Century Lives: The Retirement Ladder

If there is one thing we know about retirement, it’s that the rules are changing. 

Longer life, better health, changing work conditions, and challenging financial times mean that the new retirement will be different from the old.  But how will it be different?  In Season 5 of Century Lives, we explore the new retirement through the stories of eight different employees of Harris Health, the largest public health system in Texas.  The employees are united by the fact that they share the same workplace, but they are divided by very different personal stories and goals – and very different financial situations.  They are nurses, doctors, carpenters, CEOs, and security officers, and they are imagining very different retirements.

Episodes

Episode 1: Meet the Boss
If there is a new vision of what “The New Retirement” should be, it is the “all of the above” retiree: stay healthy, stay involved in something you are passionate about, and be a dedicated caregiver to your future grandchildren. In episode 1, we meet Esmaeil Porsa, the CEO of Harris Health, to hear about his arduous and shockingly improbable road to the top of Harris Health, and what it means for the retirement that may not come as soon as his family hopes.

Episode 2: The Struggle
It’s a common story: approaching retirement with little or no savings, uncertain how far social security or savings will take you, dealing with climbing health care costs and the potential responsibility for providing financial support to adult children. Increasingly, retirement is a financial struggle for millions. In episode 2, we meet Genie and Burgess Etzel, both approaching the final year of their careers at Harris Health. Perhaps they have it made: two pensions, a house in a fashionable neighborhood, a loving family. All this is true, but as with so many Americans, it hides complex family dynamics and the challenging math of the new retirement.

Episode 3: The Classic
Retire young: travel, spend time with family, perhaps tend to a nice piece of land in the country. It is the retirement that we all are supposed to want, but relatively few people get. In episode 3, we meet Carrie Nealis, a nurse in her late 30s who dreams of having the retirement her parents did. But she is challenged by the uncertainty of our times and the nagging belief that her generation will not share the same opportunities of their parents.

Episode 4: My Next Act
For some, retirement is just the starting pistol for that next act. Whether it is a new business or an entirely new career, retirement is just an out-of-date term for starting something new. To this group, entrepreneurship is a big draw (older Americans are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs) but it’s really about the freedom to pursue an exciting new phase of life. In episode 4, we meet Tasha Mayweather, and are drawn into her vision for her next act: KBK Skating Palace. And that’s just the beginning.

Episode 5: I Will Never Retire
For some, work is a calling, and they can’t ever imagine giving it up.  In episode 5, we meet Michael Segal, and hear his incredible journey—beginning with being left for dead on the floor of a convenience store in Austin, TX and ending with his lifelong commitment to helping trauma victims survive and flourish in the trauma wards of Ben Taub Hospital.

Episode 6: The Generational Shift
Though attitudes about retirement are shifting rapidly, traditional notions of retirement still hold currency. In episode 6, we meet Maria and Brendan D’Souza. Maria is a senior nurse at Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital, just a few years away from retirement. Her son Brendan is freshly minted from medical school, starting his career just a few floors away from his mother. They share a family bond, a career, and many of the same interests and passions, but for all that unites them, different perspectives and circumstances facing their generations are creating different ideas about retirement, caregiving and family commitments.

All episodes are out now!
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Learn more and catch up on seasons 1-4 below!

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