A WORKING RETIREMENT?

A NEW LEARNING
The recession may be making it clear to me that a leisurely retirement is impractical. Some economists say it’s not practical for many people. The majority of baby boomers plan to work in retirement. So say numerous surveys. That is, they want to keep working, even a little. Yet for those who didn’t want to work, the message may now be, ‘Forget Retirement!’ Well I didn’t do that. Retiring seemed a good idea at the time. Knowing what I know now, I might have considered postponing retirement.

The recession isn’t the only factor that compels me to rethink what I will do with some of the years ahead of me. In my mid sixties I don’t want to work full time. But will we have enough resources to fund the next 25 years. My father lived until he was 93. Increased life expectancies must play into my consideration of how I spend these years. And for me it’s not even just about economics. I want to be useful. I have 45-50 years of accumulated wisdom and experience that can benefit emerging leaders, pastors, executives. Whether the experience pays anything now is something I should investigate. Sure I want to paint pictures, but realistically that is not going to garner income to sustain a lifestyle to which we had become accustomed. The fact is, seven months into retirement, we are already realizing many adjustments with a drastically reduced monthly income. We have managed the adjustments well enough. We just bit the bullet.

We have seen some of our hard earned assets disappear in this recession and we will not recover them. Then after our imminent two month international trip which we planned for a long time but which will nonetheless cost us big bucks as the loonie dropped, I may have to come home to new realities. The long touted modern retirement picture of daily rounds at the golf course, buying an RV and spending three months in Arizona, biannual cruises, and luxury condo living will not just be reconsidered, it’s out of the question. The economy of retirement is changing.

Then I suppose there is another consideration. Working is mentally and physically energizing. It stems off dementia I am told. I probably miss the workplace social environment as much as anything.

Work After Retirement

A NEW LEARNING
I have known people who through bitter life experiences have become cynics who are prematurely disappointed in the future. I am not one of these. Oh I have brushed up against adversity occasionally. I have never lost heart. Most retirement books focus on financial planning. Prudent but myopic. Having worked all my life in the not-for-profit sector, I should be close to pessimism if not panic given my retirement preparedness. But I’m not.

The books inappropriately project the idea that the last day of work is the goal. For many people retirement does not announce the end of working but rather a career and lifestyle transition. A retiree has multiple options, continuing to work but with fewer hours, returning to school, changing careers, venturing into an entrepreneurial pursuit, doing volunteer work, or just enjoying leisure and travel or blending all of this and trying new things. What’s to be cynical about?

If you have walked into a MacDonald’s or Tim Horton’s at lunch and been served by seniors and alternately by teens, I’ll certify you were served more effectively, quicker and more cheerily by the seniors. Seniors know how to work - more life experience under the belt. Pounds too maybe. A retiree never has to be concerned about finding a job. Many employees are looking for senior employees because they represent a wealth of experience with little or no necessary training.

Pizza Hut’s website contains a page that invites you to ‘Think about Coming Back.’ They are not talking about returning to scarf another pizza. The page goes on to say, “Sure, you’re retired. But that doesn’t mean you’re ready to stop working. Come back to Pizza Hut. We’ll make sure you stay active and engaged with people on a daily basis. What’s more, you can earn some extra cash—and have an incredible amount of fun in a lively atmosphere.” Look at the site for yourself.

Retirement doesn't always mean a complete separation from paid work. The way I see it through my graduated bifocals, retirement provides opportunity to continue to work by choice at jobs that you can enjoy. One in three retirees age 65 and older has a retirement job. Retirement jobs are particularly popular with baby boomers entering retirement. Eighty percent of Boomers expect to work in retirement jobs even if it’s part-time for either income or enjoyment. This is transforming the way people regard retirement, resulting in a new image of aging and the role of older people within our society.

Everyone has a Plan for My Life

A NEW LEARNING
You might be amazed at the advice that is available for retirees or people heading to that classification. Lita Epstein has written 'Working After Retirement For Dummies' and Amazon has 25 used & new copies available for 33 cents which is all some of us can afford.

Lynn O'Shaughnessy has written the 'Retirement Bible' and there are 17 used & new copies for 45 cents, and Robert C. Carlson has written 'The New Rules of Retirement.'

A couple of titles I love. 'Gringos in Paradise: An American Couple Builds Their Retirement Dream House in a Seaside Village in Mexico' by Barry Golson and 'This Old Man and the Sea: How My Retirement Turned Into a Ten-Year Sail Around the World' by Robert S. Ashton.

Don’t those latter titles open up possibilities?

Just about everyone who has known me expects that I will return to Christian ministry of some formal kind. I have been a public figure with leadership skills, and abilities to write and to speak. I have an obligation to use these it is inferred. Yet the conclusion to which I came several months ago is that I have been released from this responsibility for full-time Christian work. I can recall twenty years ago pontificating about seniors who shut down their service to relax until kingdom come. I believe now that what is important for a man or woman who is following God, is to be listening and to be available. I have given myself one year to be quiet to discern how to spend the next segment of life.

Currently this is what I am hearing and doing. I am painting pictures, have sold some and will sell others. This outlet introduces me to people whom I would otherwise not meet. Being light in one’s community is emitted in subtle ways as well as overt public ways. A local news rag recently interviewed me for an article entitled ‘Pastor to Painter.’ I am painting a picture for a local golf course in exchange for one year’s family golf membership. Golfing with my grandkids may be what God wants me to do. I have completed a children’s novel which someone has promised to publish, the proceeds for which will be dedicated to the care of widows and orphans and feeding the poor. The book espouses family values, respect for parents, faith, love, hope within a fictional presentation. It may affect lives.

As a teenager I memorized John Milton’s ‘On His Blindness’ in which Milton reminded himself that even though his blindness might impair his writing, “they also serve who only stand and wait.” I will also still serve but perhaps in different ways than I have for 40 years.