Mattering…in Retirement – Jennifer Breheny Wallace

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of feeling valued in retirement and features insights from Jennifer Breheny Wallace on building a sense of purpose and connection.

________________________ Get started in April on your most important project. Learn more here _________________________ Retirement planning focuses heavily on finances — investments, Social Security, and risks. But there’s another question that often sneaks up on people once the career chapter closes: Do I still matter? Our guest today has spent years researching one of the most powerful psychological needs we have as human beings — the need to feel valued and to add value. Jennifer Breheny Wallace is an award-winning journalist and author of the new book Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose . Her work explores how feeling significant, appreciated, invested in, and depended on shapes our well-being throughout life. And her insights have important implications for retirement. Because when work ends, many people lose one of the primary places where they knew they mattered — where their contributions were visible, valued, and relied upon. In this conversation, we explore: • Why the need to matter doesn’t diminish with age • How retirees can build what Jennifer calls a “mattering portfolio” • The surprising research on relationships and resilience •…

People in this episode

Host: Retirement Wisdom

Guest: Jennifer Breheny Wallace

Topics covered

• retirement planning
• psychological needs
• sense of value
• relationships
• meaning and contribution

Keywords

• retirement
• mattering
• psychology
• well-being
• connection
• purpose
• resilience

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose

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• Letting Go to Become Who You Truly Are – Deborah Santana · May 11, 2026 · 31 min
• How to Flourish…in Retirement – Daniel Coyle · May 4, 2026 · 31 min