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Relatively speaking, we are retiring earlier now than any
generation before us, because we now have a longer
life-expectancy. Also, because of improved diet and fitness,
most of us are still very active when we retire and we want
an active lifestyle in retirement. Whereas retirement used
to be an end, it is now a start and we look forward to many
more active years.
For many of us part of that active lifestyle involves some
form of work, be it full-time, part-time, paid or voluntary.
This Guide is not about working in retirement (there are two
other guides to help with that, the
Guide to Part Time Jobs and the
Guide to Voluntary Work); what we look at here is why
considering whether to work in retirement and, if so, the type
of work to do, should be part of our planning. It may be that we
see lots of opportunities available to us in retirement if only
we could afford them. If that's the case, we may feel that some
form of part-time work will help us to achieve all the things we
want to do. It may just be that, as saw above, we just want to
keep active and work is a one way of achieving that. Having
thought about those issues, if we believe that we might like to
do some form of work, we need to think about it in more depth.
Throughout our lives, work will have given us some positives
and negatives and you can make a list of both. On the positive
side, you might well include some or all of the following (as
well as others of your own):
- Social contact
- Job satisfaction
- Learning new skills
- Helping others
- Structure
- Travel
- Team working
and amongst the negatives, you might well think of:
- Constant change
- Bureaucracy
- Poor management
- Routine
- Commuting
- Long hours
So if we are thinking about doing some kind of work, we need
to think about the positives and the negatives that work has
given us and, as far as can, choose work that will give us the
positives and eliminate the negatives.
What's more, we should consider these things even if we think
we won't do any work in retirement. This is because if we're not
working we need to consider how we will get the positive things
that work has given us. If we do nothing, those positives will
be missing and there will be a void in our life. Probably the
most obvious example is social contact. When we leave work we
leave a great deal of social contact and we should think about
how we will get that contact in retirement.
We should also think about what it is about ourselves that
helps us to be good at things - our skills, personality traits,
personal characteristics and personal qualities. For example, if
we are a teacher, or a fisherman, one of our qualities is likely
to be patience. Once we have analysed our strengths we should
then think about what sort of work will use our skills, personal
qualities etc because we are much more likely to find
satisfaction and fulfilment in work which uses our existing
strengths. That's not to say we can't develop new ones, but
we're unlikely to enjoy something that uses none of our
qualities and strengths. We can use the same process when
we're thinking about new leisure pursuits.
Finally, we need to think about our values and preferences in
life. What is it that's important to us?
- Is it being able to interact with other people?
- Do we want to be creative?
- Do we want to give something back to society?
- Are we keen on having complete independence, without
being told what to do?
- Do we want to do physical things so that we can keep our
body fit?
- Do we like things to be highly organised or more
free-flowing?
- Do we want a set routine?
These are just a few examples of the issues that might be of
value to us. We should make our own list and then, when choosing
work (or, again, new leisure activities) choose something that
we believe will fit with our values and preferences. If we
don't, the chances are that we won't enjoy it nor get fulfilment
from it.
Why Plan for Retirement? links
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The overall objective for retirement is to enjoy it. We might
get some of that enjoyment through some form of work, whether
it's full or part-time, paid or voluntary. If we are considering
some sort of work, spend some time thinking about what type of
work will give you enjoyment and fulfilment. Retirement is about
opportunity and choice - we must make sure that we make the
right choice. We need a plan, not just for work but for all
aspects of our retirement.
So read the rest of the Laterlife Guide to 'Why Plan for
Retirement? by clicking on the links in the box. It will give
you food for thought so that you can then make your plan. You
might also like to look at our
Planning for Retirement workshops and then ask your employer
to pay for you to attend one. You will be able to spend the day
discussing your retirement and gleaning ideas from others about
how to best enjoy the rest of your life.
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