It's time to rethink, renew and reimagine retirement! Retire Repurposed is dedicated to help people transition into fulfilling and purposeful retirements. Retirement is a big life-change! In fact, the two most dangerous years of a person's life are the year they were born and the year they retire. We believe retirement is not the end; rather, the beginning of what could be the most impactful season of a person's life. So, don't retire; become Repurposed.
Ben Taatjes, Financial Advisor
Stewards Planning Group | 1104 19th Ave SW Willmar, MN 56201
Securities offered through Cetera Wealth Services LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory Services offered through Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, a registered investment adviser. Cetera is under separate ownership from any other named entity.
The opinions contained in this material are those of the author, and not a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell investment products. This information is from sources believed to be reliable, but Cetera Wealth Services, LLC cannot guarantee or represent that it is accurate or complete. Jonathan Shoffner, Financial Advisor.
In this episode, Ben Taatjes explores a concept that transforms how retirees approach their resources: the time value of memories. Just as money compounds over time through investments, memories carry the same compounding power, paying dividends throughout our lives and into eternity. Ben addresses the dangerous trap of 'someday' thinking - the belief that retirement experiences can wait - and reveals why this mindset often leads to profound regret. Discover how proper stewardship means understanding what you're stewarding, how much you truly need, and what to do with the rest. This episode is a powerful reminder that time is a gift, memories are relational capital, and the people you love most would choose your presence over monetary gain.
Inspired by insights from a recent John Maxwell leadership summit, Ben Taatjes explores the powerful distinction between legacy and inheritance. Maxwell's wisdom - 'What you leave in their life is more important than what you leave for their life' - sets the foundation for understanding the true aim of retirement. Discover how to craft the single sentence by which you want your legacy defined and learn Ben's three C's of legacy building. This episode challenges conventional thinking about wealth transfer and reveals how to orient your retirement finances around what truly matters - the impact you leave in people's lives, not just the assets you leave behind. A must-listen for anyone thinking beyond retirement accounts to lasting influence.
In this episode, Ben Taatjes explores the foundational question every retiree must answer before stepping into their next chapter: Who were you created to be? Drawing from C.S. Lewis's insight on the longings of our hearts, Ben reveals why misplaced identity before retirement becomes amplified afterward. Discover the core truths about your identity - that you're made in God's image, created to serve others, and called to give because God is a giver. Learn why the goal of life isn't accumulating the most money possible, but strategically giving it away in alignment with your true identity. Ben challenges the notion that retirement is a finish line and reveals the powerful truth: identity doesn't come from retirement, but identity gives retirement its meaning.
In this episode, Ben Taatjes addresses a key truth many retirees discover too late: retirement doesn't fix identity issues - it reveals them. When the guardrails of work structure, daily contribution, and external validation disappear, we're left face-to-face with ourselves, and often those inner gaps speak louder, not quieter. Drawing from C.S. Lewis's 'Mere Christianity,' Ben explores the deeper longing for something more that intensifies when we're stripped down to our bare selves. Discover why retirement itself cannot resolve this longing and how retirees must reconnect with the foundational truth that they're created in God's image and designed to contribute. This episode offers hope for those feeling lost in retirement by pointing them back to their true identity and purpose.
In this deeply moving special episode, Ben Taatjes welcomes longtime client Sue, who happened to be in the office on recording day, a divine appointment following last week's conversation about listening through pain. Sue, who is courageously battling stage 4 colon cancer, shares her raw and unfiltered journey of discovering greater purpose while facing her greatest trial. Through an honest conversation about daily life with chemotherapy, Sue reveals the mindset, faith, and sense of purpose that keep her moving forward. This powerful testimony demonstrates what it looks like to lean into pain, listen to God's voice in suffering, and find meaning even in the darkest valleys. Sue's story will challenge and inspire anyone facing their own struggles in retirement or beyond.
Expanding on last week's discussion about listening for God's voice, Ben Taatjes slows down to explore something many avoid: pain. For retirees, pain isn't theoretical; it's deeply personal. Discover why pain is often when we give God our fullest attention and how pain accomplishes what comfort never will. Learn how comfort dulls our questions while pain awakens them and why pain functions as a signal—not a sentence or verdict on your life. Rather, it is a call to correction and growth. Ben reveals how God speaks through restlessness, peace, people, and yes, pain itself. This tender episode encourages those who are hurting to resist rushing past their pain and instead lean in and listen carefully to what God may be saying through it.
Building on recent conversations about alignment and surrender, Ben Taatjes explores what comes next: the critical practice of listening. Once you've surrendered, how do you actually hear what God is saying? Discover how to listen effectively in three specific areas of life: during times of peace, during seasons of restlessness, and when receiving feedback from others. Learn practical strategies for discerning God's voice and understanding what's next in your retirement journey. Ben emphasizes why continued action is essential while listening—because movement creates clarity, not paralysis. This episode provides a roadmap for active listening that leads to purposeful decisions and deeper alignment in retirement.
Continuing last week's powerful conversation, Ben Taatjes goes deeper into what surrender actually looks like in retirement. Discover why people get off track and lose their identity by surrendering to the wrong things. Because the truth is, we're all surrendering to something. Learn how misplaced surrender creates idols and pulls you out of alignment, and why surrender isn't the endgame but a catalyst that creates space to do and become more. Ben explores what financial surrender looks like in practice and how it paves the way for a correct, viable retirement plan with genuine clarity. This episode reveals how proper surrender allows you to steward your resources effectively while maintaining purpose and vigor throughout retirement.
In this powerful first episode of 2026, Ben Taatjes explores his defining word from last year, surrender, and its crucial importance for retirees. Discover how surrender isn't about giving up or becoming passive, but about realignment with God's purpose. While realignment asks 'What's off?' surrender answers 'What am I clinging to?' Learn why surrender creates space for intentional living, brings more clarity (not less), deeper peace (not passivity), and better decisions (not fewer). Ben addresses why surrender feels especially difficult for retirees who already feel they've lost control, particularly around their finances, and reveals how releasing your grip actually opens you up for more action and greater impact in retirement.
In this convicting episode, Ben Taatjes addresses the subtle danger of complacency in retirement after noticing clients who seemed unusually tired and lacking energy. Drawing from Old Testament wisdom, Ben reveals how complacency isn't just about low motivation; it's actually a failure to make room for our need for God in our lives. Discover the critical difference between complacency and rest: while complacency drains us, genuine rest rejuvenates us for greater purpose. This episode challenges retirees to examine whether their tiredness signals misalignment and offers biblical insight for reigniting energy and purpose in retirement.
Ben has been in the financial services industry for nearly two decades. He has worked alongside thousands of families and individuals while owning and operating Taatjes Financial Group, a retirement planning firm in west-central Minnesota. While Ben loves to work with retirees, his passion extends far beyond the numbers. This passion led to the publishing of his first book, Repurposed: The Untold Story of Retirement in America in 2017 as well as co-founding Retire Repurposed in 2019.
