We have all heard the stories of people who have worked crazy hard all their lives, looking forward to retirement, and then as soon as they do retire, dropping dead. What a waste!!
That is partly to do with not having a work life balance throughout your working life, so the only thing you are focused on is your retirement and not enjoying the journey along the way, but can you really go from working really hard to doing nothing? Is that an easy transition or should you be making it easier for yourself?
A recent survey found that people over the age of 55 like temporary jobs as they ease the transition into retirement. And over a third of people in temporary jobs are over the age of 55!!
Another survey, this time in America, showed that many Americans are going back to work, after trying retirement for a bit, because they want to continue to use their brain and be with people â social engagement. It is not usually because they need more money. Economists refer to this sort of employment as âunretirementâ. I like that as a phrase!!
Reg Buttress started working for Sainsburys at age 57. He tried retiring at age 65 but after two months went back to work there as he was bored. He then carried on working there until he was 95 as he loved meeting people!!
We donât all have to be like Reg, but here are some ideas from some of my clients as to what they have done. See if you can recognise yourself in here . . .
Client A
This client worked crazy hard doing a job that took him all over the world but which he didnât really enjoy towards the end. However, it paid a lot of bills and enabled him to have the level of lifestyle that he wanted for him and his family. How could he transition from this to a nice retirement?
Moving from his job he started a consultancy, helping people / companies with what he did before but on a consultancy basis. This way he is in control of who he works for, where he goes, the hours that he works and therefore to some degree, how much money he earns.
The next part of his plan is some wacky work. Something that he really enjoys, but it doesnât matter how much he earns. We havenât got to that bit yet so no idea what this is going to entail, but I canât wait to find out. Who doesnât love wacky work?!
So, the process is moving slowly from working crazy hard, to more relaxed, to wacky and then to retirement. Along the way, developing your hobbies so that they fill up more and more of your time.
Client B
This client had not really thought of what to do in retirement, apart from wanting a shed in the garden. There are so many amazing sheds that it didnât really narrow it down much. He was ready to retire as he had been working hard, saving for his retirement. He couldn’t really consult in what he had been doing, so instead he started giving tours of a local brewery to keep busy and earn a bit of pocket money. Who wouldnât like to work in a brewery?! Though I might always be taste testing, just to be sure!!
Client C
This client retired from the corporate world, but keeps finding his way back in. Like a few of my clients he has tried to retire several times but finds it difficult as offers keep coming to entice him back in. So he definitely went for something wacky and retrained as a reiki practitioner and now trains people in that, at the same time as keeping his hand in with being a non-exec director for a company that need his help. Will he ever retire? Who knows? But as long as he is having fun along the way, then who cares?!
