Retirement

Retirement is defined as to “withdraw from one’s position or occupation or from active working life.”

For most of us, this comes at a certain age, and/or when we reach a level of financial security that means we no longer have to work to earn money.

We no longer have a default “retirement age” in the UK – instead, we have a “Pension Age” which is the age at which you can claim your state pension

Your pension age will vary between 65 and 68 depending upon when you were born. You can work beyond your pension age, and further information about your pension can be found from the Pension Advisory Service.

You will need to be aware that your income is likely to change and to take than into account when planning your commitments and activities. You might like to work out how much you will get in pensions using the Money Advice Service or check the government advice . You need to plan for your retirement as early as possible.

Plan your retirement in advance and build up to it, so that you have some consistency through the transition

You might like to try the following suggestions:

  • Find a club or group that follows your special interests that you can join when you retire.
  • Try a new hobby.
  • Sign up to learn something new related to things you love. Adult education courses can be a great way to learn new skills and meet new people in a controlled environment.
  • Increase your exercise. Increase your current exercise or start up a new one. Anything that gets you out of the house on a regular schedule is helpful.
  • Schedule your week. Try to have an activity each day.
  • Volunteer to help other people. You could do this through a church, charity, library or garden centre. Many organisations can only run because of the role played by their volunteers.
  • Create a check list or set yourself alarms in the house or on the phone to remind you to when to do things (like eat) if you are likely to forget.
  • Go out to a friendly restaurant or café to eat. When you become a regular the staff will smile and say hello more often and stop you from feeling too isolated.
  • If you have family or friends locally, spend time with them. Offer to help out if you can.
  • Get into gardening even if it’s only a window box. Growing things is one of the most popular hobbies in the UK and is good for mental health.

Whatever you choose to do, try to get out and walk each day and make contact with other people, even if it is just to say hello.

Retirement can be the beginning of a delightful period of freedom, so choose the activities that make you happy and help you continue to grow and learn