Retirement Is A Pivot Point. Use It Wisely.
By Karen and Erica
Once upon a time—which is to say in the 1950s—men retired in their mid-60s, moved to a sunny place where they could play golf for a few years, and that was that.
Fine for them, especially as they expected to live to about 68, but makes little sense today. In the twenty-first century we can expect to live into our nineties, especially we women. We are healthier, mentally and physically, than ever. We want to do all kinds of things—things we never had time to do before. We have no interest in thirty years of a placid existence in a tired community where everyone has one foot out the door.
Because of our longevity, retirement is not the finish line. Retirement from a long career is simply another point of reference. Where are we now? No longer climbing the career ladder, and free from child raising, we have time, and an enviable foundation of experience. We may start something new, but we will never be newbies again. We can skip over steps we learned years ago. We may change the specifics of how we spend out time, but we won’t start at the beginning. Those of us who had long term careers and who are lucky enough now to be financially secure are ready to soar.
You may not feel like this on the day you retire. On that day, you will probably feel as if the rug has been pulled out from under you, leaving you upended and helpless in a world you don’t recognize. You don’t even recognize yourself. You don’t know what to say when people ask what you do. What do you do???
We went through that. Then we rebelled. We had accomplished far too much to be rejected now. We were in the first large group of women to work at careers for decades. We had fought as women to get into the wider world, and we were not going to leave it now just because we were older women. Enough of people trying to isolate us, to put us back in the outsider box.
What to do? We began to understand that the first step to having the world recognize we are still in the game is to recognize it ourselves. And the second step is to change the image of retired career women.
We started to make concrete moves–like coming up with the idea for Lustre–to change the way things were, and to put our cohort on the map. We began to feel better about ourselves. We thought about what we had loved about work, and what was not so compelling. Then we tried to figure out how to replace what we really missed—like a place to go to work, and colleagues, and most importantly purpose—in a different form but building on what we had achieved in our careers.
Once you are post-career for a while, you too will realize that retirement is not the last stop of your journey. It is a big waypoint, for sure, but only a waypoint. You too will figure out something purposeful and fun to do.
Until then, relax. Not forever, but take as long as you want to figure out what is next. And then forge ahead.
I am 71. Spent 33 years in education. Then went to work for my church. I don’t have to work, I get to work. But with that said, I see the younger people being hired who are so much better at computers etc……..I feel like I am not contributing as much as I should. Contemplating retiring but I wrestle with "What will I do today" syndrome.
I had no intention of retiring until age 65 but was forced to at age 60 because of a reorganization where I worked. After looking for a job for a year without success, I thought now is finally the time I can devote to my art. Best thing that has ever happened. Don’t be afraid, trust yourself.
First of all thank you for the great perspective. It is as if you have a microphone in my head. I took an early retirement package at 62 after 30 years in a firm in June and am in the throws of… do I look for another job? If so what? Challenging or mindless just to keep busy? Will I become irrelevant or boring or out of touch? And yet, I do relish the freedom. Thanks for sage advice. It is an adjustment!
Seriously are you in my head? I am 45 work days from retirement (at 62) and SO ready to explore Chapter 2 – or as you call it post-career. I’ve committed to a few months to take a break before diving in head first to what is next!
So glad you hear from you! Relax and commit to nothing for a while. And yes we’re in your head because we’ve been there—as have so many others. It’s a process.
This is a great article, but I would have loved some steps to get started. I received some great advice last week when someone who was retired told me to 1) sleep and relax until you can’t anymore then 2) write a list of what you want in your next move. How many hours? How much interaction with people? A small company with family values or a large company that’s always buzzing? She said “You may not know it, but you can make your own job. Companies are looking for people like us.”
Good idea. We’ll do it!
Great article! After 30 years in the same field, I found myself at the top of my game and decided to retire. It has been a huge adjustment but Lustre has really helped me to keep things in perspective! I’m done sleeping and relaxing and now it is time to research my next step. I think of this part of my life as a completely different book… not just a different chapter!
I retired at 58, and was able to travel for 7 years. My Husband and I decided to stay home and enjoy our grandchildren. I got restless and had wanted to open a flower shop when I retired, but my husband thought we should travel, so we did. However, my dream persisted and one day I drove up to a historic building went inside and fell in love with the building. I could see the flower shop, so I did it. I opened a flower shop with my end goal in mind. It has been three years and I have enjoyed it so much, even in a pandemic. It has been a trying three years, but every year I make progress, so I am still enjoying the journey of flowers and retail. My end goal is to reevalute at age 70 and decide if I am going to keep going or if I am going to move on. I truely think I am going to move on, but I am still having fun…so we will see. Age is a number, one that can not be ignored, but certainly is only a number.
We love the way you are thinking, Rickie. Modern retirement is new for all of us so we need to reevaluate as we go. Keep having fun!