Two significant challenges of managing cyber security for retirement plans are their size and human impact. Those factors are also what make retirement plan cyber security so important. As CAPTRUST Chief Technology Officer Jon Meyer points out, “What’s at stake is participants’ largest nest eggs—their life savings—being put at risk due to insufficient management of cyber security.”

Also at stake: The plan sponsor’s reputation and financial health. Cybercriminals today are targeting large and small businesses almost indiscriminately, and to great effect. Research by the National Cyber Security Alliance found that more than 70 percent of cyberattacks target small or medium-sized businesses, and 60 percent of those attacked went out of business within six months. For larger businesses, the average cost of a data breach is now $4.88 million dollars, according to IBM’s 2024 “Cost of a Data Breach Report.” Publicly traded companies can also expect significant hits to stock values, waves of impact throughout their supply chains, and long-term damage to their brand reputation.

“It’s not just about securing the plan itself,” says Nick Brezinski, CAPTRUST director of information security and network. “It’s about securing the entire ecosystem, including recordkeepers, third-party administrators, participants, and anyone else with access to plan data.” That can seem daunting for plan sponsors that don’t know how to get started. But there are key practices that can help to light the way.

Fiduciary Cyber-Responsibility

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) “Cybersecurity Program Best Practices” provides a framework to help plan sponsors to act as prudent fiduciaries when it comes to cyber risk management. “These are guidelines and best practices, not specific technology recommendations,” says Meyer. “They emphasize the need for a full and effective information security program, rather than focusing on individual technological solutions.”

Under these guidelines, a plan sponsor’s fiduciary duty is to safeguard participant assets, in a similar way to how they guard their own organization.

Typically, this means building up internal expertise or hiring external experts in cyber security, in the same way that they might hire an ERISA lawyer or an investment manager.

However, Brezinski warns, “Hiring external experts or service providers does not transfer the risk to that third party. The sponsor still owns the responsibility for securing their data and running the plan’s broader cyber security program. External experts can supplement where internal resources are lacking, but accountability remains with the plan sponsor.” Fiduciary responsibility itself cannot be outsourced, which means that sponsors have a duty to monitor their vendors.

Vendor Management and Accountability

Since many plan sponsors rely on third-party service providers, it’s crucial to vet vendors rigorously, and confirm that they are complying with stringent security standards. This includes regular reviews and contractual obligations regarding data protection.

“When vetting technology partners, it’s essential to have conversations about what you’re looking for, considering the size of your organization and where you are in your cyber security journey,” says Brezinski. Cost is often a significant factor, and it’s important to balance capability with affordability.

Once the vetting process is complete, consider legal contracts to enforce cyber security standards. “It’s not enough to have a handshake agreement,” says Jon Atchison, CAPTRUST senior team lead for governance, risk, and compliance. “Where possible, make an effort to lock down your vendors with data privacy and security agreements.” These agreements legally bind vendors to maintain certain standards, which are essential for ensuring that vendor security practices align with the plan sponsor’s risk management strategies.

Vendor management also includes proactive engagement throughout the length of the partnership. “You don’t need to be an expert on cyber security, but you do want to have a modicum of understanding of the threats and protective measures,” says Atchison. “That way, you can ask good questions and understand where your partners are doing well, and where they might not be.”

Fraud Awareness and Participant Education

Another critical aspect of cyber security is educating participants. Although fraud is a distinct threat from cyber security risks, it often gets lumped in. Plan sponsors have a responsibility to help employees understand how they can help protect their accounts from fraud and scams.

For example, participants could have their retirement funds stolen due to social engineering attacks, such as phishing or romance scams, which may not involve cyber security breaches. “In these cases, it’s important for sponsors to understand their recordkeepers’ guarantees, and how they plan to handle cases of fraud,” says Meyer.

Phishing is when scammers impersonate trustworthy sources and persuade people to reveal sensitive data like personal information or passwords. Through romance scams, malicious actors build trust over time, then ask for money. Pig-butchering is another type of scam to be aware of. According to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), “These scams often involve fraudsters contacting targets seemingly at random, then gaining trust before ultimately manipulating their targets into phony investments, and ultimately disappearing with the funds.” On its website, FINRA offers tips for identifying and avoiding specific scams like these.

“You can’t rely on technical security alone,” says Atchison. “Participants need to be taught how to recognize scams so that they don’t become unwitting participants in their own attacks.” The stakes are high because participants who fall for scams may not be reimbursed for the legitimate transactions they initiated. Recordkeeper guarantees only go so far to protect participants against cyber fraud.

Sponsors should also encourage participants to register for online services, regularly review their retirement accounts, and report suspicious activity to the plan sponsor and recordkeeper immediately, and sometimes to the FBI. “It’s about building a culture of cyber security awareness at every level,” says Brezinski.

The Limitations of Cyber Liability Insurance

While cyber liability insurance can provide a financial cushion in the event of a breach, it’s important for plan sponsors to understand what this insurance covers, and, perhaps more importantly, what it doesn’t. As Meyer says, “Cyber liability insurance may cover breaches caused by the plan sponsor, but it won’t necessarily cover breaches by a third-party service provider, like a recordkeeper, and a huge number of breaches are third-party breaches.”

Brezinski and Atchison recommend that sponsors carefully review their cyber insurance policies to verify that they provide adequate protection for plan-related data. Relying solely on insurance without a comprehensive cybersecurity program in place could leave sponsors and participants exposed to significant risks.

Brezinski reiterates the need for contractual coverage with vendors. “This will help ensure that, if a breach happens at the vendor level, the vendor will take responsibility,” he says. “Cyber liability insurance alone might not offer full protection in such cases.”

“At the end of the day, it’s about safeguarding participants’ retirement security,” says Atchison. “The risks are real, but, with the right strategies, they can be minimized.”

Undoubtedly, the cyber security landscape for retirement plans is complex, and rapidly evolving. To face today’s and tomorrow’s threats, plan sponsors should take a proactive approach, implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity program that includes proactive vendor management and participant education. By staying attuned to emerging threats, and committed to robust cybersecurity as part of their fiduciary responsibilities, sponsors can better protect their participants’ information and retirement savings.

“Plan sponsors would do well to look at cybersecurity as a continuum of shared responsibility—a continuum between themselves, their vendors, and their participants,” says Meyer. An effective information security program, well-written vendor contracts, participant education, and a comprehensive understanding of fraud risks are essential components of an effective cybersecurity strategy for retirement plans.

Proactive tax-planning tactics can have a cumulative effect and could generate significant savings in the long term, increase or preserve wealth, and improve your financial plan. Your tax and financial advisors can help evaluate your unique tax situation.

The impact of the items on your list may vary based on your situation, but everyone can benefit from considering at least a few of the following suggestions.

Income Deferral and Acceleration Strategies

One foundational aspect of end-of-year tax planning involves strategically managing when to recognize your income as earned and when to defer it. This can make a substantial difference for high earners, especially those who are subject to the highest marginal tax rates. The decision to defer or accelerate income depends on anticipated changes in personal tax rates, potential legislative tax changes, and investment income projections.

