Institute, which offers nearly 120 classes a semester, including hands-on computer education, classical music, poetry, film, tai chi, yoga and foreign languages. Mike Stover, a volunteer and vice president of external affairs at OLLI, said that the institute also has a Transitions in Retirement program that has become hugely popular as people near retirement start looking for answers. Last year, the program held a one-day retirement boot camp with more than 230 participants eager to learn about life after work. This year’s September program included discussions on financial planning, health and socialization. “Once we reach retirement we need to execute the plan,” Stover said. “In these turbulent times that plan has had to be adjusted. People need to come up with a realistic budget for retirement life and their own lifestyle.” The key factors that people need to plan for are: n Finances and managing debt. Stover
said that determining how much debt you will carry into retirement will play a big role in what you will need to save. Medical costs are also rising rapidly, and state and federal programs will only cover so much. “A lot of emphasis is put on how much we have saved over the years,” said Abbott, who retired at the end of the spring semester. “If you have all the money in the world and you are not happy with who you are and what you are doing it doesn’t matter. It’s your health that is really critical.”
Are You Ready?
As daunting as it might sound, there are resources to help with retirement planning and adjusting to life after work. On campus, the Ruby Gerontology Center is home base to retired and semi-retired people dedicated to remaining active and learning. They are members of the Osher Lifelong Learning TITAN
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n Socializing and keeping active are key elements in avoiding
stress and health-related issues. Stover said the boot camp
stressed taking courses at programs like OLLI, volunteering, working part-time and keeping your body and mind fit. Roberta Rikli, dean emerita of CSUF’s College of Health and Human Development, agrees with Stover, and stresses the need to maintain one’s health. “Keeping mentally and physically healthy in retirement is just as important as financial soundness,” said Rikli, who retired last year. “In fact, for some people, retirement may be the first opportunity they’ve had to spend time focusing on their own physical health and fitness.”
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Fiscally, Physically Fit
Rikli’s advice is not lost on the Spradlins. Their love for hiking and nature, which started with early car camping trips with their daughters, didn’t stop because they retired. The couple, which spends several hours a week at OLLI, has climbed Mt. McKinley several times and to the base camps of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro. They hiked the entire John Muir Trail over two summers and have gone on safari in Kenya. Kirt retired as an electrical engineer from Hughes Aircraft in 1983, and Donna followed a year later, leaving behind her job as a high school teacher to help manage an apartment complex they owned. After a couple of years of running the 24-unit complex, they decided it was time to sell and free up even more time to enjoy their golden years. “Selling the apartments was a big jump up,” Kirt said. “That investment was really the springboard that enabled us to go ahead and retire.” They never looked back. The couple has traveled to Japan, France, the Alps, Panama, Nova Scotia and beyond. Kirt, who was president of OLLI from 2003 to 2005, golfs, fishes, skis, jogs at least three times a week and hits the gym. Donna keeps up with Kirt’s exercise regimen and they both are deeply involved with the volunteer programs at OLLI. “I read something interesting that said ‘don’t come up to retirement and then fall off the cliff,’ ” Donna said, referring to having a retirement plan. “We keep teasing each other, I say ‘Kirt, when is that rocking chair coming?’ … I’m not quite like my grandmother.” n
In Focus
The Spradlins have traveled to some to the world’s most famous locations, including a 2008 trip to Mt. Tarawera Volcano in New Zealand, at left, as well as the base camps of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro. “We do something physically almost every day,’’ Kirt Spradlin said. “We are very religious about that.”
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OLLI offers many different classes for seniors, including ceramics and portrait painting, above.
Retirement Tools So you are planning to retire but not sure if you have enough cash to make it through your golden years? Here are links to planning resources that can help you figure out your exit strategy: n Social Security offers a planner that includes a calculator and answers to several questions concerning retirement: ssa.gov/retire2/. n AARP is an excellent retirement planning resource: aarp.org/work/work_tools/. n USA.gov, the federal government site, also has good information, including federal resources: usa.gov/Topics/Seniors.shtml.
A NEW BEGINNING Pauline Abbott, who retired at the end of the spring ’12 semester, says that she is looking forward to time with her grandchildren and enjoying her newly found hobby of landscape photography. However, a person who has spent her entire career researching and teaching about the process of aging isn’t going off quietly into the sunset. “I’m in the driver’s seat. It’s my decision and it’s time,” Abbott said. “The people
Pauline Abbott
that I have known who have retired positively say they are busier now than they ever were before and enjoying it. That is a positive.” She is heeding her own advice and will continue to consult, keep active at the university, and even take a few classes at OLLI.
RETIREMENT OPTIONS What: Free, public programs and lectures related to a wide variety of topics – including retirement, health, socialization, films, art and foreign languages – are offered by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Cal State Fullerton. Where: Ruby Gerontology Center at Cal State Fullerton How: For more information, contact OLLI at 657-278-2446 or olli.fullerton.edu.
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