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Retirement Planning
With the national retirement age set to increase, many of us will have to continue working in to our later years whereas some people will be lucky enough to have the option of early retirement. Whatever category you fit in to, the government will still determine the age at which you receive our state pension.
Throughout our working life we often joke about looking forward to retirement age and living the life of luxury. We are advised to begin investing in pensions and our retirement funds early on, and many of us spend our working lives planning out the financial aspects of retiring to ensure that we have enough income to provide for our needs in the future. Very little thought however is given to the personal aspects of retirement and how this transitional period, probably one of the biggest in our lives, will affect us on an emotional and psychological level. Although retirement gives us the opportunity to lead a full and satisfying life, many individuals have an idealistic picture of what it will be like, this is often very different from what they actually experience when the time does come for them to leave the working environment.
Negative effects of retirement:
Once retired, individuals often struggle to adjust to their new lifestyle and instead of leading the ‘ideal’ life they had in mind, they find themselves struggling to adjust to the following:
- The loss of professional and social relationships
- During our working lives we tend to take basic human interaction for granted, even if we work in an environment where we don’t do much talking, the feeling of being around others and interacting with them is a comfort that we don’t experience whilst at home on our own.
- Although there is no conclusive evidence to prove that in retirement our health declines significantly, some individuals tend to slip into the retirement model of spending too much time on the sofa reading the newspaper and watching TV.
- Many of us underestimate the amount of exercise we get when we are working. It could be in the form of walking to work, walking up flights of stairs or just walking around the office, warehouse or shop floor, it is all exercise we don’t get when we retire.
Relationships:
Relationships with your spouse, friends and family can be a source of stress once you have retired. The idea of spending as much time as you can with your loved ones may initially seem like the ideal situation however, there are a number of points to consider. For example, how will you partner/spouse respond or be influenced by your retirement? Will you be retiring together or are you joining or being joined by a spouse who is about to retire or who is already retired? Whatever the scenario, you will need to think about how you and your family will react to spending large amounts of time together. It is advisable to consider discussing how much time you would like to spend together and also how much time you need to spend apart.
Loss of identity:
Although our jobs don’t define who we are, they do often reflect our interests and passions and they do present us with challenges that keep our minds stimulated. Whether we intend them to or not, our jobs become a huge part of our lives and who we are. The majority of us strive to do well in our positions and come to think of ourselves as an integral part of the company we work for, our jobs often provide respite and a distraction from other areas of our lives that may be causing distress.
Points to consider to ensure a fulfilling and happy retirement?
If you are approaching retirement and are starting to feel anxious about how you will spend your leisure time, now would be a good time to start giving it some consideration. You could start by making a pension plan and retirement plan. When you do eventually finish with work, the routine you had fixed in place for many years which revolved around your job will change completely. This often leaves retirees not really knowing what to do with themselves. Creating a new routine is key to those who are entering into retirement, you should also look to substitute the benefits you obtained through working and continue to remain socially and physically active, it is also recommended that you take on new challenges and keep the mind stimulated through new outlets.