“The questions we typically ask clients focus on where their income is coming from and how that compares to last year,” says Lindsay Allen, senior team leader of wealth planning at CAPTRUST. “We also want to know if they’ll be itemizing deductions or taking the standard deduction.” The answers to these questions will help determine if a client should decrease or increase their income that year and which tax strategies they could potentially use.

If you anticipate being in a lower tax bracket next year, or foresee tax legislation that can reduce rates, deferring income can reduce your current-year liability. These strategies can include:

Charitable Giving

While fulfilling their philanthropic goals, high-net-worth individuals who are itemizing deductions can also use charitable contributions as a strategic tool to impact taxable income. There are several tax-efficient ways to structure charitable giving.

A donor-advised fund (DAF) allows you to make a charitable contribution, receive an immediate tax deduction, and then direct the DAF to make grants to your chosen charities over time. DAFs can be particularly advantageous in years with significant income events, such as the sale of a business or large capital gain, as you can prefund future giving and secure a large deduction in the current year.

Donating appreciated securities instead of cash allows you to avoid capital gains tax on the appreciation while still receiving a charitable deduction based on the current fair market value. This is often a highly tax-efficient strategy for individuals with substantial stock portfolios.

“For IRA investors who are over the age of 70 1/2, they may want to consider gifting a required minimum distribution to charity directly from their IRA. This is limited to $105,000 per person per year,” says Allen.

Increasing Taxable Income

Conversely, accelerating income may be beneficial if you expect to be in a higher bracket next year or face legislative changes that could increase tax rates, such as when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is slated to end in 2025. You can recognize gains this year to lock in lower rates, particularly if you’re planning to retire and expect a drop in income, if you expect higher taxes in the future, or if you’re in the final year of a significant bonus cycle and want to avoid future surcharges.

Long-term capital gains are taxed at preferential rates (0 percent, 15 percent, or 20 percent, depending on your income and filing status). High earners are subject to the 3.8 percent net investment income tax on top of the capital gains tax.

If you’re in a lower tax bracket this year than you expect to be in the future, consider harvesting some capital gains to take advantage of lower tax rates before year-end.

Roth conversions can be beneficial for investors who expect higher tax rates—or a higher tax bracket—in the future.

“Think about your taxes cumulatively, throughout your life versus just this year,” says Allen. “With projections, you can take advantage of opportunities in lower-tax-bracket years, such as Roth conversions. You’ll pay taxes for the year the money is converted, but any future growth on those funds can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement, assuming you meet the withdrawal rules.” Also, Roth accounts aren’t subject to required minimum distributions.

For executives with NSOs, exercising stock options may push you into a higher tax bracket. Consider this as a strategy to take advantage of lower tax rates than may exist in future years.

State and Local Tax Planning

While the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has limited state and local tax deductions to $10,000 for federal taxes, individuals who have higher state taxes may have other deductions they can take advantage of.

In some states, you can make charitable contributions to specific state-approved organizations and receive a state tax credit in return. This can reduce your state tax liability while providing a federal deduction for the charitable contribution. Consult with your financial advisor for more details about your state.

Some states allow for a state tax deduction for 529 plan contributions made to their state plan. The rules on whether a deduction exists and to what extent vary by state but can be a great way to save for education and capture a state tax deduction.

Additional Tax Strategy Tips

Although they may not impact your current year’s taxes, these strategies can have a significant impact on the creation and preservation of wealth. They may be impactful as part of a long-term tax strategy that considers cumulative tax benefits.

Each year, you can give up to $18,000 per recipient without the gift counting toward your lifetime exemption. These gifts can remove assets from your estate, lowering your taxable assets and reducing future estate tax liability. This amount is indexed each year.

If you exceed the income limits for contributing directly to a Roth IRA, you can use a backdoor Roth strategy. This involves making a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA (which is not subject to income limits) and then converting the account to a Roth IRA. Since the contribution is nondeductible, you need to pay taxes only on any growth that was converted. Future withdrawals from the Roth account would be tax-free, making this an excellent strategy for building tax-advantaged wealth over time. It is important to understand the pro-rata rules for IRAs before engaging in this strategy.

End-of-year tax planning requires a nuanced approach to managing income, investments, charitable giving, and estate planning. By leveraging these advanced strategies, it’s possible to preserve wealth, reduce tax liabilities, and help ensure your financial legacy.

Work closely with your trusted tax advisor or wealth planner for help navigating the complexities of the tax code and optimizing strategies that are tailored to your individual financial goals and circumstances.

Earlier this year, investors expected the Fed would eventually shift from its restrictive stance, which it adopted to combat inflation, to an accommodative stance with lower interest rates. But with higher-than-expected inflation throughout most of the first half of 2024, investors just weren’t focused on rate cuts.

Things changed in the third quarter. With inflation moving a step lower, market expectations shifted and all eyes turned to the Fed. At its September meeting, the Fed made the pivot investors were expecting, moving the economy into a new chapter. Here, we recap the third quarter and explain a few things the CAPTRUST Investment Group is watching to stay prepared for what could happen next.

Market Rewind: Third Quarter 2024

The cool inflation report at the start of July was a stark contrast to the previous quarter. All asset classes showed positive performance. A soft-landing narrative—driven by increasing confidence that inflation was decreasing as recession fears eased—allowed markets to shine.

Figure One: Asset Class Returns, Third Quarter (Q3) 2024 and Year-to-Date (YTD) 2024

This chart shows market returns across many asset classes in the third quarter of 2024. All data is also repeated in the copy of this article.

Asset class returns are represented by the following indexes: Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (U.S. bonds), S&P 500 Index (U.S. large-cap stocks), Russell 2000® (U.S. small-cap stocks), MSCI EAFE Index (international developed market stocks), MSCI Emerging Market Index (international emerging market stocks), Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index (real estate), and Bloomberg Commodity Index (commodities).

Large-cap stocks saw another solid quarter, rising 5.9 percent and finishing near all-time highs. Although corporate earnings were roughly flat, we saw gains across a broad swath of the market, with all sectors other than energy rising for the quarter. Mega-cap stocks ceded leadership but remain ahead year-to-date.

After trailing in the first half of the year, small-cap stocks rocketed higher in July before falling in August. Despite this fall, they finished 9.3 percent higher for the third quarter.

As U.S. Treasury rates declined, interest-rate-sensitive markets performed well after a difficult first six months of the year. Investment grade bonds rose 5.2 percent, and real estate posted a stunning 17.0 percent return, boosted by low relative valuations. Declining interest rates eased concerns over financing in the commercial market.

Commodities managed to hold their ground, rising 0.6 percent. Geopolitical tensions simmered, allowing oil prices to decline. Meanwhile, gold continued its relentless climb, hitting a new all-time high of $2,672 an ounce.

Outside the U.S., developed market stocks performed well, returning 7.3 percent. Japan was the outlier as the yen’s appreciation relative to the U.S. dollar brought returns down 6 percent. Emerging market stocks were nearly relegated to a footnote this quarter, until China’s government announced a significant stimulus in late September. This sent the Chinese market soaring, after lagging for the past several years. In total, emerging market equities returned 8.9 percent.

The Fed’s Influence on Markets

When Congress created the Fed in 1913, it had three objectives:

Markets tend to focus most of their attention on the first two of these relatively ambiguous objectives. Generally, price stability equates to a 2 percent inflation rate. Maximum employment is the highest level of employment the economy can tolerate without driving inflation above the stated target.

