Rethinking Retirement

When I first saw ING’s “What’s Your Number?” campaign about a decade ago, it struck me as more than an ad. In the commercial, people literally carry around their “retirement number” – the amount of money individuals need to have saved to retire “the way you want.”

The retirement number, so presented, almost seemed as if it were an idol—something they must bow down to before they can lead meaningful lives. I remember thinking: if the day I hit my retirement number meant I could no longer find purpose in my work, then I wasn’t really free at all—I was enslaved to a sum on a spreadsheet.

To me, that commercial spotlights an all-too-American obsession: work as merely a means to stop working. In the Christian imagination, though, our work—regardless of age—can be an ongoing expression of kingdom service. Rather than seeing retirement as a final destination, we’re invited to see our entire lives as seasons and stages in which God shapes us, calls us, and uses us to bless others.

God ordains seasons. Just as there’s a distinct rhythm for singleness, marriage, raising young children, sending them off to college, and launching adult children, there’s also a “season” some call retirement. But the mark of a Christian view of life is this: each stage—whether we’re 27, 47, or 67—is an opportunity for faithful service.

Consider a woman I know—a retired schoolteacher now in her early seventies. She long ago stepped away from the classroom, not because she “hit her number” but because her career season naturally closed. Yet she didn’t stop using her gifts: she now invests in mentoring women in their forties. Over coffee, she listens to their struggles, offers encouragement, and points them toward Christ. She doesn’t get a paycheck for this; her reward is the joy of seeing younger sisters in Christ grow stronger. Far from idleness, she’s found fresh purpose.

That, I believe, is the posture God calls us to: when we gain freedom from full-time work, we don’t resign ourselves to inactivity. We rediscover how to serve—and in so doing, glorify God. Retiring from a full-time (40 – 60 hour per week) pace doesn’t mean resigning from Kingdom work.

Of course, Scripture does not condemn saving. In Proverbs, we read that “the wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down” (Proverbs 21:20). Likewise, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!” (Proverbs 6:6). Saving, in and of itself, is an act of stewardship—honoring God by planning to meet future needs. A nest egg can grant freedom to serve, to give generously, or to step out in faith.

Yet when “saving” becomes an idol—when our greatest ambition is to accumulate wealth simply to escape work—it warps our perspective. Jesus warns His followers: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19). If our identity is tethered to a numerical goal, then when moths—or market downturns, or aging bodies—rob us of that comfort, our faith is unmoored. “Where moth destroys” is not just a caution about material decay; it’s a reminder that money itself can never bear ultimate meaning.

We should also appreciate and embrace God’s gift to us of rest. As His servants, God doesn’t expect nor want us to treat our work like an idol, either. God rested on the seventh day—and we should too. In God’s creation, there is a pattern of day and night—and good sleep, weekly times for leisure and recreation are, sadly, often taken for granted or ignored by too many “Type A” Christians as we try to earn our salvation through our work. That too is to be avoided, as we seek to live faithfully as God directs us. Too little rest holds just as much opportunity for sinful idolization as does too much leisure.

So, yes—save prudently. Give generously. Work diligently. Embrace God-honoring rhythms of rest. But hold all wealth, time, and service with open hands and a posture of Kingdom service and citizenship. Our true inheritance is eternal life in Christ, and our greatest security is Him.

What if, instead of idolizing retirement, we asked: “What has God called me to do in this next season?” In your 50s, you may still have the energy for a demanding career. In your 60s, perhaps you help a young family member through a challenging time. In your 70s, maybe you mentor women in their 40s the way my friend does. Whatever the age, God’s calling never grows stale.

When we treat work as worship—whether it pays a salary or not—we see that every year of life is an opportunity to bear witness. Instead of “saving up to get out of work,” we find that saving well can free us to serve better. Instead of treating work as something to be avoided, we see it as a gift entrusted to us, a way to love our neighbors and reflect our Creator.

Let’s not rush to “bow down” to a spreadsheet goal. Let’s bow instead before Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2), trusting that He weaves each season of life into His bigger story. Whatever your age, there is Kingdom work to do.