situations that work for everyone. They're sharing household expenses, helping with childcare or elder care. Or maybe they're investing together, buying a duplex where one generation lives on one side and the other in the second. These ideas, they might sound unconventional, but they're becoming increasingly common. And I think they're a great way to strengthen family ties and improve financial resilience.
Of course, we can't ignore the role of traditional social security safety nets. Medicare and those sorts of things. They're a lifeline for millions of us, but they weren't designed for the world we live in today. When these safety nets were created, lifespan was shorter, healthcare was cheaper, pensions were more common. Now, lifespans are longer, healthcare costs keep skyrocketing, and pensions, well, they're few and far between, aren't they? The math just doesn't work the way it used to.
And I bring this up not to worry you, but to remind you to utilize these resources while you can. Be grateful for them, but recognize they may not be here forever. The difference between taking Social Security at 62 versus 70, can make a big difference in your monthly check. Until you realize the Social Security Administration has already run the numbers themselves. They know if you take your withdrawals later, it's advantageous to their bottom line, based on current life expectancies. That's why it's important to run your own numbers, to understand your break-even point, and to think strategically about this. Because if you can't work longer, it's even more important for you to optimize what you are getting from the government.
I did an entire podcast on this topic last year. It's episode number 25. I highly recommend you go back and listen to it. My biggest takeaway, if you don't need your Social Security now to live on immediately, claim it anyway. Just don't spend it. Instead, I want you to reinvest that money in something relatively predictable, like an S&P index fund, and let it grow until you need it. That's all the Social Security Administration is going to do anyway with that money. The nice thing is if you have that in your own investment account it gives you a bit more control over that money. You can tap into it if something does come up. And, if Social Security goes belly up, you'll at least have received a portion of those funds.
Because let's be honest there's a lot of political pressure for policy changes. We may see expanded Social Security and Medicare coverage over the years or we may not. The emergence of AI has many people talking about universal basic income (UBI) for Americans, and that could disrupt all of these safety nets. These shifts, they may be a long way off, but they could also happen immediately. So pay attention. Work with what you have. Don't get blindsided. Keep growing your wealthspan, even as you draw on retirement.
Importantly, don't neglect healthspan. Because let's face it, one of the fastest ways to drain your retirement savings is through poor health. Every hospitalization, every new prescription, every procedure chips away at your nest egg. But the opposite is also true, isn't it? Every year that you delay chronic disease, every year you maintain strength and independence, you stretch those dollars further, which means the original problem of not being able to work longer, morphs into an opportunity, an opportunity to work on your health and reduce expenses.
Healthspan is wealthspan. Taking care of your body is not about trying to live longer. It's about reducing the cost of lifespan while you improve quality of life. And if I've learned anything from 25 years as a healthspan scientist, it's this. You have more control over your health than you think. Building muscle, prioritizing sleep, managing stress, fueling your body wisely, they're not just "healthy habits", they're financial strategies. They buy you time, they save you money, and they give you so much more freedom.
I've seen the numbers. One client who invested her newly freed-up time into exercise and nutrition and regular checkups, she spends less than $3,000 per year on healthcare. While another who neglected all of these things when she retired, she spends over $30,000 per year. That's a tenfold difference. Over a decade, that extra quarter of a million dollars spent on healthcare can drain a retirement fund fast. So I want you to take the opportunity to improve healthspan if you want to protect your wealthspan. Without that 9-to-5 job, you don't have any more excuses. Neglecting your health is not an option.
And that includes redefining what gives your life meaning and purpose, what drives fulfillment, what makes you feel useful, connected. None of these things require a paycheck, they just require imagination. I've seen many people blossom in retirement because they finally give themselves permission to live differently. They volunteer, they mentor, they start passion projects, they simplify their expenses so that they can spend time on what really matters and create a Next Act that is far richer than they originally imagined.
Which brings me to alternative solutions that we might not have previously considered. For example, going against the grain and selling your family home instead of keeping it for the kids, or moving abroad to a country with a lower cost of living, joining a co-housing community where people share resources and support each other. I think these are all wonderful adaptations. And adaptation is the secret to longevity, not just biological longevity, but financial and emotional longevity. The people who thrive aren't always the ones with the biggest investment portfolios. They're the ones willing to think differently, to bend instead of break, to choose creativity over fear.
And that brings me back to our original question. What happens if working longer is not an option? What do you do when the default recommendation from government officials and financial planners doesn't fit your life? Well, you pivot, of course. You get creative, you rethink your plan, you stop trying to solve new challenges with old strategies. Yesterday's strategy may have been to earn more money, today it's to grow the money you have and shrink your expenses.
The truth is you have more options than you realize. You can unlock the power of your home. You can keep growing your wealth. You can optimize your health. You can redefine what brings you fulfillment. Working longer may not be possible, but living smarter always is. And that's the essence of creating your best Next Act. Not following someone else's blueprint, but designing your own. One that fits your health, your finances, your purpose.
Just don't let fear paralyze you. Let it spark your creativity. Ask yourself, "What if my best years aren't behind me, but ahead of me"? What if this limitation is actually an opportunity? Because when you approach it that way, you're not just surviving your retirement, you're building the life you were meant to live.
That's it for today, Ninjas. If this episode resonated with you and you're ready for some coaching to level-up your Next Act, hop on my calendar. You'll find the link to book a free discovery call in the show notes.
Until next time, live well, love more, age less, my friends.