While the Fed is often criticized for its approach to and execution in achieving these objectives, Fed officials take their responsibilities seriously. Therefore, when markets believe a change is imminent, they too care deeply about inflation and labor statistics.

What Changed

Inflation: For most of the first half of this year, not only did we see a continuation of elevated inflation on a month-to-month basis, but the data came in above expectations. This increased pessimism and uncertainty about whether inflation was truly on a path back to the Fed’s 2 percent target. While the data for May, released in mid-June, came in both low and below expectations, at 0.0 percent, there was enough doubt built up in the system to prevent a dramatic reaction.

However, with a -0.1 percent inflation data point for June, released on July 11, market perspective shifted dramatically. One obvious manifestation was an incredible reversal and rally in small-cap stocks, particularly relative to large-cap stocks.

Figure Two: Large-Cap vs. Small-Cap Stock Market Performance, January to September 2024

In Figure Two, the S&P 500 Index is used to represent U.S. large-cap stocks, and the Russell 2000® is used to represent small-cap stocks).

This dramatic performance was not the result of lower inflation. Small-cap stocks outperformed because markets saw lower inflation as a green light for the Fed to begin unwinding tight monetary policy. This could ultimately reduce the burden of higher borrowing costs, which were designed to slow the economy and which disproportionately impacted smaller businesses.

Labor: Inflation is important, but labor is the lynchpin.A crucial fact, omitted in the previous paragraph, is that the labor market and overall economy were in good shape throughout the first half of the year, likely headed toward a soft landing.

Consumers make up roughly 70 percent of the U.S. economy, and consumer spending is the primary engine for U.S. economic growth. Therefore, a healthy labor market is critical to the prospects of our economy.

Without a positive outlook for the economy, small-cap stocks, which are more sensitive to economic growth, could have seen their year-to-date struggles worsen. That’s what happened in early August when a weak unemployment report drove a near-perfect reversal of July’s small-cap rally. But because the economic outlook was positive in September when the Fed pivoted, small-cap stock values shot upward.

Markets interpreted the lower inflation data as confirmation that the Fed would be able to take its foot off the brake and lower rates. This caused the more cyclical sectors of the market, such as small caps, to rally. However, weaker employment data raised fears that the soft inflation data was being driven by a weakening economy, and this triggered a rapid reversal.

It turns out, when members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors consistently tell the market they will be data-dependent in their decision-making, the market listens and becomes data-dependent itself.

What the Pivot Means for Markets

For the moment, there has been an increase in uncertainty. You could say that the volatility of volatility has increased. In plain language, the market is more likely to experience day-to-day swings.

Investors were surprisingly split about whether the Fed would cut the fed funds rate by 25 or 50 basis points (a basis point is 0.01% and commonly referenced as bp or bps) at its September meeting. When it cut the rate by 50 bps, investors were then concerned about what this decision implied about the future rate path. Did Fed Chair Jerome Powell and his cohorts just begin an aggressive campaign to bring rates back down? Or was this a jump start to give the Fed the space to make more cautious decisions?

The anticipated path of the fed funds rate is well captured by the 2-year Treasury yield. The 2-year Treasury declined from 4.75 percent at the start of the third quarter to 3.65 percent at the end—an exceptional move itself. The implications of this movement could be seen across other markets, such as currencies. The U.S. dollar has been very sensitive to the potential path of interest rates, and we’ve seen it decline neatly with the 2-year Treasury.

As mentioned, when the Fed cut rates, more economically sensitive sectors and markets briefly moved higher before retreating. The broader equity market jumped up and down for most of the quarter before moving to new highs at the end of September. And fixed income, which struggled to get its head above water in the first half of the year, enjoyed a strong rally throughout most of the quarter as the market priced in a series of future rate cuts.

Much of this intra-quarter turbulence was the result of two things: investors pricing in a shift from restrictive monetary policy, and the market evolving its view on how quickly the Fed would move.

Figure Three: Two-Year U.S. Treasury Yield vs. U.S. Dollar, September 2023 to September 2024

More Questions Ahead

The Fed has now pivoted to an easing cycle, but there are still many unknowns to face.

What We’re Watching

Investors are students of previous market cycles, and many historically significant indicators are flashing warnings. While we take these indicators seriously, we also recognize that we are in a unique economic environment that continues to normalize from the fiscal, monetary, and economic experimentation that took place after the pandemic. This leaves us in a low-conviction environment as we seek to adapt our historical experience to the unwinding of novel policy choices from the past four years.

Figure Four: Target Fed Funds Rate Probabilities for December 2025

Our base case—what we think is probably likely to happen in the next few months—is that equities will perform in stride with earnings growth. Corporations, particularly mega-cap companies, are healthy and strong. We anticipate they will be able to continue to grow their earnings as the market expects.

Similarly, we expect to clip coupons in fixed income, albeit with some potential volatility as markets digest the Fed’s new direction. With the yield on fixed income markets near 4.25 percent, investors could earn a nice advantage over inflation on investment grade bonds.

In a more optimistic scenario, the elevated margins at corporations, a more dovish Fed, and the potential for increased productivity driven by artificial intelligence could pave the way to higher equity market returns. This scenario would likely be accompanied by an increase in inflation and, therefore, higher interest rates, which could hold down fixed income returns in the near term.

On the other hand, if we choose history to guide us through this novel environment, it does not take long to draw a more pessimistic conclusion. The Fed has a track record of holding interest rates too high for too long, thereby pushing the economy into recession. And we have seen unemployment levels rise steadily over the past year, although not to concerning levels. Historically, high unemployment rates align with recessions.

Cautiously Optimistic

The next quarter is likely to be turbulent, but we may see markets steady themselves after the election and as economic data unfolds. Throughout the bumps, it’s important to keep in mind that turbulence is a normal market reaction to uncertainty. With the tailwind of the Fed’s new stance, and attuned to the multiple unknowns before us, we see a lot to like in this economy and in markets today.

Of course, markets will need to adapt to this new monetary policy regime to gain a better grasp on the Fed’s framework for analysis. But with consumers and corporations in fundamentally strong positions, we are cautiously optimistic.

On October 3, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024-73. This guidance addresses the interaction of existing 403(b) eligibility rules with the new long-term part-time (LTPT) employee provisions of the SECURE 2.0 Act.

Notice 2024-73 addresses some important outstanding questions on this issue in the form of a user-friendly Q&A. It includes the following:

  1. Student employees can continue to be excluded from 403(b) plans under the existing universal availability rules, even if they qualify as LTPT employees (i.e., they have worked at the company for at least two consecutive years, during which they completed at least 500 hours of service per year).
  2. 403(b) plans that are not subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), such as governmental and non-electing church plans, are not subject to the LTPT rules.
  3. The new LTPT provision does not replace the existing 403(b) universal availability exclusion for employees who normally work fewer than 20 hours per week. The IRS has made it clear that plans can continue to exclude employees who do not qualify as LTPT employees under ERISA from making elective deferrals

This guidance is timely, since the LTPT rules that the SECURE 2.0 Act provides are effective for 403(b) plans beginning with the 2025 plan year.

