How to Start a Retirement Planning Group or Club: Plan for a Happier Wealthier Future, Together

As retirement approaches, financial security becomes an increasingly important topic. Many people face the challenge of ensuring they have enough savings, understanding investment options, and making informed decisions about their future. A retirement planning club or group can provide a supportive environment where members can share knowledge and make smarter financial decisions together.

If you’re passionate about financial literacy and want to help others achieve peace of mind in retirement, starting such a club could be a fulfilling way to contribute to your community as well as your own wealth and well being.

Getting Over the Taboo of Discussing Money

Discussing finances with peers has long been considered a taboo topic, often associated with feelings of discomfort, embarrassment, or even competitiveness. Many people were raised to believe that money matters are private, leading to a reluctance to share details about income, debt, or savings. This discomfort can stem from fear of judgment, exposing financial insecurities, or revealing disparities in wealth. As a result, many avoid these conversations altogether, missing out on valuable insights and support that could help them better manage their financial lives.

However, the cultural landscape around money discussions is shifting, and it’s becoming increasingly acceptable—and even encouraged—to talk openly about finances. Social media, financial literacy movements, and the rise of personal finance blogs and podcasts have contributed to normalizing these conversations. People are realizing that sharing experiences and strategies with peers can lead to better financial decisions, reduce stress, and empower everyone involved. As this openness continues to grow, more individuals are finding the courage to break the silence around money, fostering a culture of transparency and mutual support.

The Benefits of Being Part of a Retirement Planning Group

Peer pressure can actually be a really good thing!

• Have you ever teamed up with a friend for work outs and seen better results from the camaraderie?
• Has networking helped your career?
• Did you ever get great tips and support for raising kids on the playground after school?

Talking about important issues with friends can calm you down, provide alternative viewpoints and even help motivate you. Your retirement merits this kind of support.  Retirement is a huge deal and too many of us go it alone.

Here are a few benefits of being part of a retirement planning group:

Knowledge Sharing: Gain access to diverse perspectives and expertise on retirement planning, helping you make more informed decisions.

Improved Wealth and Security: Research into financial literacy has found that your peers can have a huge impact on your success.  If your friends are engaged in planning their finances or retirement, then you stand a better chance of being successful as well.

Accountability: Regular meetings and discussions encourage you to stay on track with your financial goals and retirement plans.

Supportive Community: Build a network of like-minded individuals who offer mutual encouragement and understanding during your retirement journey.

Motivation: Being part of a group focused on financial wellness can inspire you to take proactive steps toward securing your future.

Personalized Advice: Discuss your unique financial situation in a supportive environment, receiving tailored advice from peers and experts.

Stress Reduction: Alleviate financial anxieties by discussing challenges and solutions with a group, leading to greater peace of mind.

Social Connection: Forge new friendships and strengthen your social network, which is crucial for emotional well-being in retirement.

Who Should You Invite to a Retirement Club? How Can You Find a Club to Join?

This will be a personal decision, but you have various options for starting or joining a retirement club.

Start one yourself with your own network

You may want to start your own group with people from your own network. However, you will want to select people with whom you are comfortable discussing at least the broad view of your financial situation and your future goals.  (The thing to remember is that most people are struggling no matter how they might appear.)

When choosing who to invite, you might ask yourself:

• Do I only want people who I think have finances like my own? Or, will it be more educational if the club has a diverse group?
• Do I want close friends I see often, or acquaintances or both?
• All men? All women? Or, mixed company?
• Ages?  Do you want everyone around your own age or might you benefit from people at different stages of retirement?
• Common careers?  If you are a teacher or are in a profession where you receive a pension, decide if you only want other people with pensions or not.
• How many people do you want involved?  A big group can inherently offer more ideas and diversity, but discussing topics is easier with fewer people.

Find people in the NewRetirement community

Recently on the NewRetirement private Facebook group or on Reddit people have posted looking to start an online retirement or financial planning club. And, it appears that there is a lot of interest in such endeavors.

Look online for an existing club or group

Whatever your interest, from hiking and reading to retirement planning and investments, there are thousands of people who share it on Meetup, an online site to help you find clubs, events and groups related to your interests.

Working with a financial advisor? Ask if they’ll start a club

Some financial advisors offer clubs, often moderated by the advisor themself.

The Other Logistics of Your Retirement Club

The “who” is probably the most important aspect of your retirement club.  However, there are a number of other logistical considerations.  Where do you want to meet?  How often? What time of day?  Will you serve food or drinks?  How long will meetings go? Can you do a Zoom meeting?

To get started, you might want to keep the invite list to around 5 people and meet in your home over a snacks and a drink.  This type of casual environment can make the conversation easier and you can grow it from there if you like.

