Your retirement will be a great time to make memories with family and friends, travel and pursue new hobbies. But the list doesn’t end there. For more and more Americans, retirement is also an opportunity to learn new skills, study a new field and flex their mental muscles.
There are a number of health benefits to continuing your education during retirement. According to one recent report, lifelong learners experience higher levels of optimism and well-being. Studies also suggest that staying mentally active can help people mitigate the risk of cognitive decline as they age. Studies conclude that lifelong learning can actually help you live longer.
If you plan on being a lifelong learner when you retire, you’ll want to make sure your finances can handle it first. Here’s how to budget accordingly if you want to return to school full time or part time.
Identify Your Lifelong Learning Goals
There are as many reasons to keep learning in retirement as there are subjects and skills to master. But before you make a financial plan to support your post-retirement education goals, take a step back and think about what you want to learn and why.
Beyond the health benefits, ask yourself what else you hope to accomplish:
- • Do you want to learn a new skill to pursue a second career?
- • Do you want to expand your social circle?
- • Do you just want to expand your knowledge and have some fun?
Talk with your partner, your family and your friends to help define your goals. Those closest to you might even remind you of an old passion—like painting or photography—that you’ve always wanted to pick up again. You can also talk with career counselors if you need additional help.
Your answer to the why question will help you get a sense of what you might end up paying for your post-retirement education. For example, if your goal is to learn a new language for a vacation, your finances won’t take as big of a hit as they would if you decide to commit to getting a new four-year degree.
Similarly, if your primary goal is to “upskill” or “reskill” for a new career, it might be possible to do so without drawing on your own funds. According to the Harvard Business Review, many employers are reporting a “skill shortage” and are eager to onboard lifelong learners. Many companies even offer apprenticeships, returnships and “microlearning” opportunities that you can apply for and complete on your own time.
Build a Budget
For most retired Americans, budgets are often fixed. So adding in the cost of tuition, books, laptops and other educational necessities can completely change your long-term saving and spending strategy. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead and to factor in anything now that might push you over the limit later.
If you’re still a decade or more away from retirement, you might consider being more aggressive with your investment goals, perhaps even adding more stocks to your portfolio. This will create more risk in your portfolio, of course, so make sure you have the appropriate appetite for risk—especially as you get closer to retirement. If you’re close to retirement, you could open a savings fund specifically devoted to back-to-school expenses or consider using a high yield savings account or a CD to earn higher interest.
Another option is utilizing a 529 plan, which offers tax-free withdrawals for qualified education expenses. If you have leftover money in a 529 plan from your kids’ or grandkids’ college savings, then you may be able to use it for your own education.
If your finances are tight, you can also look into getting a part-time job with a company that offers free tuition benefits—an increasingly common perk being offered by employers across the country. For example, companies from Starbucks and Chipotle to Verizon and UPS offer tuition reimbursements for employees pursuing a degree.
Research Senior Discounts
Your budget is important, but there’s no need to get sticker shock when it comes to higher education costs. Many, if not most, colleges offer discounts for continuing education, so regardless of your financial situation, you should be able to find an institution that can help you pursue your learning goals at a cost that works for you.
Some institutions use a lifetime learning model, where retired people can access study groups and regular courses after paying a small membership fee. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, for example, offers post-secondary scholarship funding to colleges and universities across the country to support reentry students and seasoned learners.
Another option is to attend a traditional two- or four-year public university. Most state-run schools offer reduced admission or tuition waivers for senior citizens. This is true in every state in the country, so reach out to your local higher education institution to learn more about the benefits available to you. Furthermore, many community colleges offer completely free audits to senior citizens if there is space available.
Not into attending a traditional university? Well, senior centers often provide lifelong learning activities for anyone over age 50, according to the National Council on Aging. Check out your local senior center to ask about their educational programs, which might include lectures, courses and job-training programs.
Consider Online Options
If in-person learning opportunities don’t mesh well with your lifestyle, online options might be a better fit.
Online or hybrid courses are available to take at many accredited universities and colleges across the country—even Harvard! But before you decide to enroll in an online university, do your homework. While navigating all the options can be overwhelming and time consuming, it’s important to thoroughly vet the college first. Use a resource like U.S. News and World Report; it has long cataloged the best colleges and now catalogs the best online degree programs.
Make Time to Reassess
Whichever route you decide to take—whether it’s a two- or four-year college, a traditional in-person learning environment, an online experience, a university or a senior center—make sure to reassess your goals periodically. Just as retirement offers a new beginning, so does every course you take. You never know what passion lifelong learning will spark.
William Myers is a financial writer based in Dallas.
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