I first heard about Roger Whitney on the Afford Anything podcast. In this episode, he said:

I don’t believe in retirement

Roger Whitney and I are the same age, 57, except that he’s better looking than I am, and he has more letters after his name.

He began his career as a financial advisor in 1991, right at the start of the tech boom. He acquired all his expertise by making plenty of mistakes along the way.

Roger Whitney’s preferred clientele are people transitioning into retirement or those already retired.

Roger didn’t want to be a general practitioner in financial advising. He found specializing in retirement planning to be far more rewarding.

At one time in history, people typically worked for a company for 40 years. At the end of those 40 years, they would retire, receive a gold pen or a watch, and enjoy pension checks for the rest of their lives. Back then, there was no such thing as a financial advisor for retirement. While some people still have that kind of retirement plan, it has become the exception rather than the rule.

Today, retirement looks very different:

1. People don’t have pensions.
2. They are likely to live longer than any generation in history, with many easily living past 90.
3. They are not viewing retirement as a time to rest. Instead, they see it as a time to be active, live on their own terms, enjoy freedom, and pursue new opportunities. This means they will need more money.

Let’s take a fictional character: a 25-year-old contemplating how to start planning for retirement.

Roger’s advice would not be to focus on saving for retirement immediately. Instead, he should invest in himself—through education, experiences, crafts, and general skill development.

Now, consider someone in their 40s. According to Roger, retirement is NOT a binary decision between working or not working. Many studies suggest that work is an essential element of a happy life.

Many people who retire and stop working completely feel dissatisfied with their lives. People don’t necessarily want to stop working—they want more freedom in their lives. They are tired of the rat race, corporate meetings, and constant travel.

The Ideal Retirement Plan

Instead of working hard for 40 years just to retire at 65, aim to build a life that includes:

• Work you love,
• Income that supports your lifestyle,
• Time freedom to pursue other interests.

In essence, create a life you don’t want to retire from.

Where is the balance—the balance between finding something you love and ensuring it supports your lifestyle? That’s the real question everyone needs to answer for themselves.

One way to approach this is to connect with others on the same journey and support one another. What you shouldn’t do is let corporate life make all the decisions for you.

Roger recommends the book Linchpin by Seth Godin, in which the main advice is to become an artist—someone who does what no one else can replicate. Strive to be the best at what you do.

Roger argues that retirement is not black or white—work or not work. Rather, it’s multidimensional, with many layers and subtleties. His role is to help clients find the best version of retirement for themselves.

Rock Retirement by Roger Whitney

As for his book, Rock Retirement, Roger never aspired to write a book. However, he did have a dream of helping people avoid missing out on the one life they have.

The book addresses:

1. What’s wrong with the current retirement system,
2. The premises you need to rethink,
3. How to manage the financial structure of your life, and
4. The process to create a life that doesn’t revolve solely around saving and investing.

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