Several years ago, my husband and I took a retirement class. This was not one of those fancy dinners in an expensive steak house given by investment firms looking to solicit business, but an actual class taught through a university extension.

We felt we were pretty savvy about our retirement, but we were ready to learn more. We also wanted to know if we were making any big mistakes with our retirement plans.

The class affirmed things we already knew, but was also enlightening. Here are some surprising lessons we learned about planning for retirement.

Life Span is Increasing

According to actuary experts, the first person who will live to 150 years of age has already been born. This probably isn’t any of us reading this, but isn’t it amazing to think about? Our life span has been increasing each year due to medical advances, better nutrition and healthier lifestyles.

Time in Retirement is Growing

The average retiree today can expect to spend one-fourth to one-third of their lifetime in retirement. Many people today spend 20, 30 or even 40 years in retirement. Retirement is no longer considered a downward cycling of life but a long period in which to create an exciting new chapter for ourselves.

Financial Independence is the Goal

Once, the goal of retirement planning was to accumulate enough money to be able to retire, leave work and focus on leisure. Today, the goal is often to achieve financial independence while continuing to engage in work that we love.

Many people choose never to retire. They explore new and different work, not out of necessity, but out of the desire to contribute in meaningful and fulfilling ways.

Older People Don’t Stop Growing

Many retirees go to school for advanced degrees or start new businesses. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “People do not grow old. When they cease to grow, they become old.”

Retirement Plans are More Expansive

Successful retirement planning is more than financial planning. It also involves health, fitness, leisure, spirituality, home, relationship and community planning.

Retirement Tax Planning is Complicated

The income tax implications of retirement are wide and varied. Interest rates, inflation, required withdrawal and income from part-time work or alternate careers impact taxes in strange and complicated ways. You may want to involve a tax advisor in your planning.

The Month You Retire is Important

A large percentage of people choose the end of the year, December, to retire. December may actually be the worst month to retire. Since people often receive extra or larger paychecks upon retirement, it is often to their best advantage to retire at the beginning of a new year since income will likely be less in that year.

Many people have not declared or updated beneficiaries of their retirement pensions, 401k plans, life insurance accounts and other income streams. After your death, money will then go to your estate, where survivors are left with fewer options for rollovers and disbursements. One advisor shared that if he could be sure we did only one thing it would be to make sure to update the beneficiaries on all of our accounts.

I was very happy to know that I am far from alone in starting a new business in retirement. I walked away feeling comfortable that our plans for retirement are basically sound. We were overwhelmed by the tax implications, and though I have always prepared our taxes, I realize that this might be a good time for tax advice from a professional. We are both checking our beneficiaries on all of our accounts.

What about you? Are you retired? What have you learned about retirement that you wish you had known before? If you are planning your retirement, what advice can you share from your experience? Retirement is a large topic, and we can all benefit from discussion with others. Please join the conversation.

Vitamin D is known as the “sunshine vitamin” since our bodies naturally produce it when we are exposed to sunlight. It is pretty amazing for its wide variety of health benefits. These include supporting healthy teeth and bones, helping protect us against heart disease, fighting depression, and supporting our weight management efforts.

Vitamin D may also provide protection against acute respiratory infections, such as the common cold and pneumonia, since it appears to have powerful immune-boosting properties. 

Vitamin D Research

In the case of boomers, for example, one study of “older” patients suggested that those taking higher doses of vitamin D had about 40 percent fewer respiratory infections over the course of a year than those taking standard doses.

More recent research suggests vitamin D may be an important weapon in our health care arsenal to reduce our risk of developing a severe form of the Covid-19 virus.

In fact, some health and science experts are so convinced that vitamin D may reduce Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities that 120 of them sent an open letter to world governments calling on them to recommend that their adult citizens take at least 2,000 International Units (IUs) of vitamin D daily.

The current daily recommended intake in the U.S. for adults under age 70 is 600 IUs and for those of us over age 70, the recommended amount is 800 IUs. The latter is because by the time we reach our 70s, our bodies’ ability to manufacture vitamin D can decrease up to twofold.

The health experts’ reasoning for this recommendation is based on various studies that suggested that there was an association between lower vitamin D levels and increased likelihood of Covid-19 infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities.

Because of this association, they are theorizing that vitamin D deficiency can compromise our immune systems’ ability to fight off respiratory diseases, such as Covid-19. As a result, they say, if our vitamin D levels are low, we have a higher risk of catching the virus that causes Covid-19 and getting sicker if we do.

What Does This Mean for Boomers?

