What do you think?
Rate this book
Victory Lap Retirement, Second Edition: Work While You Play, Play While You Work
The key to a happy retirement may be . . . not retiring. Work because you want to, not because you have to, to achieve balance, health, and purpose in your life after full-time employment.
The rules of retirement have changed and there’s more at risk than ever. People are living longer and have to finance as many years in retirement as they had in their entire working career. So what will thirty or forty years, or more, in retirement look like for you?
The old idea of full-stop retirement—going from 100 percent work mode to 100 percent leisure mode—is now neither sustainable nor desirable. Besides, many studies have shown that those who stay engaged, challenged, and stimulated stay healthier and live longer.
The key is to work because you want to and not because you have to. Victory Lap Retirement shows you how to create the post-employment lifestyle that’s right for you—a unique blend of work and play that allows you to live life to the fullest, on your terms, while you are young enough to enjoy it.
Learn when you’re financially ready to run your own unique Victory Lap—a special period in life with more balance, purpose, and fulfillment than ever before.
• Create a life you don’t have to, or want to, retire from—and turn your paycheck into a “playcheck.”
• Develop a financial plan for your Victory Lap and integrate it seamlessly with your lifestyle planning.
• Determine how much you can spend, whether you need to save and how much, and the level of income you need in Victory Lap.
• Intentionally design for yourself a vibrant, healthy, low-stress, sustainable lifestyle by staying active and engaged in a Victory Lap.
“This wise book rests on some important truths: We all crave lives of meaning, we want to continue to grow and learn throughout our years, and financial well-being is central to our health and happiness. Victory Lap Retirement is a how-to guide for making all of those goals come together into a truly modern retirement plan.”
—Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Senior Columnist, Morningstar, Inc.
“[The authors] say the full-stop retirement doesn’t work anymore, and I agree. Start planning your Victory Lap.”
—Rob Carrick, Personal Finance Columnist, The Globe and Mail
“I’ve long believed that the idea of retiring at sixty-five is as outdated as the horse and buggy. You could live another thirty years or more. What are you going to do with that time? This book can help you find the answers.”
—Gordon Pape, Bestselling Author and Publisher of The Internet Wealth Builder and The Income Investor
“Victory Lap Retirement provides a great model for finding the right balance between today and tomorrow, work and play, family and self, financial independence and fun. It’s a brilliant roadmap for being deliberate about your priorities and to avoid ending up just being a cog in the wheel of life. The authors masterfully leverage their personal experience and the lessons learned from working with thousands of clients, bucking the tired old model of retirement and instead offering readers a detailed roadmap to deliberately create a far more meaningful, interesting, and fulfilling second half of life.”
—Brent Brodeski, CEO, Savant Capital Management
“The authors reframe the idea of retirement as a smart twist on an age-old dilemma. The science of well-being later in life tells us we need to have a purpose—why not make a few bucks while you’re at it? This book will open your mind to what your Victory Lap might be if the thought of doing nothing at some po
The rules of retirement have changed and there’s more at risk than ever. People are living longer and have to finance as many years in retirement as they had in their entire working career. So what will thirty or forty years, or more, in retirement look like for you?
The old idea of full-stop retirement—going from 100 percent work mode to 100 percent leisure mode—is now neither sustainable nor desirable. Besides, many studies have shown that those who stay engaged, challenged, and stimulated stay healthier and live longer.
The key is to work because you want to and not because you have to. Victory Lap Retirement shows you how to create the post-employment lifestyle that’s right for you—a unique blend of work and play that allows you to live life to the fullest, on your terms, while you are young enough to enjoy it.
Learn when you’re financially ready to run your own unique Victory Lap—a special period in life with more balance, purpose, and fulfillment than ever before.
• Create a life you don’t have to, or want to, retire from—and turn your paycheck into a “playcheck.”
• Develop a financial plan for your Victory Lap and integrate it seamlessly with your lifestyle planning.
• Determine how much you can spend, whether you need to save and how much, and the level of income you need in Victory Lap.
• Intentionally design for yourself a vibrant, healthy, low-stress, sustainable lifestyle by staying active and engaged in a Victory Lap.
“This wise book rests on some important truths: We all crave lives of meaning, we want to continue to grow and learn throughout our years, and financial well-being is central to our health and happiness. Victory Lap Retirement is a how-to guide for making all of those goals come together into a truly modern retirement plan.”
—Christine Benz, Director of Personal Finance and Senior Columnist, Morningstar, Inc.
“[The authors] say the full-stop retirement doesn’t work anymore, and I agree. Start planning your Victory Lap.”
—Rob Carrick, Personal Finance Columnist, The Globe and Mail
“I’ve long believed that the idea of retiring at sixty-five is as outdated as the horse and buggy. You could live another thirty years or more. What are you going to do with that time? This book can help you find the answers.”
