2016 Lifestyle Workshop Outreach

Someday is Today: Living Your Bucket List

Oak Brook, Ill. – This summer, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the state’s second-largest and best-funded public pension plan, helped seniors along paths to realize their dreams, through a series of statewide workshops.

“Someday is Today: Living Your Bucket List,” a two-hour presentation from IMRF and the University of Illinois Extension Office’s Family Life Educators, challenged retirees to stop procrastinating and to start living. Facilitators in eight different locations shared strategies to help outline lifelong objectives and ways to reflect on those experiences. “Our team stressed the benefits of goal-setting, the importance of self-inventory, and the differences between various types of bucket lists and goals,” says Molly Hofer, family life educator.

From Rockford to Springfield, and points in-between, U of I’s team of talented educators showed retirees how to get off the couch and into life, through energizing and interactive, multimedia presentations. “IMRF is happy to present these annual lifestyle workshops at no-charge to our retirees,” says IMRF Executive Director Louis W. Kosiba. “This year, we opened the series to the public, so that seniors from across Illinois could take advantage of this valuable information.”

For decades, people viewed retirement as an ending—often with a somber overtone. Today, more Americans view retirement as a different chapter, a fresh start, a new beginning. “Most of IMRF’s retirees have spent a lifetime in public service, putting off their own dreams, as they worked 40 hours every week for 20 years or more,” says Kosiba. “Now, they have opportunities to focus on activities they’ve always wanted to do, without punching their time clocks.”

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that people are living longer, and more organizations are encouraging senior citizens to remain active, seek new challenges and pursue long-desired objectives. This exciting and proactive workshop speaks to that narrative.

“It’s so easy to postpone things—many of us do it every day. We say that we’re going to do something tomorrow, or the next day, or the next day,” continues Kosiba. “IMRF hopes this series will help retirees to actually fulfill their desires and check them off their lists.”

Workshop attendees are applauding the bucket list sessions, saying they are ready to “get more inspired” and “put their goal-setting into action.” Upon attending the workshops, several retirees learned that they share common goals with their neighbors. Some of the most popular listings included: rekindling friendships, researching family histories, making up with long-lost relatives, and focusing on wellness/physical fitness.

“The lesson this year was more motivational and inspirational – and I hope that we got everyone kick-started into fulfilling those dreams they have – big or small,” says Cheri Burcham, family life educator.

This was ninth year for the IMRF/U of I Extension retiree lifestyle partnership; the series collaboration began in 2008.