For boomers, this possible relationship between the severity of Covid-19 and vitamin D deficiency is important since being older simultaneously increases our risk for both. And the similarities between the two don’t end with age increasing our health risk.

In fact, the two (severity of Covid-19 and vitamin D deficiency) have similar risk profiles. For example, obesity increases risk for severe Covid-19 and reduces levels of vitamin D (vitamin D is stored in fat which makes it less available to our bodies to use). Given that boomer women have obesity rates approaching 40 percent, this gives us even more reason to manage our weight!

There is also evidence that people living in locations with less sunlight (which decreases the amount of vitamin D the body produces) have higher rates of Covid-19 than those living where there is more available sunlight.

Interestingly enough, this same relationship exists between sunlight and the seasonal flu – the incidence of which increases when we are stuck indoors during the winter with fewer hours of daily sunlight. Not getting enough sunlight outdoors is far more common than you may think, with only a little less than 8 percent of us getting enough.

How Much Vitamin D Is Enough?

I wish I could tell you that a certain level of vitamin D in your blood was high while another level is considered low. Unfortunately, there is still some debate about what ideal levels exactly are.

But to give you some reference, the Institute of Medicine recommends a level of 20 nanograms of vitamin D per milliliter of blood (ng/mL) while the equally respected Endocrine Society recommends a minimum level of 30 ng/mL. The society later went a step further and recommended a range of between 40 ng/mL and 60 ng/mL.

Some health experts recommend that people should just take 4,000 IU of vitamin D a day. But since there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to nutrition and supplementation, it is important that you first have your vitamin D level tested and then discuss the results with a competent health care practitioner.

Supplementation

This gives you the opportunity to intelligently decide how to reach and maintain it based on your personal health profile. If your doctor recommends vitamin D supplements, be sure to only purchase those from a known manufacturer whose products are of good quality and have been tested by a reputable third party. Avoid any supplement that says “proprietary blend” on the label since you will have no real idea of what you are buying.

The Natural Vitamin D

Of course, the best way to get the vitamin D your body needs is by getting enough sunlight. You really don’t need that much – for light skinned people, 10-15 minutes three times a week (without sunscreen) will do the trick.

If you have darker skin, which does not synthesize vitamin D from the sun as readily, you may need anywhere from one to three hours in the sun. Also, keep in mind that time of day, cloudiness, smog, and season can impact how well your body will be able to manufacture vitamin D from sunlight.

Dietary Options

You may also include foods in your diet that are fortified with vitamin D, such as orange juice and milk. Other foods rich in vitamin D include salmon, swordfish, and mackerel (be careful you’re not eating too much fish high in mercury). Tuna, sardines, mushrooms, egg yolk, and beef liver have some vitamin D too. It’s also a good idea to avoid high fructose corn syrup since this can deactivate vitamin D.

Oh, and if you need another reason to talk with your doctor about vitamin D, keep in mind that Dr. Anthony Fauci – known as “America’s Doctor” – recently mentioned that he takes vitamin D supplements!

Have you ever spoken with your health care provider about taking vitamin D supplements? If so, did she recommend them for you? Are you now taking them? How often and how much do you take? Have you noticed any difference in your health since taking them? Please join the conversation.

There’s a wonderful old movie – although 1989 still sounds young to me and that’s when this film was released.

Shirley Valentine is the story of a middle-aged woman who talks to herself, or the wall, as she considers her life. I watched it for the first time this week and had to pause and repeat a section to capture this intriguing quote: The sky is always there as long as the wind is fair.

I had to think about that. In my world, the sky is always there – wind or no wind. It may be cloudy, rainy, snowy or ablaze with stars, but the sky isn’t dependent upon the wind for existence.

It struck me, that if our belief is such that the only sky worth seeing is crystalline blue, and the only life worth living is trouble-free, we’ve set ourselves up for misery.

Reframing the Sky

What if we shortened that saying to, The sky is always there – period? There is permanence, and sweet comfort in that.

I spend an inordinate amount of time engaged with the sky, daydreaming. I call it Sacred Idleness and those interludes of detaching from daily routine, allowing chores to wait, recharges my batteries and stimulates creativity. Problems find solutions as I gaze into the vastness of the heavens. Every mood carries a different message.

Clouds Carry Silver Linings

A cloudy sky offers a unique opportunity to look for the silver lining.

The most dramatic skies may be filled with towering cumulonimbus thunderheads, black and ominous. As they scud along, suddenly one or two are outlined in a blaze of gold with light fanning out as though the very gates of paradise had opened behind them.

