Rethinking retirement

“I never stopped doing anything when I retired; I stopped getting paid for it.” — Bill Chavanne

If you ‘Google’ retirement, or look for books on the same subject in your library, the majority of them will be about financial planning, with a focus on how much money you will need, what sorts of investments are best and so on. And it is very important to be informed about this and to plan well ahead if you have thought about this early enough. There are many challenges for the ‘baby boomer’ generation and people younger, when thinking about this.

We are living a lot longer than our parents and grandparents have and we consequently have a longer time between leaving our main chosen careers and becoming ‘old’. Previous generations may have retired at 65 (we don’t have to). People who retired in the mid to late 20th century on average had a relatively short spell of retirement. But know as I may often say to people who come to see me, “Do you just want to play bowls for 30 years?”

Retirement or Refirement?

What are the things you may wish to do to fill in your days?  What are the dreams and hopes for this important period in your life? What will an ideal day look like? Are there things you have wanted to do since you were a child that you would dearly love to do now? Do volunteering, grandparenting, part time work feature in your future?

The there is the whole question of staying well and healthy, both physically and mentally. How are you going to prioritise this in your life?

At this stage in your life how much have you actually thought about retirement, or if you prefer, the next stage in your life? How much have you discussed retirement with your partner? How much have you discussed retirement with your friends or co-workers?

New Life – New Friends?

One of the things we often take for granted is the circle of friends we have in our working lives. What will happen to these friendships when you leave your job? Several studies have shown that at this time in people’s lives, one of the real gaps is in our significant friendships and networks. We often have to consciously plan and look ahead with this in mind.

Apart from looking at finances, what consideration have you given to legal matters, such as wills and powers of attorney? What about your housing and the community you will live in?

I know that more and more workplaces are offering programmes on pre-retirement planning for their employees and some fortunate people can take advantage of these courses.

“Retirement has been a discovery of beauty for me. I never had the time before to notice the beauty of my grandkids, my wife, the tree outside my very own front door. And, the beauty of time itself.” — Hartman Jule

Ron Tustin
Revive and Thrive Coaching, Professional Coach, a member of International Coach Federation.

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www.reviveandthrivecoaching.com

Motivating baby boomers to see the world with fresh eyes.