Retirement Planning Beyond the Numbers - Event Takeaways

In early March of 2025, the Providence Health Care Physicians & Surgeons Society (PHC-PASS) People Pillar Medical Staff Advisory Committee hosted an event for medical staff on retirement.

Host Dr. Ana-Luiza Sayao, alongside retirement coach Tammy Vigue and guest Dr. Peter Dodek, led a discussion on an often-overlooked aspect of retirement: the psychological and life-design elements that go beyond financial planning. In their session, “Retirement Planning Beyond the Numbers”, they explored what life will look like for retirees once they step away from work. Key topics included how retirees can structure their daily lives, find fulfillment, and shape a new sense of identity in this next chapter.

Tammy Vigue – Retirement Coach

“There is a difference between filling time and fulfilling time. You need to find out what is fulfilling your time for you.” – Tammy Vigue

Tammy Vigue takes participants through a presentation followed by a Q/A period.

Retirement isn’t all sunshine and couples on the beach
- It is rated in the top 10 most stressful events in your life.

Think of retirement as doing what you want, when you want.
10 words account for a third of responses when people are asked how do you envision retirement:
- Money, travel, fun, fulfilled, success, relax, happy freedom, family, retirement.
Retirement is not a one size fits all
- History
- Longevity
- Time in retirement
- Down-aging (65 is not as old as it used to be)

Retirement: more than financial planning and not just leisure time

Your entire time can’t be leisure time in retirement. The reason leisure time is fun is because it is a break from work. Having all your time as leisure time is not fulfilling.
High achievers are sometimes afraid of retiring (people with very successful careers)
Retirement planning is about more than financial planning. We also need to plan for the life we want to retire to.
You need to know what you are retiring to, what you plan on doing before you can start the financial planning. Otherwise, how can you answer the question do I have enough money to retire?
3 factors to determine if you’re ready to retire
- Financial – can I afford to retire?
- Health – do I have to retire?
- Psychological – do I want to retire?

Retirement Transition and Success Factors

Retirement transition
- changes relationships
- changes sense of identity
- changes your status
3 phases of a transition:
- ending: emotional upheaval, disorientation, sense of loss, resistance, stress
- neutral: confusion, in between stage, uncertainty.
- new beginning: acceptance, exploration, renewal, energy, creativity, new purpose
Retirement Success factors:
- work reorientation
- attitude toward retirement
- directedness
- health perception
- financial security
- current life satisfaction
- projected life satisfaction
- life meaning
- leisure interests
- adaptability
- life stage satisfaction
- dependents
- relationship issues
- perception of age
- replacement of work function

The Curated Retirement Life MAP: Mindset, Authentic Self, Purpose

M – Mindset: attitudes and belief, thoughts about retirement, is it about aging or new beginnings, how do you measure success. “successful retirements result from retiring to a positive vision of life after the career transition.
What do you struggle with when it comes to feeling ready to retire?

Find retirementors

What do you like about retirement
What don’t you like
What steps in the process are you glad you took
Do you have any regrets.

A – Authentic self:

Values: What’s important to you?
Strengths: What are you good at?
Interests: What do you like to do?
Work persona: What do you like about your work? What will you miss?
- You need to replace these with something else in your retirement.

P – Purpose:

Our purpose is to live in alignment with our authentic self.
Benefits of purpose:
- Live longer
- Reduce risk of heart attack, stroke Alzheimer’s.
- Help you relax and sleep better
- Make more money

Use your strengths, values, interests to find something that makes you feel fulfilled.

Examples: mentoring medical students, participating in environment sustainability projects, serving on the board of an organization you are interested in, leading children’s sports teams.

“Tend to your psychological portfolio as much as your financial one.” – Tammy Vigue

Full slide deck here

Dr. Peter Dodek – Guest Speaker

Dr. Peter Dodek, Professor Emeritus, Division of Critical Care Medicine, UBC

Dr. Peter Dodek shared his experiences with retirement and how he has found success.

Think about retirement because its normal to retire. You won’t be needed as a clinician forever.
Dr. Dodek has different things he does every week including volunteering at food banks.
You can bring back things in retirement. Sustained an interest in music but never had time for it, so he started taking piano lessons in retirement. Plays in a Jazz group in a Vancouver symphony music school.
Gradual reduction of work is a good idea.
- Stopped working in ICU first. Then slowly reduced research work as well.
- This year full amount of work, next year half, the year after I fully retired.

Dr. Dodek is happy to be a resource and chat with anyone who is interested, or find another mentor, such as other retired Physicians, people who retire from your division, etc. Contact pass@providencehealth.bc.ca to be connected

“The value you have at this stage is you have the wisdom and long view to help more junior medical staff. ” – Dr. Peter Dodek

Questions and Answers:

Question: Are there differences in the career you’re in? Are lawyers different than doctors, than engineers?

No it is individual.

Question: Do you see a difference between people who go from working full time to people who slowly cut down over time. (Gradual retirement vs. full retirement)

Depending on what your situation and organization allows, gradual is an easier adjustment in most cases.

Question: for people who must retire because of their own health issues or their spouse or family issues. Any special advice, retirement wasn’t desired at the time or wasn’t right.

A lot of mindset work often goes into that. Process is the same as discussed. Look at mindset, strengths, interests, who are they, create a big vision of their lives on the other side of their career.
How to get the feelings you wanted in your current situation.
- Example: if you want to travel the world but can’t, what feelings would travelling the world give you? You may be able to get these feelings elsewhere.
- We cant change our circumstances, but we can change how we think and feel about them.

PHC Med Staff