It’s a bold reminder that every difficulty holds the potential for growth and joy but we have to be willing to look beyond the darkness.

Skies Change as Does Life

Feeling stuck? Watch the sky and remember everything changes. I am hard-pressed to find a fact truer than this, that nothing stays the same. It’s the reason to live every good day to the fullest and accept the not-so-good days as temporary.

Go outside. Lay down on the snow, the sand, the grass. Let earth support your body fully, and look up. How long has it been since you’ve done that? Perhaps too long.

Rain is Cleansing

And when the sky weeps and drums with thunder, the air is cleansed, balance is restored, and the earth is watered. Tears release bottled emotions.

When I’m happy, sad, angry, hurt, embarrassed, I cry and feel lighter afterwards. Crying is a necessary emotional release, just as lightning during a rainstorm discharges huge amounts of energy to maintain an electrical balance in the atmosphere. Cultivate tears! Make it an art form! It may enhance your emotional stability.

The Sky is Reborn Each Day

Wake up for the sunrise as every day is a new start.

I designed my house so I could wake up looking through a wall of east-facing windows and watch the sun rise. And since there are no coverings on those windows, and since the tropical sun tends to burst out of the horizon with the heat and intensity of a roaring fireball, I don’t sleep through many of them.

But what I love the most is the space between dark and light when morning is being born. All possibility exists in those gentle, pre-dawn moments. I’ve witnessed the most extraordinary compositions and colors that would be attributed to an artist’s imagination if painted on canvas.

In those minutes, I sometimes race for the camera, astonishing myself that I can be so agile and alert at that early hour. But more often it’s a time to watch in gratitude that I’ve been granted another day of life, another chance to be my better self.

Can you believe that all of this was prompted by one line in an old movie? Well, that and the sunrise this morning, and the fluffy clouds whisking past as I sipped hot coffee, and then the sudden shower that came out of nowhere. These thoughts were the product of today’s Sacred Idleness, aka daydreaming. I hope they resonate with you.

How do you view daydreaming: A waste of time or essential to your day? When you were a child, was daydreaming encouraged? Is daydreaming a form of meditation? Please share your thoughts in the comments.

She’s been teasing us for months and now, JLo Beauty is finally here. You might not be able to shop it yet but we have all the details so you can game-plan what to add to your skincare routine. Because if the 51-year-old uses her own line, well, we know it seriously works. Just look at that “JLo Glow.”

JLo Beauty was inspired by Lopez’s lifelong mantra, The Five S’s: sleep, sunscreen, serum, supplements and sano—from the Spanish phrase, vivir sano, meaning live healthy. Lopez is all about that life, shunning drink and smoking, eating well, exercising and drinking lots of water. Self-care and skincare go hand-in-hand with this ethos.

Growing up, Lopez’s skincare routine was much simpler: Ivory soap and Avon. Her mother told her olive oil was a cure for everything so Lopez made her it was the base for her skincare line. “It’s all about the family tradition of using olive oil for skin and hair,” she told STYLECASTER. The line aims to give you hydration and a “full, youthful, glowy look.” Not that looking younger is the key to looking beautiful. Lopez tells herself, “I’m beautiful and youthful at any age.”

“I think there’s an unnatural standard with all the filters and fillers in the world right now,” she continues. “Aging in a graceful way is a crazy thought. You look great, whatever age you are. Not great for 50, great period!” Not that she wakes up feeling amazing every day. Lopez is actually human. “I have mornings I wake up and feel like crap,” she admits. “I tell myself, like my idol Barbra Streisand, ‘Hello, gorgeous!’ I tell myself I’m going to have the best day ever, the best day yet.”

Source: Instagram

Keep reading for all the details on the new eight-piece line that officially launches January 1. But set your iCal, because you can get early access to shop on December 8.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

JLo Beauty.

That Fresh Take Eye Cream with Peptides

This hydrating eye cream is packed with patented peptides to help smooth fine lines, sugar-derived matrix for firming and a blurring complex to hide the look of dark circles.

JLo Beauty.

That Hit Single Gel-Cream Cleanser

This gel-cream cleanser features the brand’s Olive Complex, an antioxidant-rich, olive blend of
squalane, fermented oil, extra virgin oil and leaf extract for all-day hydration.

JLo Beauty.

That JLo Glow Serum with Olive Complex

Here’s that JLo-glow promise in a tube. It contains the Olive Complex, as well as yeast-derived ferment for softer skin, Japanese rice sake ferment for brightening and sugar-derived matrix for firming.

JLo Beauty.