Other ideas for meeting places include: restaurants, coffee shops, hiking, or a community center room.  The important thing is that everyone feels comfortable and at ease.

The First Retirement Club Meeting

As the organizer of your retirement club, you’ll want to lead the first meeting – or appoint someone else to do so.

Before everyone arrives, think about the agenda for the first meeting.  Do you want it to be about organizing the club, or do you want to get started discussing your retirement plans. You may want to clearly define its mission. Consider what you want to achieve: Is it to help members improve their understanding of retirement planning, explore investment strategies, or manage their personal finances more effectively? A well-defined mission will guide your club’s activities and help attract members with shared interests.

If  you want the first meeting to be organizational, then you’ll want to discuss:

• Who will lead the club meetings? Will it rotate or always be one person?
• Will you vote on an agenda or discussion items for each meeting? Or will that be at the discretion of the leader?
• What do the attendees want to get out of the club?
• What topics would they like to see discussed?
• Should all meetings follow a pattern?  A good regular agenda might enable everyone to share and comment on a pre chosen topic, then you discuss a common theme — article, book, guest speaker, etc…

If you want to make the organizing decisions yourself and dive in and start discussing retirement at the first meeting, then maybe you can have a series of questions that everyone has thought about and can go around the room sharing their perspectives.  Good topics for a first meeting might include:

• What are you most worried about in retirement?
• What are you most excited about in retirement?
• What do you wish you knew more about?
• What are your goals for retirement?
• What do you want out of this club?

Ideas for Retirement Club Meetings

Once you have met once or twice, you’ll have a better idea of what everyone wants out of the retirement club.

Here are a few ideas for ongoing meetings.

Dive Deep into Each Member’s Financial Plan: Give each member of your group the time to introduce their financial situation and the things that worry them. Ask them to share their financial strengths and weaknesses and brainstorm with the group on how to do better. (Check back to see if the ideas generated in the meeting yield better results.)

Celebrate Milestones and Achievements: A nice way to start a meeting is to go around and have each person share and celebrate recent financial milestones and achievements. Whether it’s reaching a savings goal, mastering a new financial skill, learning something new, or simply enjoying a year of productive meetings, acknowledging these successes will reinforce the positive impact of your club and keep members motivated.

Investments: Bring in an investment advisor.  Many will probably do this for free in the hopes of winning clients, but try to find a Certified Financial Planner – they are required to offer advice based on your needs not based on the commissions they might receive.

Start the meeting with all members sharing their own (or researching a) favorite piece of investment advice.

Retirement Manifesto: Have everyone write down their own retirement manifesto — a declaration of what they want out of retirement.

Discuss how you can support each other in achieving your goals.

Retirement and Financial Risks: Worst case scenario planning and preparing for what could derail your financial security is likely to be a popular topic for a retirement planning group. Here is a list of things that could go wrong for discussion.

Book Reviews: Does your group enjoy reading?  Select one of these books about retirement or aging to discuss together.

This list could go on and on… There is so much to discuss.

Passive Income: Everyone wants more income for retirement, but we don’t necessarily want a job.  Passive income is an income stream you receive without putting in much work. Passive income allows you to earn money without the grind of a job.

If everyone in your group knows each other fairly well, have each member think of potential passive income streams for everyone else based on their knowledge of the person’s interests and assets.

Medicare: If you are all eligible for Medicare, you might want to schedule a meeting about your supplemental coverage options during the open enrollment period every fall.  Have different people research different types of plans or bring in an insurance expert to answer everyone’s questions.

Long Term Care Options: Long term care is ridiculously expensive.  And, long term care insurance is not affordable for most people. So, what are you supposed to do?

Housing: Where you live is a huge lever for having a secure retirement.  Housing is usually your most costly expense and most valuable asset.

Assign members to research different retirement housing options and have everyone report to the group about the pros and cons of options like: reverse mortgages, retirement communities, retirement abroad, downsizing, house sharing, tiny houses and more.

Get Creative Night: Have everyone research and bring in the most creative strategy for having a secure retirement.

Vote for the best idea.

Political Activism: There are a lot of issues being discussed in Washington D.C. that impact retirement.  Devote a meeting to debating these topics or writing letters to your Congress people.

Let NewRetirement Support You and Your Retirement Club

Starting a retirement planning or personal finance club is a powerful way to empower yourself and others to take control of their financial futures. By creating a community focused on education, support, and shared experiences, you’ll help members make informed decisions that lead to a secure and fulfilling retirement. With careful planning, a commitment to ongoing learning, and a welcoming atmosphere, your club can become a cornerstone of financial well-being for its members and beyond.

The NewRetirement Planner is a great tool to use in your Retirement Planning club.

Let us know anything we can do to help you achieve the retirement you want to have.  We suggest you get started by sending this article to your friends and scheduling your first retirement club meeting.