On August 19, 2024, the IRS released Notice 2024-63, which addresses employer retirement plan contributions related to their employees’ qualified student loan payments, or QSLPs. This notice provides important clarification for plan sponsors that are considering adding matching student loan payments in their retirement plans.

Although the student loan payments provision of the SECURE 2.0 Act is already effective for plan years beginning in 2024, many plan sponsors have been reluctant to implement this provision given the lack of IRS guidance. This notice addresses many issues regarding student loan repayment matches, including the following:

The IRS has emphasized this notice is interim guidance. It plans to issue additional proposed regulations in the future and is requesting comments in this notice on several outstanding issues. Future guidance will be welcomed, as it appears that there are still unanswered questions about QSLPs.

Notice 2024-63 applies for plan years beginning in 2025, although plan sponsors may rely on a good faith reasonable interpretation of the related SECURE 2.0 provision before that date.

If you have questions or concerns about this notice or related SECURE 2.0 provisions, contact your CAPTRUST financial advisor.

Rucking is a form of weight-bearing aerobic exercise that has grown in popularity among fitness enthusiasts from weekend warriors to hard-core endurance athletes. Rucking is simply walking while wearing a weighted backpack, or ruck. The word ruck derives from the German word rucksack, meaning backpack. 

Born to Ruck  

Rucking has obvious connections to military training, where soldiers have long been required to carry heavy packs and march for extended periods, but its origins go back much further.  

Three vertically stacked images show a rucking backpack, a rucking weight, and a man wearing a weighted rucking backpack on a walk through the woods.

“The act of rucking has been happening since the hunter-gatherer period,” says Jason McCarthy, founder and CEO of GORUCK, the company credited with sparking the modern rucking movement. Indeed, humans’ ability to carry heavy things over long distances has been a necessary survival skill throughout evolution.  

“People have been rucking in some way, shape, or form their entire lives,” says McCarthy. “They just haven’t noticed, or it hasn’t been intentional. Think of bringing in your groceries, walking to the bus stop with a bag full of books, or going to grab a coffee with your kid in a wearable baby carrier. They all ladder up organically to rucking.” 

McCarthy founded GORUCK in 2008 to manufacture rugged backpacks designed for rucking and host endurance events centered on the activity. But success didn’t happen overnight. “When I first produced the GR1 [the company’s initial product], I didn’t sell any, and it was a reality check of how challenging the business world would be,” he says. 

Today, McCarthy is optimistic about GORUCK’s future as people are becoming much more intentional about their relationship with and approach to rucking. “I believe that it will become bigger than running,” he says. 

Low Impact, Many Benefits 

A conversation with his doctor about his blood pressure and physical condition sparked Warren’s initial interest in rucking. “My doctor said, ‘I want you to start exercising and getting to the point where you’re having a little trouble breathing,’” he says. “Rucking really gets my heart pumping and thumping.” 

While the concept of strapping weight to your back and going for a walk may seem simple, rucking offers a powerful combination of aerobic exercise and strength training that engages muscles throughout the body. It provides an exceptional full-body workout that improves cardiovascular fitness; builds muscle endurance; and strengthens the core, back, shoulders, and legs. 

“Carrying weight while you walk engages muscles throughout your body in a way that regular walking doesn’t,” says Warren. “It’s low impact, but it’s been a very effective way for me to build strength and endurance.” 

McCarthy concurs: “Because it’s low impact, it has fewer injury risks than something like running.”  

In addition to the physical benefits, ruckers report significant mental health advantages. “It also promotes getting outdoors and getting into nature, getting exposed to sunlight and fresh air, which is great for your mental health,” says McCarthy. The rhythmic nature of rucking combined with being out in nature can reduce stress and anxiety.  

Ruckers frequently report improved sleep quality and a sense of well-being after their sessions.  

“Rucking is a great way to build community, and is, in my opinion, always best to be done with a group,” says McCarthy. “That could be several people in a ruck club, your spouse and kids, or taking your dog for a walk. Building a community through exercise and wellness is an incredibly powerful thing.” 

The Right Stuff  

While you can get started rucking with any backpack filled with weight, investing in proper rucking equipment can make a significant difference in comfort and safety, especially as you increase the weight and duration of your sessions. 

“For someone starting out, I’d suggest they do it right and get good equipment out of the gate,” advises Warren. “Otherwise, you might hurt yourself or get frustrated, and you’re not going to pursue it any further. If you invest a couple hundred dollars in the right gear, you’ll take to it, and it’ll benefit you.” 

GORUCK is one of several companies that offer backpacks designed for rucking. These packs feature padded hip belts and sternum straps to distribute weight evenly across the body, as well as durable construction to withstand the rigors of long-distance rucking. Ruckers add weights or sandbags to their packs to increase the load as desired to dial in their workouts. 

This box explains how to get started with rucking: buy the right gear, wear the right shoes, start slow, listen to your body, warm up, and cool down. As you get stronger, increase the weight, distance, or pace of your rucks.

Beginner to Marathoner  

For those new to rucking, it’s best to start slowly and gradually increase the weight and duration of your sessions over time. “Start with [shorter distance], time, and weight, and work your way up,” says McCarthy. If you aren’t an avid gym-goer, 10 pounds is a good starting weight for women and 20 for men.   

“I started with a 30-pound pack for 30 minutes, which is a common go-to for ruckers,” says Warren, whose other favorite physical activities include weightlifting and loading sound gear for the band he manages. 

As you become more comfortable with the activity, you can increase the weight in your pack and the distance or time you ruck. Some experienced ruckers work their way up to carrying 40 to 60 pounds or more for extended periods, with some even taking on ultramarathon-distance rucking events. 

Choosing a suitable route is also essential for an enjoyable and effective rucking experience. Look for routes with a mix of terrain and scenery. “My 30-minute route includes some quality nature time,” says Warren. “I’m walking through woods; there’s a substantial incline and a nice downhill stretch. It’s a good workout, but it comes easily and allows me to think.” 

Rucking offers something for everyone, whether that’s a straightforward way to improve your fitness, a new challenge to push your endurance limits, or a means of achieving a greater sense of mental calm. With its accessibility and multitude of benefits, it’s no wonder this once-niche workout is growing into a widespread fitness phenomenon. “It gives me peace of mind that I’m doing something healthy and I’m enjoying the activity,” says Warren. 

Article by John Curry

“He read it and told me, ‘I wish I were writing this,’ which I thought was just about the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.” Soon after, the advisor introduced her to a literary agent, who introduced her to a publisher, who immediately asked to buy the rights to her manuscript—and that is how Youngson’s first novel, Meet Me at the Museum, came to be.  

It was an unexpected cascade of events. She was 69 years old. 

In the eight years since, Youngson has published three more books and written dozens of stories. Mostly, she writes about transformation. “I wanted to study the idea that, whatever your age, if things aren’t right, if there are things you want to explore, or if you want to bring change to your life, you can still do it.” 

At 76, Youngson speaks from experience. She didn’t start writing seriously until she was in her 60s. 

The Rover Years 

Before she became a published writer, Youngson worked for the British car company Land Rover, climbing steadily over 33 years to chief engineer of the Defender brand and managing director of special vehicle operations. It was a surprising path for someone with an undergraduate degree in medieval English. But Youngson says her transition from humanities to engineering was intentional. 

