This month in our continuing series on eight principles for a successful retirement, we will continue where we left off with

1. Life Purpose: The principle of Life Purpose implies soul- searching, mindful reflection, and greater awareness on the road to rejuvenation. Carl Jung emphasizes that to self- actualize (or fully develop as people), we must discover and embrace spirituality and a sense of purpose by our 40s. He calls this essential life process: individuation. Often, retirees will find themselves questioning their identity, redefining the roles of work and leisure in their lives, or desiring clarity on their life purpose. In general, this period in our life can be both a time of deep questioning and a time of renewal. For those entering or planning for the New Retirement, careful attention to this principle will determine what is the most passionate, meaningful, and successful course for you and your life purpose

2. Values: A second principle one must consider in planning for retirement is what Values are important to you. During your primary working years, those values may largely have been fulfilled through your work. Similarly, while raising children, family values may have been important then; but how will you ensure that those values are also satisfied in retirement? Will you need to revise your values, or replace old values with new ones? Planning toward that eventuality begins with increasing your awareness about your key core values, regardless of the context in which they are applied. Understanding what your core values are is an essential first step in identifying the component parts of your retirement mission statement. Core values are those things that are naturally incorporated into our lives—they are a part of who we really are. Holding to a value isn't a struggle, because if the value doesn't bring you joy or reinforce a positive emotion, it's not a value. It's probably something someone told you is important, but it doesn't create deep contentment in you particularly.

3. Motivators: Motivators are those things that drive a person, whether in work or in other aspects of life, to make the effort to achieve something.

A recent study supports some widely held assumptions about the baby boomers' contention that they intend to or will need to work during their retirement years.

An increasing number of working Canadians expect pension reform to occur in the next 10 years, according to an international survey on retirement issues conducted recently by AXA Group. A high percentage (75%) of Canadians also favour reducing the tax burden on the retired. Such measures are especially desired by those still working (81%) and by retired Quebecers (82%).

Conducted in 11 countries, the survey reveals that 55% of working Canadians expect pension reform to occur, up 11 percentage points from a previous 2004 survey. Seventy-five per cent of working Canadians also anticipate that they will have to work longer before retiring, while another 70% think their public pension benefits will be reduced by the time they get to them.

Compared with their counterparts worldwide, working Canadians are among the least inclined (35%) to assume complete responsibility for funding their retirement. Most feel that government (81%) and employers (67%) are also responsible. For their part, workers in Japan (75%), Hong Kong (72%) and Germany (62%) are more convinced that the responsibility falls mainly on the individual.

Richard P. Johnson, Ph.D., defines the New Retirement as a time of personal change and unimagined growth that encompasses the internal and intangible depths of our psychological and spiritual convergence. A significant component of this growth is what Dr. Johnson calls "reorientation of self." This implies not a personal rejection of ourselves and our past life prior to retirement, but rather a new testimony of the positive change that is unfolding before us. In order for this to happen, we must let go of one stage of life to make a clearing for the newness of the next one. This inevitably means experiencing losses along the way, but it is this process of loss that propels us forward in our personal development and leads to our ultimate fulfillment in life.