Retirement: How Great Is It?


Jack was a tax attorney for 40 years. In his mid 60's and in a new second marriage he decided the time was right for retirement. He had few outside interests, but was quite stressed at work, which was affecting his physical health. When he retired the reduction in stress was remarkable. He felt better physically and emotionally. However, after a few months of traveling with his new wife he began to feel stressed again due to lack of doing something "meaningful" in his life. He missed the accomplishments, status, and social connections that he had when working. He really didn't know what to do or where to turn. He felt like he was facing a meaningless existence for the rest of his life.

In contrast, Janice, a divorcee in her late 50's could not wait to retire from her government job as an office manager. She had an overwhelming interest in world travel and photography. While she was highly successful at work, she had local friends who shared her travel interests as well as friends in other countries who were willing to help her find temporary local jobs to support her travel costs and photography interests. After a year of retirement, Janice was ecstatic with her new lifestyle. She felt more motivated and fulfilled than she ever felt before.

Neither Jack nor Janice had monetary issues that impacted on retirement income. Both had adequate savings, investments and/or pensions, plus opportunities to earn more money if desired. For both, finding meaning and passion for what they did in their retirement years took precedence. Of course, for many retirees finding both fulfillment in what they do and the money to support a decent lifestyle is a challenge.

So, when looking at a successful retirement, what should you consider? Of course the idea of being able to financially sustain is paramount. You have to eat and still be able to feel good about what you are doing. This means feeling fulfilled not only for the first month or 2 after the stress of full time work is reduced, but long term. It's far more important to retire to a sustainable lifestyle that you genuinely want, like Janice, than to retire to get away from something that's wearing on you, like Jack. If you do the latter and do not find something quickly, you will likely get bored and begin to feel a loss of meaning or passion for your life. Depressing, isn't it? Over the long term it might be better to continue working!

Actually, some work is a good solution to the problem. For example, Jack could search for part-time work in his area of law in a lower stress environment than where he worked full time. Part-time teaching might be another alternative. As noted in Chapter 28 of my book, RELAUNCH! Stagnation, Change, and Renewal in Mid-Career and Beyond, there are numerous other part-time work options, within or outside your prior type of work that can not only add meaning to your life, but which can also add additional income. The crucial point is: retire for or find something that attracts you and move toward that rather than only moving away from something that repels you. Then leave the rest of your life open to gradually develop new worlds of work or non-work interests.