In this archival photo, Anne Youngson leans against one of the Defender brand vehicles she helped create.

“When I left university, I didn’t want a job involving English literature because I felt that I’d come out of school without any practical skills,” she says. “I wanted to tackle problems that were open to practical analysis.”  

She took an entry-level role in the marketing department at what was then called British Leyland Motor Corporation but soon realized the only place she could have fun was in engineering. “In vehicle manufacturing, it’s the engineers who shape what the company does,” she says.  

So Youngson worked her way over to the engineering department and then rose through the ranks to the executive level. It was a highly technical environment, and her team was almost entirely male.  

Despite the ways she differed from her colleagues, Youngson says she rarely felt like an outsider and loved changing from job to job within the company. “I had quite a satisfying and varied career, which I suppose is why I stuck it out for so long,” she says. “But I have to say, when I started, I always thought, I’m just going to do this until I write my novel.” 

One of her closest colleagues at Land Rover was engineer Nick Seale. He and Youngson worked together on joint vehicle projects, designing cars in collaboration with Honda and BMW.  

Seale says he can see how Youngson’s corporate skill set contributes to her success as a writer. “We worked on some very, very big projects with large teams and lots of different aspects,” he says. “Anne didn’t have a technical background, but she knew how to listen and learn from others. She’s a brilliant listener, which is not at all common. She listened to understand people’s points and then balance them with each other.” 

But his favorite thing about working with Youngson was her consistent humility. “She has no ego,” Seale says. “She was never pushing her own feelings onto people and pulling them into accepting them. Instead, she’d say, ‘I don’t know what the technical solution is, so let’s listen to all the views and figure it out.’ That gets people on your side.” 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, when the Rover Cars division was working with Honda, “product development between a Japanese company and a British company was basically unheard of,” says Seale. “There was no road map. There were no preexisting legal agreements. Throughout, it was very important to balance people’s conflicting views and ways of doing business.” 

Before her first novel, Anne Youngson wrote two nonfiction books about her work in vehicle manufacturing: When Rover Met Honda and British Leyland Motor Corporation, 1968-2005.

Youngson and Seale enjoyed learning the cultural difference between teams. And Seale says Youngson’s ability to listen and then speak plainly and honestly became a critical part of the collaboration. 

From Engineering to Sweet Peas 

A few years after Ford bought Land Rover in the early 2000s, the company offered Youngson a nice retirement package. But at only 56 years old, she felt too young to stop working. She was worried about losing connections and not feeling fully engaged in the world.   

To sort out her feelings, she made a list of all the things she could do if she retired. “Some of them were really silly, like growing sweet peas,” says Youngson. The more time she spent looking at the list, the more excited she felt about retiring. 

She also felt this was the time to finally get serious about her writing. “I’d written all the time but only little stories for myself,” she says. “I wasn’t really taking it seriously. And I thought, well, now’s the time to explore.” Eventually, she accepted Ford’s offer. 

Figuring Out Retirement  

That first year was stressful and disorganized. “I was a bit panicked,” Youngson says. “When you’re working, you know what to expect. You know you’ll have however many emails to answer each day and a full schedule, but all of that had gone away. I wasn’t getting any emails at all, except from people telling me how to invest my retirement funds.” 

To fill the time, Youngson signed up for lots of volunteer opportunities and worked in governance for multiple nonprofits. “And all the time I was writing,” she says. “Then one day I realized my calendar was as full as it ever was, and nobody was paying me!” She decided to make a change.  

To focus her energy, Youngson enrolled in a two-year evening course in creative writing at Oxford University, just down the street from her home in Oxfordshire, England. She went on to earn a master’s degree and then a doctorate. “Every time I did a course, I was really stimulated,” she says. “I was writing away. But then I’d gradually just sort of run out of impetus, so I’d think, OK, time to do another course! And finally, I ended up with a PhD.” 

Anne Youngson writes in a notebook beside her computer at a wooden desk, surrounded by shelves of books.

Friends and Feedback  

There’s an old idea about artistic jobs like writing, painting, and musical composition that says talent is innate. It can’t be taught or learned, so taking classes is pointless. Youngson found that idea both true and false. 

“I don’t think any of the courses I’ve taken have actually taught me anything,” she says. “What they’ve done is enable me to understand what I’m already doing and how I can do it better.” 

She says another benefit of going back to school is that she made unlikely friends. “I thought the biggest danger of retirement is that you end up mixing with only the same people all the time—people who think like you and live like you because that’s who your friends are.”  

Enrolling in courses was a way to meet people who weren’t in their 50s or 60s and retired. “But still, in that first class, when we went around the room introducing ourselves, I found myself thinking, What am I doing here? These people are nothing like me!” 

Over time, four of those classmates became her closest writing friends. They’d meet monthly to review each other’s work. Almost a decade later, they still meet three or four times a year. “Being part of a community of people who are writing seriously and giving you feedback on your work? I think that’s invaluable,” says Youngson. “I feel privileged to have met them.” 

Anne Youngson's first four novels: Meet Me at the Museum, The Narrowboat Summer, The Six Who Came to Dinner, and A Complicated Matter

One member of this writing group is Bev Murray, a business psychologist and coach who turned to writing after her first child was born to add “a stream of creativity” to her life. 

For Murray, Youngson is both a friend and an inspiration. “There’s so much humor, intelligence, and generosity in Anne, and these things come through in her writing.” She says Youngson has a special ability to interpret human nature and experience.  

Although the media often attributes this competence to Youngson’s age, Murray says that message obscures the magic in her friend’s success. In 2018, when Meet Me at the Museum was nominated for a Costa Book Award for Best First Novel, the headlines almost never failed to mention that 70 is a surprising age to make a debut. 

“I worry that, in the wider world, Anne’s age gets attention because it is seen as being so unusual,” says Murray. “From my perspective, she would have been successful no matter when she started writing. Her work shows her experiences in the world and her level of understanding of what she has experienced. Her age may be a part of that, but I have plenty of older friends who do not demonstrate the same level of understanding.” 

Seale agrees. “Anne can read people,” he says. “It comes out of seeing that there are other ways of doing things and thinking.” 

Youngson's advice to new writers: Don't believe the lore, take yourself seriously, and start short.

Although Youngson’s books often feature people who are middle-aged or older, her characters are focused on the future, not lost in their own reveries on aging. Youngson says this, too, is intentional.  

“An awful lot of novels feature older people who are either used as plot devices—you know, a contrast to whatever is going on in the lives of the younger people—or they’re looking back,” she says. “They’re so often going back into the past to understand how their lives ended up where they are. I would read those and think: But you keep on living!”  

Always Looking Forward  

For Youngson, this is key to understanding human nature, aging, and good storytelling. “This is what you don’t understand when you’re younger is that you just keep on living,” she says. “Every day, you’re looking forward to something. It’s what we do as human beings. We’re always looking forward to something, even if it’s only tomorrow’s breakfast.” 

It may also explain how Youngson has kept her positive attitude about change. “I’ve always believed that tomorrow is going to be at least as good as, if not better than, today.”  

Part of her optimism was a driving belief that, one day, she would finally find the time to take her writing seriously. “I always knew the time would come,” she says. “It’s like I was saving it up as a treat until I had the time and headspace to really enjoy it.”  