—Gordon Pape, Bestselling Author and Publisher of The Internet Wealth Builder and The Income Investor
“Victory Lap Retirement provides a great model for finding the right balance between today and tomorrow, work and play, family and self, financial independence and fun. It’s a brilliant roadmap for being deliberate about your priorities and to avoid ending up just being a cog in the wheel of life. The authors masterfully leverage their personal experience and the lessons learned from working with thousands of clients, bucking the tired old model of retirement and instead offering readers a detailed roadmap to deliberately create a far more meaningful, interesting, and fulfilling second half of life.”
—Brent Brodeski, CEO, Savant Capital Management
“The authors reframe the idea of retirement as a smart twist on an age-old dilemma. The science of well-being later in life tells us we need to have a purpose—why not make a few bucks while you’re at it? This book will open your mind to what your Victory Lap might be if the thought of doing nothing at some po
- GenresNonfictionFinanceMoney
236 pages, Paperback
Published November 19, 2025
19 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 16, 2017
This book presents some good lessons. It is an easy read but tends to be a little repetitive.
November 5, 2024
Fantastic book and absolutely changed my philosophy about "retirement."
Years after I first retired I starting feeling resentments about "having" to keep working. As I read the book it dawned on me that I would never truly "retire" as I LOVE doing what I WANT to do!
I now consider myself to be in my FIFTH "Victory Lap" and have shared the book and its principles with a wide range of others across Canada and internationally.
Highly recommend and encourage folks to read this well before their first victory lap!
Years after I first retired I starting feeling resentments about "having" to keep working. As I read the book it dawned on me that I would never truly "retire" as I LOVE doing what I WANT to do!
I now consider myself to be in my FIFTH "Victory Lap" and have shared the book and its principles with a wide range of others across Canada and internationally.
Highly recommend and encourage folks to read this well before their first victory lap!
September 7, 2022
Great advise and I like that the authors are Canadian.
October 10, 2022
The author provided some good list of things to think about retirement planning, especially on the social and health side of things.
August 20, 2023
good overview of the best literature on this topic
Under one cover you get the best of most of the current thinking on new retirement matters. This book covers the whole topic from finances to purpose of life.
Under one cover you get the best of most of the current thinking on new retirement matters. This book covers the whole topic from finances to purpose of life.
September 28, 2019
Most workers today are unhappy with their jobs, slaving to save money for an eventual retirement. But many early retirees are also bored and unhappy. This book suggest that the solution is to do a "victory lap" at the tail end of your working years and tackle more meaningful and personally satisfying paid work. I like the concept, but felt that the book was lacking any real advice on how to move from here to there. But, I suppose, it's hard to give someone else advice on how to find fulfillment because it is such a personal question. Tip: the authors of this book found victory lap fulfillment in blogging about retirement and in marketing this book to people like you and me.
February 13, 2021
The book is very basic and somewhat repetitive. It didn't provide any in-depth guidance on how one plans their Victory Lap. The book is clearly targeted to those few lucky individuals who were earning six figure incomes throughout their working life. There are other much better options out there that offer more detailed guidance and recognize the realities of the financial situations and life circumstances the rest of us have to manage in creating a financially viable and emotionally engaging "encore" career or transition to retirement.
April 15, 2017
A worthwhile book for people in their 50s and 60s as they look forward to life after their retirement. The main premise: Once you have enough passive income to meet your basic needs, you are financially independent and have reached your victory lap. You can then retire and decide what you like doing the best and do it at your own time. I was encouraged to realize that I've been in this category for a while and enjoy what I do!
July 6, 2020
I got some value from this book. That value probably could have been summed up in a single blog post.
The rest of this book was extremely repetitive.
The case studies are hard to relate to unless you're a high level corporate executive.
I don't recall a single case study from a woman's perspective. At one point the author's make a comment about appealing to their wife's spending habits.
Strongly recommend you find another book to read.
The rest of this book was extremely repetitive.
The case studies are hard to relate to unless you're a high level corporate executive.
I don't recall a single case study from a woman's perspective. At one point the author's make a comment about appealing to their wife's spending habits.
Strongly recommend you find another book to read.
January 5, 2019
I’ve had this book for awhile but got into it recently because a) retirement is approaching and b) the author is doing a series of talks around town that I plan to attend. Interesting ideas about retirement as a chance to do the things you want to do, including work if you like. Since I’m planning to spend the next year perfecting my retirement lifestyle it was a timely read.
June 13, 2019
This book was very beneficial not only for self reflection but also for a roadmap forward. I will probably pick it up every few years at different decisions points in my career and through the transition to retirement. I have been recommending it both to friends that have years until retirement as well as those facing it soon!
March 14, 2017
A worthwhile perspective on "retirement".
Read
March 28, 2017To be frank, this is my first time to read a book on retirement. I was pleased to find actually the book is not about how to retire in the traditional way, rather how not to retire - win the Victory Lap Retirement.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews