The One Where I Talk About Retirement

This week marks the occasion of 11 months of retirement for me. Fifteen months have in fact passed, since I took Long Service Leave, then the balance of my annual leave, and failed to return to work. I know it is a cliché, but I do wonder how I ever had time to go to work; life in retirement is very busy.

All the retirement seminars talk about ‘transition towards retirement’ and ‘planning for retirement’. My fund provided me with a ‘Retire-ready checklist’ with the sub-heading ‘Giving up work and living off your retirement savings needs planning’. There are different rules for retirement based on age. There are terms like ‘preservation age’ and ‘income stream accounts’ to learn, and a myriad of financial decisions to make and navigate.

My fund invited me to a ‘Life Beyond Work’ workshop and encouraged me to first complete the ‘Get ready for the Life Beyond Work workshop’ document to be found on their website. This 9-page document asked questions such as:

How are you feeling about retirement?

What’s an action you can take today to feel more prepared?

What does retirement look like for you?

What can you see yourself doing?

Have you considered how to supplement your income?

It seems, as my fund wisely pointed out on page 7, ‘We often work so we can retire, but to succeed in retirement requires work.’

Beyond the obvious financial considerations, headlined in my mind with ‘Can I afford to retire?’ there was thinking to be done about  ways to continue productivity, family responsibilities, community connectivity pursuits, lifelong learning, values and purpose, health, and mental well-being factors.

As I worked through all these important matters, it seemed (fleetingly) as though it might just be easier to stay at work. Was the super fund trying to frighten me away from taking this next logical step in life? No, just ensuring I had really thought my retirement plans through; but I think you just know when the time is right, and for me it was. I hit the ground running while still enjoying my accumulated leave, well before my official retirement date.

The focus for the first few months of my retirement was preparing my mum’s unit for sale. This involved dealing firstly with her possessions, then painting, repairing and putting her home on the market. Although I was heard to bemoan how much I dislike painting, on more than one occasion, this was actually a lovely bonding process, as my family and I worked side by side sorting, cleaning and painting.

There was also my own writing and editing business to develop and expand, with a selection of interesting editing tasks both large and small trickling in, keeping me stimulated and challenged reading the work of others, while trying to progress my own writing. I seem to have to get out of bed very early these days, if I am to fit this important aspect of life in.

The garden of course, is always needing weeds removed, grass mown, trees pruned, new plantings tended and plans for improvement carried out. I genuinely could spend all day pottering in the garden, but that wouldn’t get anything else done, so I allow myself several mornings a week, to tackle the gardening and the extensive ‘To Do List’, which seems to grow faster than I can tick things off.  

I have also picked up 4 hours a week, as a Conservation Cleaner at a nearby historic home, which I love, and I volunteer on the local Cemetery Trust requiring a commitment to 1 meeting a month and many emails in between!  

There’s Oscar to walk, our regular Parkrun commitment, a local hiking group to explore with, and many hiking adventures to be had. And travel … so many travel plans have emerged, and a multitude of trips have already taken shape, providing something else to look forward to as the year progresses.

Add to all these things, a beautiful baby grandson to adore, and another on the way, and I can honestly say life in retirement is full and fantastic. I have not looked back. I have not had a minute of regret or yearning for my former working life. I really do not know how I made time to go to work.

Case in point: I have just taken a whole week to write and publish this Blog post!

What's not to love about retirement?