And now, she does. 

Article by Roxanne Bellamy. Photos by Azul Photography.

In the realm of finance, alternative investments—also called alts—represent a departure from traditional avenues such as stocks, bonds, and cash equivalents.  

The term alternative is a catch-all label. Under it, the universe of alts includes a wide range of assets, many of which have little to nothing in common, except that they don’t fit into conventional investment categories.  

Examples of alts include hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, commodities, infrastructure, natural resources, and collectibles like art and wine. What sets them apart is their potential for higher returns, their unique risks, and their tendencies to behave independently from traditional public markets. 

Democratizing Access 

Historically, alternative investments have been the domain of large institutional investors. Burdensome regulations once led managers to offer these strategies solely through private partnerships, which limited access mostly to pension plans, endowments, and the ultra-wealthy.  

Now, regulatory guidelines have softened, allowing managers to build more investor-friendly vehicles, like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) devoted exclusively to alts. At the same time, individual investors have shown demand for alternative investment strategies, and the financial industry is responding. 

The overall effect has been a democratization of access to alts, and a corresponding explosion of assets under management. According to PitchBook, assets under management in the alts space nearly doubled between 2017 and 2022, rising from $7.4 trillion to $14.7 trillion. The same report forecasts that growth in the alts sector will accelerate exponentially in the next few years, reaching $19.6 trillion by 2028.

This chart shows alternative assets under management increasing from 14.8 trillion dollars in 2022 to nearly 19 trillion dollars in 2028 (estimated)

What is motivating investors to move their money into alternative investment strategies? Mostly, diversification and the potential for higher long-term returns.  

This text box lists the 6 core categories of alternative investments: private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate, real assets, and funds of funds.

Targets and Managers  

Within the alts market, private equity and venture capital generally offer the highest potential long-term returns. Investing in private companies allows ownership access to businesses much earlier in their life cycles, when potential for growth is higher than in more mature publicly traded firms. However, private equity and venture capital typically also have the longest time horizons. 

Return targets vary by fund, but in general, private equity funds aim for average annualized returns of 10 to 20 percent over a seven- to 10-year time horizon. Venture capital funds typically seek even higher returns but also involve the higher risk of investing in early-stage companies.  

Of the six core categories of alts (private equity, venture capital, private debt, real estate, real assets, and funds of funds), real assets generally have the lowest targets, aiming for 5 to 10 percent net returns. 

Realized performance varies considerably, based on both the inception year of the fund and the manager’s skill. Manager selection is always important for actively managed investment strategies, but for alts, it’s critical.  

Figure Two shows the dispersion of returns between investment managers in different types of alts from 2005 to 2018. Over that period, the median return for private equity funds was 13.79 percent per year—an incredible bounty for investors. But it’s important to notice the full range of results. Those invested with the bottom 10 percent of managers barely made a dime, while those invested with the top 10 percent produced returns of more than 30 percent.

This chart shows the dispersion in returns across different types of alternative investments by manager.

Source: PitchBook

For venture capital funds, the range of returns was even greater. Those invested with the top decile saw more than 34 percent returns, while those invested with the bottom decile lost money instead. The narrowest dispersion was in private debt, in which top-quartile managers earned an 11.42 percent return, and bottom-quartile managers earned 6.33 percent.

Allocating to alts can be a high-stakes game. To protect your portfolio from major losses, and improve your chances of success, align yourself with a manager who has disciplined investment and due diligence processes. In the alts universe, participating in the sector by simply entrusting your money to a manager, and hoping for the best, could be an exceptionally costly decision. 

Liquidity Options: Daily to Decades 

Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be bought or sold without affecting its price. Cash is the most liquid asset of all. For other investments, the higher their liquidity, the easier it is to turn those assets back into cash. Less liquid assets require more time to be converted to cash, and the conversion may come at a higher cost. 

Within the alternative investment universe, a full spectrum of liquidity options exists, from daily to decades. The most liquid alts are ETFs and mutual funds, which provide access primarily to public market investments. As a result, these alts must limit their holdings to ultra-liquid securities like stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities, with a few exceptions. 

This chart lists liquidity details for different types of alternative investments.

Source: CAPTRUST Research

Private partnerships sit at the other end of the spectrum. Because the managers of private partnerships effectively set their own liquidity terms, they can target investments in illiquid private equity or venture capital companies. These can have investment horizons of multiple decades. 

For investors who don’t want to lock away their assets for many years or decades, but still want some of the benefits of alts, a newer form of mutual fund, called an interval fund, provides an interesting compromise between full and zero liquidity. An interval fund is a type of closed-end mutual fund that does not trade on the secondary market. Like other mutual funds, interval funds price daily, have a high degree of transparency, and report taxes on 1099s. 

Unlike other mutual funds, interval funds periodically offer to buy back a percentage of outstanding shares from shareholders at net asset value. These are called repurchase offers. Shareholders aren’t required to sell their shares back, but they can choose to participate in repurchase offers during specified intervals. Repurchases are typically done on a pro rata basis, and they allow for a percentage of shares (usually 5 to 25 percent, depending on the fund prospectus) to be repurchased during any given window.  

The important piece to understand is that even though interval funds may offer liquidity windows, managers often limit the total amount of outflows available. As a result, an investor may not always be able to withdraw as much as they would like during one of these windows. 

Fee Considerations 

The pros and cons of specific alts strategies are complicated, and they require research and due diligence. Yet there are common considerations for everyone interested in these types of assets. One is fees. 

Alternative investment strategies are actively managed, specialized strategies that often come at a premium price. Fees are usually highest on private partnerships and take the form of an annual management fee—usually 1 to 2 percent of assets—plus additional fees on profits generated by the fund. These are called success fees, carried interest, or incentive fees, and they typically range from 10 to 20 percent of the profits.  

Interval fund fees tend to be lower, ranging from a 0.9 to a 1.5 percent management fee. Most interval funds also include a performance hurdle (e.g., 5 percent annually) that the portfolio needs to reach before the manager charges an additional percent of profits.  

Mutual fund and ETF fees are the lowest in the alts universe because they are generally prohibited from charging incentive fees. That said, with annual management fees of 0.5 to 2 percent, their fees are still considerably higher than the fees most people are familiar with for public equity and fixed income options.  

Critics of alts often point to fees as a reason to avoid them. This argument resonates. When you have a choice between two identical products, it’s smart to choose the one that costs the least.  

But when it comes to alternative investments, it’s important to focus on the skill of the manager and expected net-of-fees performance as well. Net-of-fees performance refers to the return on capital reported by an investment strategy after deducting management fees and other expenses. 

An allocation to any alternative investment strategy is intentionally designed to deliver a return profile that’s different from public investments like stocks and bonds. Therefore, if the expected net-of-fees performance provides benefits to a portfolio—like higher returns, lower volatility, or increased diversification—the fees may be justified. 

A financial advisor can help unravel the net-of-fees performances for different funds. They can also assess the potential risks and returns for different types of alternative investment strategies to help you discern which are worth considering as part of your unique financial picture. 

