We spend decades preparing for retirement, focusing on superannuation balances, investments, and whether we will have enough financially to stop working and enjoy life. But there is another part of retirement planning that is rarely discussed.

Our health.

For many people, particularly women navigating the midlife transition, the years leading up to retirement are also the years when significant changes begin to happen in the body. Energy shifts, metabolic health changes, cardiovascular risk increases, and menopause can affect both quality of life and the ability to remain in the workforce.

Financial capital helps fund retirement. Health capital determines how much of that life we are actually able to live.

In this article, I explore why health should be considered a core part of retirement planning, and why building that foundation during midlife may be one of the most important investments we can make for the years ahead.

Midlife women today are more successful than any generation before them. They are leading organisations, building businesses, raising families and contributing economically at unprecedented levels. Yet behind that success many are experiencing a very different reality, rising exhaustion, stubborn weight gain, brain fog, poor sleep and a sense of being trapped in bodies they no longer recognise. These symptoms are often blamed entirely on menopause, but the real story is far more complex.

Menopause. For too long, the word has hovered at the margins of workplace discussion, cloaked in taboo, whispered about, or ignored entirely. Yet, for millions of women, menopause is not only a biological milestone but a deeply impactful life transition, one that can reverberate throughout their careers and the organisations that employ them. In today’s rapidly evolving world of work, where diversity, equity, and inclusion are more than just buzzwords, it’s time to shed light on the hidden impacts of the menopause transition and how businesses can, and must, do better.