Episode 2 – Retirement – What Does That Mean
Merriam-Webster defines retirement or the act of retiring as withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from active working life.
Retirement will mean different things for different people, but each of us will face something similar. The biggest consideration for most of is the financial one. When you’re not working full-time you will be relying on other income sources, such savings, your investments, and government benefits like Social Security that we are accustomed to here in the States.
-- Second but no less important is Healthcare and insurance: Many of us have relied on health insurance through our employer. Whether is was paid for us, either in whole or partially, it was for most an economical way to provide healthcare for ourselves and our family. Once retired that’s no longer the case, so Understanding Medicare and the multiple other health insurance options, as well as planning for long-term care needs, is crucial
These 2 items get most of our attention, as they should, tand we need to give them serious consideration and planning. But, I believe that equal consideration and planning should go into the social, emotional and health implications of retirement.
Once retired, you set your own schedule, you don’t have to punch a clock or make sure that you make it to the airport on time to get to an important meeting halfway across the country. You suddenly have loads of free time.
-- Retirement can bring about a sense of freedom. We’re no longer shackled to a stressful job and that relief from work-related stress, affords us the ability to pursue personal interests and passions. However, some people have a problem making the transition into retirement. Some will experience a sense of loss or a lack of purpose initially, especially if their work played a significant role in their identity. I think, especially in the beginning, many of us find this new freedom and the and ways to fill the hours challenging, so we need to be cognizant of this and make an effort to take steps that help us cope. Here are a few things to consider, that might help with the transition.
-- Relationships -- Retirement can be a time for building and strengthening social connections. You’ll have more time to spend with family if that’s been something that’ been lacking in your life. You can engage with your friends and share new hobbies or work on neglected ones with others. You now have an opportunity to become involved in social groups in your area which provide a way to meet new people. This is especially important if you’re retiring alone without a spouse or significant other to spend this time with.
-- Take care of Ourselves -- Health and self-care: With more time available, we can prioritize our health and engage in activities that promote physical fitness. Maybe join a gym or experiment with a couple of yoga classes. I think that this new found time gives us an opportunity to work on our diet and healthy eating habits. When living a fast paced work life we often fall into the fast food trap and we don’t necessarily take care of our diet and now we have the opportunity to do so and should. I really enjoy cooking when I have time to do so and in retirement, I can take the extra time to plan and prepare healthy and tasteful meals.
-- We Can Make some adjustments With our Lifestyle choices—Retirement offers the opportunity to make lifestyle choices that align with personal preferences and goals. Maybe downsizing to a smaller home, this is something that my wife and I did about 2 years before my retirement date. We can relocate to a desired location, I have some very good friends who did that. They sold their home and business here and relocated to the coast. We might relocate to get us closer to family or grandchildren. We can travel on our schedule. We can become more involved in the community through volunteering or we could pursue additional education, We can use this time to start a new business or side hustle…. Something that my wife has done and she is very happy with growing the business while only working part time. The important thing here is that we now have choices and options that we didn’t have while building our careers and raising our family.
-- Time management: With the freedom of retirement comes the need for effective time management. Some people enjoy having a relaxed schedule or living freely with no set schedule. Others may find it helpful to establish routines or set goals to stay productive and maintain a sense of purpose. I’m one of those. While I do enjoy the chance to live unstructured, I still find myself planning out my time… I’ve done that most of my life and I might always… but again we have choices that we didn’t have before.
Retirement doesn't mean the end of goal-setting. In fact, it's an opportunity to set new goals that align with our new interests and passions. I think part of having a sense of purpose and direction is having meaningful goals.
-- Legacy planning: Many people begin to use this time to think about the legacy they want to leave behind, whether it's through charitable giving, estate planning, or passing on family values and traditions. Retirement can be an opportunity to reflect on what is important and take steps to shape our legacy. For me that’s an important item. I want to make sure that my grandchildren know about our family and what shaped us and I look forward to telling some of the stories of my past and my parents past, so they will always know where they came from and what is important in our family. I don’t think there’s a more important gift I could leave them, than that of values and traditions.
Remember, retirement is a personal journey, and everyone's experience going to be really, different and unique. It's important to plan and prepare for retirement based on your individual circumstances, dreams, and goals. I's never too early or too late to start thinking about retirement. For us that are already there, hopefully we have a firm grasp and what we want to achieve during this stage of our life. For those of you that are not quite there yet, not retired yet, you can still take steps towards a fulfilling and secure future that includes some planning over and above your financial considerations.
So …. What does retirement mean to me
Freedom – I now have time to enjoy life … A time to live. I can do whatever I want whenever I want…. WOW. Isn’t that incredible?
Now is not the time to become a couch potato. Oh, sure I am so looking forward to the time to relax and enjoy a reprieve from the daily grind, but I want to take this time to explore and actively seek out new experiences.
Freedom – to take this opportunity to reengage with family and friends. I have time to take a break in the middle of the day to call or visit with someone I haven’t seen in a while. I want to make the effort to invite friends and loved ones to lunch or dinner or have them over to my home for a meal. I hope to take my own advice and do this often.
Freedom -- to be involved in the lives of my grandchildren. I can now drop what I’m doing to attend a sporting event or concert or dance recital. So many things you can miss out on while working. Time passes quickly and they grow up super fast.
Freedom -- to maybe, just maybe become proficient at one of my many hobbies … I’ll need to narrow down the scope, but what the heck… I have time and being involved with hobbies and learning is critical to our metal well being… helps to keep us sharp as they say.
Freedom -- to take a hard look at how I’m treating myself physically. I have the time to work out, walk and time to make sure I’m exercising. It’s important as we age to keep up our strength, so I need to make that effort.
Freedom -- to take off on a trip to somewhere that I’ve never visited at a moments notice. After all, I don’t have to ask the boss for time off anymore. My wife and I have talked about this often and we both get a nice laugh at this every single time it comes up in discussion.
Retirement is different for each of us. I sincerely hope that each of us can embrace this change, this long awaited time in our life. Please go out and enjoy it. Take a long walk with someone you’re close to, enjoy a nice meal and a great bottle of wine. Call up someone just to say hello and talk at length about nothing important. Make the effort to indulge in anything of your choosing.
You’ve worked hard and done the best you could to provide for your family, now it’s your time.
I listen to a podcast from Chadd Wright and his crew at the 3 of 7 Project and he has a shirt that I just ordered. On the back of the shirt is says: “ Don’t Die In The Chair” … I certainly don’t plan to, what about you?