Getting Started 

As distinctions between public and private investments continue to blur, opportunities are expanding for individual investors to participate in alternative investment strategies. And it seems this expansion is just beginning. Yet as this article highlights, understanding what you’re buying is vital, as incorporating alts can influence the fees, liquidity, and performance of your portfolio. 

Alternative investments are not appropriate for all investors. But in many circumstances, alts may make a sound addition to a well-diversified investment portfolio. To thrive in this new universe, personal education or aligning yourself with an experienced advisor is critical.

Ruffolo was so passionate about his work that the last thing he wanted for his later years was to spend a lot of free time relaxing. “I don’t really have hobbies,” he says. “I get so much pleasure from work [that] I don’t play golf or tennis. I don’t go out at night or drink and carouse.” 

When Ruffolo first started talking about retirement, his wife, Stephany, wondered where he would direct his abundant energy. She needn’t have worried; his retirement lasted only one month. “One, I wasn’t going to sit around and watch television,” he says. “Two, I wanted to have fun.”  

Fun, for him, meant advancing the science he loved, so Ruffolo designed his own version of retirement. Let’s call it unretirement.  

This picture shows Dr. Robert Ruffolo.

“I have a lifetime of knowledge about how drugs are discovered and developed,” says Ruffolo. “Companies want me to help them develop these drugs, and I’ll do it as long as my health holds out. It keeps me busy, and I’m having fun, yet without the crushing burden of responsibility that I had when I was working.” 

Before retiring, Ruffolo led a 9,000-person team and often worked 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. He rarely slept more than four hours a night, rising at 4:00 a.m. to clear his email inbox before arriving at the office by 5:00 a.m. Now, at 74 years old, Ruffolo sets his own schedule.  

“I get up at 1:30 or 2:00 a.m., never later,” he says. “I do an hour on the treadmill, 30 minutes of weights, then start work. People think I’m crazy, but it makes me happy. There’s a good feeling I get when I’m awake before other people.” 

These days, Ruffolo is a consultant for several pharmaceutical companies, a board member for multiple biotech startups, and an expert witness on patent infringement lawsuits. He travels frequently to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.  

He teaches, lectures, and—with Stephany—engages in philanthropic endeavors, including renovating a lecture hall at The Ohio State University, his alma mater. It’s a packed and fulfilling life, designed very much to his own specifications. 

Unretiring in Retirement 

While Ruffolo’s version of work during retirement may seem extreme, the trend of unretirement has gained attention in recent years as a larger share of baby boomers approach this stage of life in innovative ways. These go-getters are creating paths that include some form of intermittent, remote, or scaled-back work. Some are trying a different field altogether.  

Nearly one in five adults age 65 or older is employed today—an increase from only 11 percent in 1987, according to the Pew Research Center. Even among those 75 and older, about 9 percent are employed, more than double the share in 1987. College-educated workers are more likely to continue working than those without a college degree. 

“There’s a shift in people’s idea of retiring because of how the workforce has changed, especially in the past few years,” says Evan Cumalander, a CAPTRUST financial advisor in Wenatchee, Washington. “As much of the workforce has gone virtual, some individuals who already retired have now been hired back to work remotely or have stayed on in consulting roles.”  

On Your Own Terms 

One factor contributing to the unretirement trend is that work has become more age-friendly and flexible due to technology tools and new social norms—like flexible hours and virtual meetings—that became more common during the pandemic.  

“Before, people were waking up at 7:00 a.m., making coffee, driving to an office, and spending a lot of time away from their families,” says Cumalander. “Now, those who have perfected their craft throughout their careers can be just as effective working reduced hours virtually.” 

One of Cumalander’s clients, who worked at a food distribution company, changed her whole approach to retirement when it became possible to do her job remotely. As the main contact for some strategic customer relationships, she negotiated with her employer to continue working after age 65 as a 1099 consultant.  

1099 consultants are considered independent contractors, not employees. (The number 1099 refers to the tax form employers must file for each independent contractor.) As such, Cumalander’s client was ineligible for employer-sponsored health insurance, but she was able to get on Medicare.  

“She lives an almost-retired lifestyle, with very flexible hours,” Cumalander says. “She’s able to keep one toe in the water, working with people she likes and having something to do, while getting supplemental income so she doesn’t have to withdraw as much from her retirement accounts.” 

Cumalander sees a trend of similar trajectories. “With remote work now a common option, people can extend the length of time they work,” he says. “Instead of stopping work completely at age 65, they might start paring back at age 60 and continue working until age 70 or later.” 

This sidebar shows the other potential benefits of unretirement, including more structure, a sense of purpose, more activity to reduce the risk of chronic health problems, better brain health, and improved social health.

Connecting and Contributing 

Work is often a core part of a person’s identity. And research shows that continuing to work can help people stay sharp, maintain skills, and feel they’re a part of something. 

“For someone who has worked 40 to 50 hours a week for their entire life, many of their social and emotional connections may come through their workplace,” says Teri Parker, a CAPTRUST financial advisor in Riverside, California. 

Leaving that world behind entirely can create a void, she says. “Suddenly, no one is calling to ask your opinion, or you’re no longer writing a paper on a new approach,” says Parker. “It can be disorienting.” 

A renegotiated work-life balance can make all the difference in an enjoyable unretired lifestyle.  

For instance, Cumalander points to another client: a veterinarian who sold his practice at age 59 and moved to the coast, a few hours from his former home. The new owner asked if he would support the continuity of the business by phasing out gradually instead of leaving altogether. He happily agreed.  

“This client loved his work so much that he would drive for two hours and stay in an apartment at his best friend’s house on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays every week,” says Cumalander. “Then, he would be so excited to drive back to the beach, where every weekend was a long weekend and felt like a vacation.” 

Financial Planning Implications 

Working after retirement can help defer dipping into your nest egg and add structure to your days, but a paycheck can also cause unexpected repercussions for retirement income and taxes. Your age, the amount you’re earning, and the type of employment you’re engaged in are just a few of the factors to be mindful of.  

Before returning to work or negotiating consulting terms, it’s good to check with a financial advisor about potential implications for your Social Security benefits and retirement withdrawal strategies.  

If you aren’t yet receiving Social Security benefits, post-retirement work may allow you to delay starting, which will likely mean a higher benefit down the road. For people who are already drawing Social Security and are full retirement age or older, earned income has no impact on benefits.  

However, for those younger than full retirement age, complex rules apply. For one thing, when earnings exceed $22,320, the Social Security Administration will withhold $1 from benefits for every $2 earned above that threshold. This money is credited back after full retirement age. A different rule applies the year someone reaches full retirement age.  

“There are so many rules for different scenarios,” says Parker. “I would suggest people make an appointment with the Social Security Administration or with their financial advisor to clearly understand the full picture before making the decision to go back to work.” 

Unretiring could also change your strategy for taking retirement distributions. “If you have income, maybe you’ll need to withhold more, or maybe you’ll want to reduce or stop taking an IRA distribution,” says Parker. “If the wages are significant, it’s a good idea to meet with a tax professional.” 

When someone is drawing a pension and then returns to work at the same company, there’s a big difference between going back as a 1099 contractor and going back as a regular employee. “If you’re a consultant, you might not qualify as an employee, so you might be able to keep drawing on the pension,” says Parker. “However, returning to the company as a regular employee could create a problem. Before making any decision, talk to a pension expert in human resources to ask about constraints.”  

