About

The Your Second Life was founded in 2004 by the Charleston Marketing Group, a communications think tank in Charleston, SC.

Retirement is changing. Almost a third of ones life will be spent in retirement, “Your Second Life.” According to recent studies, few people are looking for a traditional retirement, so learning about your emotional needs is crucial to a successful retirement plan.

“Retirement planning is no longer all about the money. …many adults hit retirement with little conception of how they will use the 2000 plus hours per year they currently spend on the job. Retirees wind up feeling alone. Coaches and counselors who advise older workers are pushing self-assessment-the kind of soul searching that busy professionals usually put off” SMART MONEY April 2004

The Retirement Profile was designed by Dr Cary Weber, a prominent Charleston, SC psychologist. It is a psychological assessment tool similar to those used by college and career counselors and executive search firms.

Dr. Weber explains, “The YSL Retirement Profile is based on cognitive and emotional dichotomies of personality. All people have preferences. Some people enjoy socializing, others prefer solitude. Some people don’t mind a messy room while others are very orderly. And so on. Although anybody can function outside of their comfort zone, if they do it too long, they will become stressed. In this way, the YSL Retirement Profile defines retirement into major dichotomies and matches those with the appropriate personality traits.”

The first step is to complete a 66 question personality profiler (takes about 10 minutes). In seconds you receive a personal assessment defining your retirement type, how to interpret your profile, compatibility information, and a list of activities to consider in retirement.

Here is what one respondent said after completing The YSL Retirement Profile: “I found taking the survey was very helpful in providing guidance to myself and my wife. We both took it and it was a helpful tool to check out our views about what we wanted to do during our retirement. It also brought focus to our planning.”

One of the most exciting revelations from beta testing is the correlation between certain retirement types and their attitudes and preferences in decision making. The Charleston Marketing Group in association with The College of Charleston will be analyzing the data and publishing studies which will not only help people in retirement, but provide a much needed new marketing tool for business.