Retirement: Now what?!

Think you know what will make you happy when you call it quits? Learn from those who've been there, done that.

Jim Down
Jim Down picking grapes in Portugal.
Jim Down
Previous occupation: Vice chairman, Mercer Management Consulting
Age at retirement: 50
Jim Down's 85-year-old mother wasn't happy for him when he retired. "To her, retirement is the end of the road," says Down. "I had to convince her it was a new beginning." First he had to convince himself.

"It was scary," he says. "I thought, Will I feel productive?"

These days, he takes time to kick back, but also has a sense of purpose.

For example, each summer he chooses a country and spends two weeks playing as much golf there as he can. Last fall he picked and then stomped grapes in a Portuguese vineyard. But he also devotes time to nonprofits, like Oxfam America.

"Retirement is better than I thought it was going to be," he says. Down is aware not every retiree in his position is as lucky. "I know people who made money at an early age who don't have much to do and don't seem very happy."
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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.