The Midlife Rebel Podcast

What To Do After You Retire - Finding Purpose & Peace of Mind

Chris Maduri · September 9, 2026

Finance · Life Coach · Wellnessin

Interview with Chris Maduri

What To Do After You Retire - Finding Purpose & Peace of Mind — Chris Maduri

Podcast: The Midlife Rebel Podcast

September 9, 2026 · 49 min

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What To Do After You Retire - Finding Purpose & Peace of Mind

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Key topicsNothing Coming In — The Fear That Arrives With the First Retirement WithdrawalChris Maduri has spent nearly two decades walking people from earning money to living off it, and he finds the anxiety starts with the first withdrawal, long before markets do anything. Most preparation treats retirement as a maths problem, when the harder change is that after 30 years of watching a balance grow, people now have to watch it fall on purpose. He explains how that feeling drives real decisions, from cutting spending they could comfortably afford to reaching for returns they do not need. Across 15 years and work with about 70 insurance companies, he has seen which plans hold up once people start drawing on them and which only ever worked on paper. Listeners leave able to name what is actually making them uneasy, and knowing which decisions to make before the feeling makes them.Which Retirement Plans Survived 2008, and Which Quietly Broke?Chris Maduri began his career just before the 2008 financial crisis, and spent his first years watching plans that looked solid on paper come apart under pressure. That start shaped how he judges risk: not by what a projection promises in a good year, but by what a plan still delivers in a bad one. He walks through what actually broke in 2008 for people close to retirement, why the damage landed hardest on those drawing income rather than still saving, and what the survivors had in common. Nearly two decades and about 70 insurance companies later, he can show which structures earned their place and which were sold on optimism. Listeners leave with a way to stress test their own plan against the year nobody plans for.Twelve Months to Drawdown — The Five Retirement Decisions That Get the Money Down the MountainChris Maduri compares retirement to climbing: years of preparation go into reaching the summit and almost none into getting back down, which is exactly where people get hurt. In nearly two decades of retirement planning, and as the founder of Vibrant Retirement, he has seen the final twelve months before the paycheck stops do more damage than any bad market year. He walks through the five decisions that belong in that window — when income starts, what is guaranteed, what stays invested, what covers care, and what the day after work actually looks like — and why leaving them until the last month is too late. Having worked with about 70 insurance companies across 15 years, he can say plainly which structures hold on the way down and which were only ever built for the way up. Listeners leave with a twelve-month order of operations they can start from whatever month they are in.View all topics →

About Chris Maduri

Helping People Navigate Retirement, Identity Shifts, and Intentional Living

Nearly 20 years Helping people prepare for retirement4 Pillars of sustainable retirement planning3 Buckets in his wealth-building approachSales Director Named by Financial Marketing Group in 2013

Chris Maduri has spent nearly two decades helping people prepare for one of life’s biggest transitions: retirement—the moment when work no longer defines the structure of your days.

He began his career just before the 2008 Financial Crisis, an experience that shaped how he sees risk. Watching well-built plans unravel under pressure taught him early that markets don’t always cooperate—and assumptions don’t always hold. Since then, his focus has been clear: build plans rooted in predictability, reliable income, and the ability to hold up in real-world conditions—not just ideal ones.

Over time, Chris noticed something deeper. The people who thrive in retirement aren’t just financially prepared—they’re personally prepared. Because retirement doesn’t just change your income… it changes your identity, your routine, your sense of purpose, and how you relate to your time and the people around you.

That’s why Chris frames retirement as the “fourth quarter of life”—and, if you’ve done things right, a little overtime. In his view, the goal isn’t just to retire from something, but to step intentionally into something meaningful. A great plan answers a simple but powerful question: What are you retiring to?

He also helps people understand that risk evolves. During your working years, volatility is something you ride through. In retirement, it feels different. You’re no longer accumulating—you’re drawing down.

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Retirement is something most of us spend years planning financially. But how many of us ever stop to think about what we're actually retiring to?

That was one of the things I loved most about my conversation withChris Maduri.

Chris has spent nearly twenty years helping people prepare for retirement, but what struck me was that our conversation wasn't really about money. It was about purpose, identity, and what happens when the career you've built no longer provides the structure and meaning it once did.

For many people, retirement sounds like freedom. More time. Fewer responsibilities. The chance to finally do all the things you've been putting off.

But Chris shared something I'd never really considered before: the people who thrive in retirement aren't simply the ones who've saved enough money. They're the ones who've thought about the kind of life they actually want to wake up to.

Who will you be when your job title disappears?

How will you spend your days?

What gives your life meaning when work is no longer the centre of it?

These questions felt surprisingly relevant, even if retirement is still years away.

Of course, we also talked about the financial side of retirement. Chris explains why the risks change once you stop earning an income and begin drawing on your savings, why protecting your income becomes just as important as growing your wealth, and why planning ahead can bring enormous peace of mind.

But what I appreciated most was his holistic approach.

We spoke about health, movement, strength, relationships and maintaining a sense of curiosity as we grow older. Because what's the point of spending decades building financial security if you don't also invest in the health and wellbeing that allows you to enjoy it?

One analogy Chris shared has really stayed with me.

He compares retirement to climbing a mountain.

Most of us spend years focused on reaching the summit; building our careers, paying off the mortgage, raising a family and accumulating wealth. Yet very few people prepare for the descent, even though that's where the terrain becomes more uncertain and the consequences of poor planning become greater.

It was such a powerful way of thinking about this next chapter of life.

Whether retirement is just around the corner or still decades away, I think this conversation is really about something much bigger.

It's about living intentionally.

It's about recognising that purpose doesn't end when work does.

And perhaps the best retirement plan isn't just about building enough assets.

It's about building a life you'll still be excited to wake up to long after your working years are behind you.

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Guest: Chris Maduri