Should I Retire Or Not
Why do you want to retire? We have all had dreams of laying on the beach with our fancy cocktails being brought to us, watching the sunset and stumbling back to our beachside residence. Or reading a book in front of a fire in a ski lodge in the alps. Trekking to Nepal. Travelling to faraway lands, trying exotic foods, meeting new people. These are some retirement dreams. Mostly, we relish the idea of never having to go to work again. But let’s think about that for just a minute.
If you dread going to work, there are possibly a number of things going on.
You hate your job
You hate your boss
You are the boss and hate it
You hate the commute
You don’t see the point of your job anymore
You’re tired
Retirement though, may not be the solution that you think it will be. Just think for a minute about waking up tomorrow and realising that you never have to go to your job again. I know right? Sleep. After a few days of this and pottering around the house, maybe catching up with friends and family, reading that book that you never got around to read while you were working,but what then?
Staying at home all day and doing whatever you like sounds and feels great but in reality, without a plan, it quickly becomes lonely. Without a daily purpose to fulfil, it’s easy to become depressed, isolated and lost.
So let’s take a look at the reasons that you want to retire.
You have what you do, your role, the commute. High five! I get it. So what is stopping you from changing your job? If you think retirement is the answer, then you are wealthy enough to take the leap and do something else. Change jobs. Take a mini-retirement. Use some long-service leave if you have any. Get a part-time job doing something you enjoy and then transition into your part-time role and make it a full-time one.
What is it that you always wanted to do as a career or profession? What was it that you missed out on doing? It might be possible to pursue that now, instead of retiring. OK gymnast, olympic athlete and ballet dancer are off the table at this point, but it wouldn’t surprise me if ‘senior’ events in these categories begin to appear within our lifetime.
What about your hobbies and interests? What would you spend your retirement time on because you finally have the time to devote to “enter hobby here”. Start now. Do it alongside your ‘job’ and build something up so you create something that you will enjoy and that will keep you engaged in life. You might even make a little business out it that will supplement your retirement income.
Many years ago I heard a quote that said you should start where you want to retire. It was referring to where you live. Many people stay in a city and work until they retire and then move to the beach or wherever their ideal retirement destination is. The problem with this is that you don’t know anybody. You have to make new friendships. This is not always successful and makes your retirement even more lonely unless you have something that you enjoy and are passionate about. We can’t just play cards all day. It’s not good for us. We need to feel productive at something. That we’re contributing to something.
If you retire at 65 today, it is likely that you will live for at least another 30 years. THIRTY YEARS. Do you want to play cards for 30 years? Do you feel old enough to retire? Really think about it. Your body might be hurting here and there – but your mind – it’s not ready.
The workforce may not want you anymore – but that does not mean you can’t contribute to society in other ways. Bring your passion into the world. But start now not when you retire. Start your transition from the workforce to your new phase.
Below are a couple of links to some articles that support this in terms of your mental health and agility and some of the pitfalls of retirement without planning for what you’re going to be actually doing day to day.
Let’s also consider the body. It’s really important. Do you really think that if you left today you could trek in Nepal (or wherever you see yourself travelling to in retirement)? Travelling is exhausting. Are you going to ‘get fit’ once you retire? If you don’t start taking care of your body right now, eating right and getting exercise, you’re not going to make it to retirement.
You have time. You know you do. There’s nothing left on Netflix to watch. I decided not to commit to any series that only has one season. I have invested so much time into those only to be left on some cliffhanger and finding that it was cancelled. So no more. I get up at 4.00am every day and work on my writing and sites and other things I’m doing. Then I go to work. When I get home if it hasn’t been too hectic and I’m not mentally exhausted, I do an hour or two more. I do my exercises every day at 6.30am. Even if sometimes I’m not up to it. If I’m having a bad body day, I cut down my regime and take it more gently – but I move it everyday. Move it or lose it – use it or lose it – these things are true.
So before you decide whether you want to retire or not you should ask yourself this question instead. Should I live my life or not?
Here is some more reading – they are all external links.
Is retirement good or bad for subjective well being?
Changes of life satisfaction in the transition to retirement: A latent-class approach.
Provide Protections From Retirement’s Pitfalls
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