Let’s clear something up: Retirement isn’t a never-ending vacation with bottomless brunch. For many of us—especially those who’ve spent decades leading, fixing, thinking, and serving others—retirement isn’t an ending—It’s a pivot. A wide-open invitation to redesign our days with deeper purpose, stronger connections, and a whole new kind of vitality.

That’s why The Flourishing Retiree™ was created—not to help you stretch your savings (plenty of experts already do that), but to stretch your sense of self. Because while the financial bucket of retirement keeps the lights on, it’s the existential bucket that keeps your soul lit. And that’s where we come in.

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The Shift That Sparked a Movement

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After retiring from a long career in mental measurements, education and consulting, I (Dr. Steve Sandoval, retirement psychologist, and founder of The Flourishing Retiree ) found myself asking: I’ve planned for retirement, but have I planned for the rest of my life? That question lit a fire. I realized that while most financial planners are laser-focused on money, almost no one was truly qualified to help retirees plan for meaning, peace, identity, or joy.

I then created the Existential Vitality Index™ (EVI)—a practical, no-nonsense tool that helps retirees take stock of what really matters across four foundational domains.​​

Each domain is broken down into real-life subdomains like energy, purpose, belonging, and rejuvenation. It’s not philosophy for philosophy’s sake. It’s a reality check that leads to meaningful change.

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Continue reading to learn more about the EVI and what it measures.