Aye! going to retire soon? A bit worried? No need, please. Just be sure that you are still a legend. To lead a smooth and relaxed life after retirement with a legendary lifestyle without any stress or anxiety is still within your grip. Don’t you worry anymore, please!
What is the actual meaning of life after retirement?
Retirement, by definition, is the fact of stop doing a regular professional job because you have reached a certain age. The age at which someone retires varies from country to country. Moreover, different departments retire their employees at different age-slots. However, the common feature of life after retirement everywhere is being jobless.
Whatever your age, gender, and profession are, life after retirement is a huge phase of transition. Your life changes dramatically from following a strict timetable to being a master of your own will. The very idea of leading a life without worries is a great blessing in itself.
This critical phase of life demands to be planned ahead. We would never discourage you if you start planning for it at the age of 25.
Preparations for life after retirement
Your retirement is greeting you with open arms. Every job-holder is going to retire one day. So, it is not something unforeseen and, I think, you must have strong aims in your mind for the new upcoming life.
Imagine the life you want
Near your retirement, when you have spent most of what was destined to you, it is quite likely that you may think of doing something quite the other way round. But, what to do now for the rest of your life? The answer is, there is still a lot you may do to make your life colorful. Retirement can very well be an equally enjoyable phase of your life.
Just close your eyes and take a walk down the post-retirement road. Imagine what sort of scenes you want to see on both sides. So many purple ideas will strike your vision and enliven your inner self.
You may find yourself attending willingly to some of the long-forgotten repair work in your kitchen or bath, helping your teenage grandson with some fine driving tips, spending some lively time with your little grandchildren to teach them good moral values to lead a healthy life, a cheerful sitting with your age-fellow friends on Fridays, amusable party time on Saturdays, a pleasant family time on Sundays and enjoying a lot of healthy activities such as taking exercise, fishing, skiing, hiking, etc. that were out of your reach due to time shortage. Here, we too have jotted down an outline that might help you in this context.
The changes in routine
The moment you retire, you will become autonomous. No need to set the forced morning alarms. No hurry to go to bed. During the post-retirement era, you are going to be the king of your own sovereign. So, imagine what sort of post-retirement routine you will like to pass your life with.
Make up your mind to celebrate each and every day of your life after retirement. You can keep a journal to note the planning down. you once wanted to plant tomatoes in your garden but your job kept you from this, write it down to get it done in your post-retirement routine. Likewise, you can even plan the deep cleaning of your house, for you are a true home lover as well.
The places you need to visit
Hectic job routine never allows the job-holders to move freely especially for the sake of pleasure or entertainment alone. Life after retirement is the best phase to enjoy the beauty of nature with your near or dear ones. So, you can plan some exciting trips to various places and recreate yourself in a well-organized way. You may also plan a honeymoon trip with your spouse and revive the past memories in a different but more charming way without any pressure of the fast-running time.
Even if you are not in a position to stay away from your home at some hill station or near a coast out of low budget or some other reason, you may simply take out your car or bike and go for long driving, traveling along the best roads to enjoy both the scenic beauty and some road adventures. If you happen to be an American or on a tour to America, you will definitely find some real charm in doing this road adventure either alone or in some joyful company.
The people you want to meet
Has it been too long since you last met your fast friends and dear relatives? Are you bored of seeing the same faces on a daily basis? Does the sight of your boss make you feel slightly panic? Yes, these are the bitter facts of your monotonous office life over the years. But, the golden phase of your retired life is going to allow you to meet a number of new people along with many of your old and loving friends and relatives to whom you were unable to pay your visits due to the shortage of time.
You can plan to meet some valuable people such as your teachers, coaches, principals, etc. in the post-retirement period. Make a list and pray that those people stay alive till then.
Manage your finances for the life after retirement
Remember, retirement necessarily is not a short phase always. It may last for decades if you are physically healthy and financially strong. The activities you are planning to have in your retired life will be more or less dependent on money. Obviously, you will stop working after retirement and, hence, there is a need to raise funds before that. If you have no savings or available funds even you might be compelled to move to a senior living options. Keeping this vital importance of finances in mind, we have listed down a few of many ways that will help to keep you affluent to manage the financial affairs during this phase as well.
Save from your monthly income
To enjoy a comfortable post-retirement life, you should start saving from your first paycheque. Someone has said it very well that you should have saved one time your income by the age of 30, twice by 35, thrice by 40, and so on. You may also save 15% of your monthly salary for your retired life. Also, try to set yearly saving goals and meet them. All this will keep you quite free of all the hellish financial stress.
Pension and other funds
Retirement is actually a succession of phases each having its own spending priorities and budgeting needs. To me, it is better to put it into a four-phase model with the first one called pre-retirement (50 to 62), the second one, the early period of retirement (62 to 70), then the third one, middle retirement (70 to 80), and the last one being late retirement (80 and up). You should have the knowledge about what you are going to get on your retirement. You must be aware of the amount of pension as well as the worth of other allowances you are going to receive. This will help you picture your post-retirement financial position.
Do I need Life insurance after I retire?