Life expectancies today extend long past traditional retirement age, so it’s likely the unretirement lifestyle will continue to evolve. “That’s a long time to have nothing to do,” says Ruffolo. “For retirement, you should do what makes you happy. For me, it’s about staying active and giving what I have to offer.”

This sidebar explains ways to stay connected to your work community, including virtual networking, connecting with the Chamber of Commerce in your area, staying abreast of industry discussions online, and connecting with professional networking groups.

Article by Jeanne Lee

This photo shows Boone Thomson and his wife Paula.

It’s something Thomson would never have imagined he’d be doing for a living: leading small-group photographic safaris. 

On this last trip, a mother leopard called her two cubs to come out of hiding and reunite with her, high up in a jackalberry tree. Jan Shealy, who traveled with her husband, Tommy, was blown away. “I don’t even know where to begin,” she says. “What an adventure!” It was Shealy’s first safari. 

Thomson’s own first safari was in 2015. Recently retired from the recruiting business he owned and operated for almost two decades, Thomson is now in his fifth year of taking clients and friends to places like Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls and Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve through his company, Boone Safaris.  

2024 is the first year in which his passion for wildlife will be his full-time occupation. 

Going Pro 

The dream hatched from a simple hobby. When his kids were growing up, Thomson took pictures of them for fun. “I even became the sports photographer at their high school,” he says. When one of his sons advanced to college football, Thomson happily focused his camera on the field and became the official photographer for Yale University’s football team during his son’s first year of school. 

Once his kids graduated, space opened in Thomson’s life, so he started aiming his lens at landscapes and wildlife instead. He especially loved photographing the larger fauna at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. 

Thomson studied the work of professional photographers and followed them on social media. One day, he happened upon a GoFundMe campaign for a renowned wildlife photographer. In exchange for a donation, the photographer would join him on a safari to watch the Great Migration in the Maasai Mara. 

The trip turned out to be the most exhilarating of his life. “I vividly remember the first time I saw a lion in the wild,” Thomson says. “There were no fences. It was just a lion out there lying down, sleeping. I probably cried. Seeing a leopard in real life, a cheetah, massive herds of wildebeest, and zebra as far as the eye could see, it was a spiritual experience.” 

Thomson’s pastime evolved into a calling. He traveled and studied with California-based photographer Roy Toft. “I went with him to a workshop in Costa Rica, then to Brazil to photograph jaguars, then to Botswana, and then to Patagonia to photograph pumas,” Thomson says. “I thought he had the coolest job in the world.”  

Soon, Thomson’s safari habit became too costly to keep up, and he got the idea to start Boone Safaris. He has been sharing his passion for African wildlife ever since. 

By Land, Air, or Water 

Thomson’s photographs brim with emotion. Some feel like portraits, capturing an animal’s personality and mood. A muscular hippo tilts its head, looking back over its massive round shoulder as if asking a question. A delicate bird with a pointy beak passes a winged insect to its mate. A cheetah cub, mid-leap, looks as playful as a preschooler. 

One of Thomson’s goals is to become certified as an African field guide. To that end, he’s spent hundreds of hours studying African species and their behaviors. A benefit of his deep knowledge is that it gives him an advantage in setting up shots and sharpening his photography. 

“When a lion comes into the pride, the first thing it does is make contact with the other lions,” he says. “They rub their heads together.” Because he can anticipate this behavior, Thomson can make sure he’s in position to capture the best shot. 

At Boone Safaris, guests choose from different types of game drives and viewing. “The most common one is a specialized Land Cruiser that gets you very close to the animals,” he says.  

“If you’re still and quiet, the elephants will come right up to you.” Another option is a hot air balloon, drifting above big herds of animals as they cross the reserves. 

An elephant reaches its trunk straight up to grab fruit from a sausage tree, as storm clouds roll across the sky and lend a bright light to the grassland where the elephant stands.

“We also do walking game drives in a private conservancy in Kenya,” Thomson says. “We go out with a Maasai warrior who knows the land.” 

On his most recent trip, Thomson led a game drive by small boat on the Chobe River. “You’re down low in the water, pulling up next to hippos, and the elephants are swimming across,” he says. 

Thomson notes that hippos may react when humans get close. “Hippos can charge. They’re fast in the water, and they’re powerful, but they don’t swim. They run on the bottom. If they charge, our boat driver will speed away, and the boats are custom designed so that they won’t tip over.” 

Close Encounters 

Getting close to large animals is a thrill. For Gardner Lee, of Birmingham, Alabama, traveling with Boone Safaris in 2022 was also a precious opportunity to bond with his daughter, Anna. In Kenya, a male lion approached their vehicle. “What we didn’t notice was a female lion slipping up along the side,” he says.  

“With my daughter’s camera focused on the male, the female jumped from a creek bed toward the truck and came within five feet of Anna,” says Lee. “The entire vehicle let go of one big gasp.” 

They also watched a pride of female lions track down a herd of wildebeests and pick out the weakest. “Seeing these animals in the wild as they have existed for millennia makes you feel like you are a part of the past,” Lee says. “It gives you a new appreciation for our ancestors. It awakens you to your basic instincts as a human being.” He left with a lasting desire to help preserve the animals’ ways of life, away from civilization. 

To Love and Protect 

For Thomson, Boone Safaris means much more than simply turning a profit. He wants to raise awareness of conservation efforts. Visitors to Africa often focus on seeing big game animals, but Thomson loves to introduce them to lesser-known species as well, like his favorite, the painted dog. 

These big-eared, mottled canines are among the most endangered animals in Africa. Thomson became fascinated with them after befriending a researcher who had studied them for decades. Painted dogs are sociable; they hunt in groups. They have only four toes on each foot, an adaptation that makes them extremely agile. “Their intelligence and cooperation make them the most successful hunters in the animal kingdom,” Thomson says. 

A painted dog rests its chin on a fallen tree.

Once considered problem animals, painted dogs were frequently killed on sight by ranchers. There are only 6,600 living today. “Europeans gave them the name wild dog, and that name really stuck, but it sounds like a feral domestic dog that deserves to be shot,” Thomson says. “At Boone Safaris, we give 1 percent of our revenue to the Painted Dog Research Trust [PDRT].” 

Thomson had the chance to stay at the PDRT compound for five days during his recent trip. He slept in a small hut and observed the work being done by Zimbabwean university students. The students were viewing recent camera trap images and identifying individual pack members. Thomson says he was taken aback to see the name of one of the dogs. It was Boone.  

Startled for a moment, he then remembered that his daughter had the privilege of naming a new dog two years ago when she worked at PDRT. She had named this one after her father. 

Some of Thomson’s clients have been so moved by their experiences in Africa that they have allocated a portion of their charitable giving to causes like the painted dog and the Maasai community. “You’re probably not going to do that if you haven’t been here,” Thomson says. 

As the Senegalese conservationist Baba Dioum put it, “In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught.” 

For Thomson, love and conservation are entwined. “I don’t want to have a company just to make money and build a big business,” he says. “I want to take people on safari so they’ll appreciate these animals and want to protect them.” 

Article by Jeanne Lee. Photographs by Boone Thomson.