Lynda Smith, Chartered Wealth Solutions client, Retire Successfully Retirementor and CEO of The Refirement Network, reflects on how creating a portfolio life is a practical way to continue to contribute in retirement.

The world of work is changing for all of us, young and old. The internet and the exponential speed at which technology is changing the world around us means that we may long to leave the stressful corporate world and find a way to combine a number of interests that keep us financially engaged and doing work we love.

Portfolio life was a term coined by the business guru Charles Handy in his book The Age of Unreason, published in 1989. Mr Handy explained the concept as “a portfolio of activities – some we do for money, some for interest, some for pleasure, some for a cause… the different bits fit together to form a balanced whole greater than the parts”.

Portfolio life in retirement

When coaching my clients a number of years before retirement, I try and help them to define their passion and talents and what they would like to do with their next season. I use the diagram below to help them unpack their unique picture.

Once we have completed the exercise we have some great ideas to chat about.

Everyone has different needs and desires and it is critical to experiment and plan what your next season may include. You may want to do some consulting, serve on a board, do some writing or facilitating and even share your skills as a volunteer in your area of passion. A mix of different roles constitutes a “portfolio career”.

Some of the work may be paid for and some may be for free. It is more important in this season to balance your work, leisure and family time, and for each family this will be different.

The benefits of this kind of work life are that you can continue to earn, remain intellectually stimulated, have flexibility and will most probably be happier.

Technology allows us the opportunity to do some of this work virtually and not always to be commuting. It also allows global opportunities to be a part of the mix.  It is important to discover your unique skills and how you want to manage this process. Once you are clear about your roles and have engaged with some practice in the market place, it is important to build your profile and market yourself. Your networks are critical and will enable introductions and opportunities.

Many young people are also engaging in portfolio careers as a result of wanting the freedom to move around, earn and grow. Technology has enabled a new part of our economy called the demand or gig economy and this too may form part of your portfolio. The article cited here explains more about this as part of your possible portfolio.

Longevity has gifted us with an extra season of life and this allows us to design a life unique for us in our early retirement years. Take the time to think through your skills, passions, talents and hobbies, work with a career coach and design your personal masterpiece.

Finding passion, purpose and a paycheque after 50

If you enjoyed this article by Lynda you may enjoy her blog on finding your passion, purpose and paycheque after 50. Access it here.

The most important book I have read this past year on the subject of ageing and longevity is The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott.

In this book, the authors aim to help us think through a longer life span and what we each need to consider as we grow older.

The prediction is that our lifespan is increasing by two to three years every decade; that means that over the past 100 years, we are – on average – likely to live twenty to thirty years longer than our great grandparents.

This certainly calls for a re-design of our thinking. Our children and grandchildren will be impacted much more than those of us currently close to retirement.

Here is an important quotation from the book: “The current three-stage life of education, career and retirement will be replaced by a multi-stage life with new stages, new ages and with the potential for much greater individualised sequencing. The challenge is the absence of role models so most of this will have to be invented as we go along. The 100-Year Life: Living and Work in an Age of Longevity brings clarity about the choices that you need to make in the age of longevity.”

Here some of the changes predicted:

• People will work until their 70s and 80s
• There will be new jobs and skills
• Getting the finances right is not everything
• Life will become multi-staged
• Transitions will become the norm
• New stages will emerge
• Re-creation will be more important than recreation
• Options will become more valuable
• Home and work relationships will transform
• Younger for longer

The book also talks about looking at both our tangible and our intangible assets as important items on our balance sheet of life. In a shorter lifespan, this may not have been as important, but it will certainly have a significant impact if we are living longer. The key is in the redesign of our thinking about our individual lives and taking a look at what we can do to bring a balance between the two types of assets.

Here are a few thoughts from the book on creating this balance:

• To think about longevity only in terms of finance and work is to negate the very essence of being human.
• The gift of a long life is fundamentally a much more intangible gift.
• A good life is supportive family, great friends, strong skills and knowledge, and good physical and mental health.
• Tangible and intangible assets are inter-dependent of one another.
• All assets require careful maintenance and mindful investment.
• Intangible assets are not as easy to measure as tangible assets like investments, homes and funds.

From a work perspective, changes are happening at an exponential rate and our children and grandchildren are likely to have many more transitions than we have experienced. Building skills, interests, diverse networks and interests in a number of areas both locally and globally will influence the choices and possibilities.

Resilience, creativity and problem solving are skills that humans have and that are currently not duplicable by computers. Being adaptable and being able to manage change effectively is key to survive and thrive in this kind of environment.

Longevity can be a gift or a curse and that choice will rest with us.

The future awaits.

The world of work is changing and the change seems to be on a speed wobble. This is especially true for those of us over the age of fifty. We grew up and worked in a world that was defined by an office, work hours and more local than global interaction.

The introduction of the internet in the last decade of the twentieth century is what is driving this change. The internet connected to smart phones and other devices changed the way we work, live and play.

The Gig or Demand Economy is defined as an environment in which temporary positions are common; organisations’ or individual’s contract with independent workers are for short-term assignments.

In this new economy, work can be done from anywhere and the technology already exists to bring together the work and the freelancers. There are a number of industries where this is already mainstream in our lives without our even being aware of it, and there are a number of industries emerging that will continue to bring change both for the freelancer and the client.

In a Gig economy, businesses save resources in terms of benefits, office space and training. They also have the ability to contract with experts for specific projects who might be too high-priced to maintain on staff. You may feel that this is only for the younger generation, but it is wise to stay informed since many opportunities will begin to emerge that may work for you.

Here are some local examples that are already around or about to hit the market:

• UBER has changed our lives. It may be a ride from the airport, a drive home from a party or an emergency solution for a parent, child or grandparent. In each of these models, there are two sides: the client and the service provider. Would you ever consider becoming an Uber driver or investing one of your vehicles in an Uber pool?
• AIRBNB is another service and income opportunity; Cape Town is a key success story for this new business model. I know of many friends making good money from international tourists visiting our shores. You may have engaged already to book through this business for either a local or international place to stay.
• This past month I was introduced to a new website called betterwage.com. This is a local website that has collected many different business models operating both locally and globally offering Gig economy services. This is a one-stop destination to understand where your skills and interests can be monetized: it may be writing, editing, surveys, teaching or many other possible opportunities. The most important thing is to understand the business model. In all cases, the business offering takes a small percentage for being the conduit in the business transaction.
• Exciting news in this space is that HOME CARE is about to become a reality in South Africa through a model called Care Delivery. Here is the website link: https://www.care.delivery/ – the model will offer home care services for post op, night care, wound care and general home care for the elderly. This will also open up a platform of professionals being able to offer their services to this market.
• Lastly, I want to share with you the winners of a competition this past week from SeedStars, an initiative that invests in and connects start-ups in emerging economies (www.seedstars.com). The winner in the South African competition was a company called IDwork (www.idwork.co) This is a platform to assist people needing handyman work done and finding the right person in your area to help you. It warms my heart to see job creation in our country at this level. This may be a great project to support if you have some work around the house waiting to be done.

The Gig economy is here. We are using it every day and it will continue to enhance our lives; at the same time, for many, it will look like work (as we know it) has changed forever. I choose to embrace the changes coming and enjoy both the opportunity of demand services and the possibility of many eggs in my basket as an earning opportunity.