This depends on the family as well as the financial circumstances during which your retirement takes place. For example, you have no debts to pay and your family doesn’t need your financial assistance. Then, you probably do not need it. On the other hand, if you are indebted and have a family to support, then it is a good idea to have retired life insurance. Having a good medical insurance plan will save your family from bearing the financial loss.
Budget Versus Plan
Your post-retirement financial requirements depend on how you plan to spend that time period. Staying home and doing just the regular chores such as gardening or fishing never requires you a huge sum of money. On the contrary, if you are planning a world tour with your spouse, you need a handsome amount of money for sure. So, you need to set up a budget according to your plans.
Start a new life on the whole
Post-retirement life is the most flexible part of one’s life. However, not everyone can handle this much flexibility. Some people like to have a tight and well-disciplined schedule till their last breath. So, you first have to identify what type of personality you are. You will then be able to plan better.
Conquer your lifetime fantasies
Retirement is a phase that could make you feel down and worthless. It is very obvious to have negative feelings and emotions. Let’s see on the brighter side of the picture. The drill that started when you were at kindergarten is over now. Even you were not employed during your school time, you were still bound enough to give up on your certain fantasies.
Retirement is the time when you can transform all your fairy-tales into reality. Those fantasies could be as minor as sleeping without an alarm clock. Go ahead, conquer it, after all, you have worked for your whole life and obviously deserve a reward.
Stay socially active
Throughout your life, you were connected to people because you either needed to or you wanted to. Now the time has come that staying responsive to calls and messages is no more compulsion for you.
This should not make you think that you are supposed to get isolated in your bedroom. Doing so will only add up to the stress. Instead, try to socialize in a different way.
- Stay connected to your relatives and old friends.
- Moreover, interact with random people around you and make new friends.
- You can also arrange small parties with your neighbors.
Build a new identity
Light, camera, retirement! And here you go from employed to unemployed. What now? Are you looking forward to staying an unemployed grandparent only? By saying ‘only’, we mean that it is for sure that you are not a job holder anymore. However, it is in your hands to establish a new identity.
You can simply become a new you. There are many options you can choose from:
- Engage yourself in some volunteer work.
- Become a mentor for the new employees in your company.
- Build a cat shelter.
How to become an entrepreneur in life after retirement
Retirement is the end of an era and the beginning of another. It is up to you how you plan this. Starting up your own business could be a good option if you:
- always have wanted to be your own boss but never got a chance to.
- have assets to invest in.
- Want to gain financial independence.
- Are ambitious enough.
Following are some options for you to consider.
- Become a pet care-taker.
- Give online classes.
- Write and edit if you are skilled enough.
- Help an entrepreneur in record keeping.
- Generate creative products.
- make up your mind to start a real estate business.
- Start tutoring.
Impact of life after retirement on different occupations
Every occupation has a different impact on the people adopting it. Similarly, post-retirement feelings and emotions tend to differ. A retired school teacher will certainly have different feelings than a retired army officer will.
Federal employee’s life after retirement
Federal employees retire with a lot of incentives. This makes them financially secure. It doesn’t mean at all that you should only rely on the government. Instead device strategies to maintain a better living standard even after retirement.
Businessman’s life after retirement
Business is very uncertain in terms of income. You never know how much you are going to make in a month or in a year. Also, there is no one to keep a check on you. This demands some extra efforts on finance management before you get retired or change your business plan.
Life after military retirement
It is a big transition to become a civilian. Military life is very well-disciplined with no room for imperfections. So it is very likely that the transformation is going to hit like a bombshell.
The most difficult thing is that the Army goes rolling along. You’re raised believing that the mission can’t happen without you. Yet, not only are you replaceable but also you’re easily forgotten once your services are no longer required. Losing that bond—the relationships—that’s been the most difficult part for me. Rigg.
However, retirement is something you can’t avoid. So, prepare for this day well. You will have to adopt a new career for which you need to have the proper orientation.
Firefighter’s life after retirement
Running through the flames and saving lives the firefighters are really uncertain of their retirement time. Their retirement could be involuntary based on an accident as a result of which they cannot perform their job. Retiring like this can surely be a cause of Post-traumatic stress disorder making life miserable. Here are some simple tips to tackle the situation
- Be mentally prepared for an unforeseen retirement.
- Have a clear-cut idea of adopting a second career.
- You should possess life insurance.
Build a purposeful life
The purpose of life must be a life of purpose. Do not let your life be a series of unplanned events. Rather make the most of it by planning ahead. Remember, it is the end of your job and not of your life. You still have all the rights reserved to be happy. Here we present some activities to adopt in your post-retirement lifestyle
- Plan a honeymoon trip with your partner.
- Spend some quality time with your loved ones.
- Never stop dreaming because once you stop dreaming, you will lose hope.
- Transform yourself into a positively changed person.
- Be a source of inspiration for others.
- Adopt a healthy lifestyle and add to your life expectancy.
The Final Wording
Life is life, no matter it is before or after your retirement. Try to lead a well-balanced life with special attention to your health and service to humanity. However, you must give special treatment to your life after retirement. You are sure to live with a contented conscience.