That Limitless Glow Sheet Mask

Keep the glow going with serum-packed sheet masks.

JLo Beauty.

That Star Filter Highlighting Complexion Booster

Would it be a JLo line without bronzer and highlighter? In three shades, mineral pigments give an instant glow. Use it alone or add it to moisturizer.

JLo Beauty.

That Inner Love

Lopez says “you can’t really have great skin if you don’t do something from the inside out.” This supplement contains olive extract, vitamin E, manganese and copper. Check with your doctor to make sure they’re the right vitamins for you.

JLo Beauty.

That Blockbuster Wonder Night Cream with Hyaluronic Acid

Along with the Olive Complex, this “wonder cream” is full of antioxidant-rich peptides, hyaluronic acid and yeast-derived ferment for silky smooth skin.

JLo Beauty.

That Big Screen Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Forget having great skin without sunscreen! Not only does this one have broad spectrum SPF30, but it also contains marine bamboo to help protect skin from blue light, as well as hyaluronic acid,
glycerin and natural sugars for hydration. 

Additional reporting by Alana Peden.

She’s been teasing us for months and now, JLo Beauty is finally here. You might not be able to shop it yet but we have all the details so you can game-plan what to add to your skincare routine. Because if the 51-year-old uses her own line, well, we know it seriously works. Just look at that “JLo Glow.”

JLo Beauty was inspired by Lopez’s lifelong mantra, The Five S’s: sleep, sunscreen, serum, supplements and sano—from the Spanish phrase, vivir sano, meaning live healthy. Lopez is all about that life, shunning drink and smoking, eating well, exercising and drinking lots of water. Self-care and skincare go hand-in-hand with this ethos.

Growing up, Lopez’s skincare routine was much simpler: Ivory soap and Avon. Her mother told her olive oil was a cure for everything so Lopez made her it was the base for her skincare line. “It’s all about the family tradition of using olive oil for skin and hair,” she told STYLECASTER. The line aims to give you hydration and a “full, youthful, glowy look.” Not that looking younger is the key to looking beautiful. Lopez tells herself, “I’m beautiful and youthful at any age.”

“I think there’s an unnatural standard with all the filters and fillers in the world right now,” she continues. “Aging in a graceful way is a crazy thought. You look great, whatever age you are. Not great for 50, great period!” Not that she wakes up feeling amazing every day. Lopez is actually human. “I have mornings I wake up and feel like crap,” she admits. “I tell myself, like my idol Barbra Streisand, ‘Hello, gorgeous!’ I tell myself I’m going to have the best day ever, the best day yet.”

Source: Instagram

Keep reading for all the details on the new eight-piece line that officially launches January 1. But set your iCal, because you can get early access to shop on December 8.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

JLo Beauty.

That Fresh Take Eye Cream with Peptides

This hydrating eye cream is packed with patented peptides to help smooth fine lines, sugar-derived matrix for firming and a blurring complex to hide the look of dark circles.

JLo Beauty.

That Hit Single Gel-Cream Cleanser

This gel-cream cleanser features the brand’s Olive Complex, an antioxidant-rich, olive blend of
squalane, fermented oil, extra virgin oil and leaf extract for all-day hydration.

JLo Beauty.

That JLo Glow Serum with Olive Complex

Here’s that JLo-glow promise in a tube. It contains the Olive Complex, as well as yeast-derived ferment for softer skin, Japanese rice sake ferment for brightening and sugar-derived matrix for firming.

JLo Beauty.

That Limitless Glow Sheet Mask

Keep the glow going with serum-packed sheet masks.

JLo Beauty.

That Star Filter Highlighting Complexion Booster

Would it be a JLo line without bronzer and highlighter? In three shades, mineral pigments give an instant glow. Use it alone or add it to moisturizer.

JLo Beauty.

That Inner Love

Lopez says “you can’t really have great skin if you don’t do something from the inside out.” This supplement contains olive extract, vitamin E, manganese and copper. Check with your doctor to make sure they’re the right vitamins for you.

JLo Beauty.

That Blockbuster Wonder Night Cream with Hyaluronic Acid

Along with the Olive Complex, this “wonder cream” is full of antioxidant-rich peptides, hyaluronic acid and yeast-derived ferment for silky smooth skin.

JLo Beauty.

That Big Screen Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Forget having great skin without sunscreen! Not only does this one have broad spectrum SPF30, but it also contains marine bamboo to help protect skin from blue light, as well as hyaluronic acid,
glycerin and natural sugars for hydration. 

Additional reporting by Alana Peden.