The word ‘retirement’ summons up a variety of images. For most of us days full of sunshine, rounds of golf, pleasure cruises and family vacations spring to mind. Long-held ambitions can be fulfilled, bucket lists made and the items ticked off, one by one. However, it isn’t the same for everyone, and more and more of us are choosing to go back to work, in one form or another, and for a variety of reasons. In fact, for many people continuing work makes perfect sense, and a work/life balance is much easier to attain. Here are a few reasons why retirement isn’t always the best choice, and why spending your golden years working can actually be a very appealing alternative.
Financial Factors
Hopefully, you’ll be entering retirement with a degree of financial stability from investments, pension plans, and savings. But sometimes it’s best to prepare for unforeseen eventualities, such as having to foot medical bills or help out your kids or grandkids. Or maybe you just want a bit more in the pot to enjoy yourself as much as possible during your golden years, and splash out on holidays or a second property to go to for your vacations. Working during your retirement gives you another source of income, leaving your savings and pension with less of a dent in them from everyday life.
Work on Your Own Terms
A great thing about taking on a job in your retirement is that it affords you much more flexibility than your career did. This means that you’ll likely be working from home some of the time – a great opportunity to become a bit more tech-savvy. Many solutions for home offices are available now, and more user-friendly than ever, such as dedicated apps to use with home printers and scanners, as well as more accessible software solutions on your computer. Most people who continue to work past their retirement also dictate their own hours, no more hurrying to get ready in the mornings, or fretting about the rush hour. Move at your own pace, and still bring in a salary!
Social Interaction
Retirement is often filled with many plus points. But there are some negatives – many older people can feel very isolated in retirement, especially in the first year or two. Stopping work means cutting out a huge part of your social interaction, and that can be extremely tough to deal with. Working means you’ll be in contact with people on a professional and personal level, so you won’t be left with a hole in your social life. Working relationships can be mundane, but quite often they can bloom into a real friendship, and what better time to meet new people and foster new friendships than in retirement?
Self-Worth, Relevance, and Ideas
Feeling relevant is another major issue for retirees – particularly if they’ve recently retired from a fast-paced or high-intensity job. It’s all too easy to feel a little worthless, especially if you’ve not planned out much of a structure for your post-work days. Working means that you have a structure, a purpose and an arena in which to show that you are still full of good, relevant and valuable ideas and you have a real contribution to make. And having places to go, people to see and matters to deal with gives a focus and direction to every day and boosts your self-esteem.
Healthy Mind, Healthy Body
Keeping your mind active is essential to your health. Without a focus, a structure and a series of goals to head towards it’s all too easy to sink into a bit of a stupor, and when the mind goes south you can be sure the body is close behind it. Staying mentally healthy is just as important as staying physically active in your retirement years. And if you don’t have enough mental stimulus in your day to day life, perhaps working is the answer!
A New Chapter
No one says that if you choose to work in your retirement years that you have to do the same job you did before. In fact, many people opt to branch out, try things they always wanted to (without the financial cushion required to take the leap before retirement) and widen their skill set. A new career is exciting at any age – and when you take into account all the other benefits of working after retirement – your own schedule, working from home – it is all conducive to a change in direction.
The idea that retirement means doing nothing is absurd. And while the idea of relaxing on a sun lounger or working on your golf handicap or bridge tactics appeals to some, many need more of a challenge. Whatever your reason for working after your retirement, rest assured that it can be great for your physical and mental wellbeing, as well as your bank balance!
