Barbara Bradley Hagerty is a longtime National Public Radio on-air journalist and author. Her sabbatical turned into an exploration of midlife satisfaction and a book about her personal journey: Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife. Chock full of personal stories and gleanings from her life experiences, this series of videos from VESTEDVoices brings viewers concrete steps that will help make midlife the best time of life.
Life Reimagined – Ep. 1 In this first episode of VESTED Voices, we introduce Barbara—author, journalist, and expert on thriving in the second half of life. Listen in as she looks at the neurology, psychology, biology, genetics, and sociology behind midlife transformation and explains why there’s no such thing as an inevitable midlife crisis.
Midlife Crisis – Ep. 2 Can a 70-year-old man on a walker be happier than a 40-year-old man running a marathon? According to Barbara, the answer is yes! Watch and listen as she demystifies the concept of a midlife crisis and weighs in on the latest industry research.
Friendships – Ep. 3 Barbara weighs in on the importance of keeping friendships as we age. Tune in for a look into the biological, neurological, and emotional ways friendships can give us a leg up as we reach midlife and beyond.
Punctuation – Ep. 4 Most of our personal journeys are punctuated with big life events, like going off to school, getting married, and starting a family. That is, until midlife. In this short video, Barbara gives viewers advice on the importance of putting punctuation back into life during midlife and beyond.
Generativity – Ep. 5 Spend two minutes with Barbara as she speaks about generativity: the need to nurture and guide younger people and contribute to the next generation. Listen in as she explains the value of harnessing your own talents and experience to do something meaningful in midlife and beyond.
Planning for healthcare costs in retirement can feel daunting—but it doesn’t have to be. In this thoughtful overview, CAPTRUST’s Sam Kirby offers a calm, practical approach to breaking down one of the most unpredictable aspects of retirement planning.
1. Why the Price Tag Feels So Intimidating
A recent estimate places the average out-of-pocket healthcare cost at $280,000 for a couple retiring at age 65. But Kirby emphasizes this number doesn’t hit all at once—it accumulates over time, allowing retirees to budget for monthly and annual expenses rather than absorbing the full amount upfront.
2. Factors That Drive Healthcare Spending
Your personal health status plays a major role. Those in good health may face far lower costs than individuals managing chronic conditions—which often begin to surface in your 50s or 60s. By understanding your current health risks, you can start planning proactively before retirement begins.
3. Breaking Down the Unknowns
Kirby encourages viewers to break big, intimidating figures into manageable categories: timing (when you’ll retire), expected longevity, likely medical needs, and the structure of your retirement income. This clarity can transform anxiety into action.
4. Why Conversations Matter
Most people only retire once—but CAPTRUST helps clients plan for it every day. Kirby stresses the importance of starting conversations early, whether with a financial advisor or your partner, to build a retirement plan that goes beyond numbers and includes peace of mind.
Next Step:
Talk with your advisor about modeling future healthcare costs based on your age, health, and goals. Sound planning doesn’t just protect your finances—it helps ensure that your retirement years are lived with confidence and clarity.
00:04 When I first started working with the Catholic Archdiocese back in 1985, I had a unique challenge that was presented to me to understand what the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has stated in its objectives for how to invest. Socially responsible investing is an exclusionary process where you cannot hold anything in your investment portfolio that goes against the teachings of the Catholic Church. The common misconception is that you have to sacrifice investment returns in order to be socially responsible.
00:33 And what we found is that’s not the case. I mean, you can have a competitively cost portfolio as well as having it socially screened and deliver the returns you want to be delivered. We’ve been investing and constructing investment programs in a Catholic, socially responsible way for 35 years. Today, we’re very proud to say that we oversee more Catholic, archdioceses and dioceses than any other firm and the other team in the country.
01:01 Our clients span from Vermont to Alaska. And being a member of each one of the communities, they feel like we’re a partner with them in everything that they do. What’s important to our clients is independent advice. We’re proud to say we are fiduciaries. We take that very seriously and we give unconflicting advice. When we first come in, we review your whole entire portfolio. We discuss your risk tolerances.
01:26 We want to know what your goals are, what your spending policy is, how much money you need today, how much you’re going to need in the future to continue with your mission, your foundation, your endowment, and the charitable organizations that you’re supporting. Management and committees at each diocese have their hands full. Our goal is to really take the financial aspect off your plate and let you get back to the day-to-day business of running the parish. Catholic organizations are some of the oldest organizations in the world, and stability is in their DNA. Stability.
01:55 is in CalPTrust DNA as well. Because of the depth and the breadth of the resources we have, we’re able to get access to investment programs they otherwise would not see. It’s not one person or a couple people doing investment research. We have 40 plus individuals that are constantly looking at these names, building these portfolios, and giving recommendations to our clients. There is such a tremendous organization behind us.
02:20 We know that we are going to be able to deliver the best-in-breed investment management advice, and we don’t have to compromise on any of our values to do so. Any challenge that a diocese might face or dioceses might face in the investment world, we’ve seen before. So we’re able to go in there and really understand the complex needs of each archdiocese and really leverage the weight of this $300 billion in assets to work on behalf of the client. Through the referrals of our existing clients, we have branched out
02:49 not only to Archdiocese and diocese, but to Catholic universities, Catholic healthcare systems, and various Catholic schools. It’s exciting to hear the impact the investment programs have had, the restorations of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the service to the youth in the youth programs, new technologies that have saved people’s lives. We’re proud that we oversee billions of dollars on behalf of the Catholic Church. We’re proud that we oversee
03:19 the retirements of hundreds of thousands of Catholic employees. We have the people, we have the process, and we have the passion. It’s not a job for me, it’s a career. It’s an opportunity to leave a legacy and further the mission of my church.