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Having time to do all the things you couldn't before, completely independent again, the chance to take up painting, get those photo albums done, travel, go out to lunch, go shopping with no lines, and much more.
Retirement dreams are interrupted by serious health issues, including heart disease, stroke, cancer, dementia and mental illness. The twist is that the trigger for these issues might be retirement itself.
Research has indicated that social isolation, and particularly the involuntary feeling of loneliness, can have a negative impact on our life span similar to the detrimental effects of smoking.
While planning your retirement from a financial point of view, you should simultaneously be planning a physically active and socially-engaged lifestyle.
After building a lifelong habit of going to work five days a week, we have to be prepared and know how to create new habits, or else we will suffer.
Just as your work schedule must go through a transition, so too must your relationship. Retirement can cause some issues in a couple (especially with all that time to argue), so it’s best to talk about boundaries and feelings with your partner.
The decrease in physical movement in retirement is a hugely underestimated cause of illness. Get involved in fitness classes or sign up at a gym if you’re not good at motivating yourself to move at home!
Whether it’s a partner, family members, or a group of friends, you should have people around that you see on a regular basis.
Whether you need extra cash or just something to do, there are many places hiring seniors. You could try being a barista!
Giving back to the community is recommended by many health experts as a way to combat the negative effects of retirement and stay active and fulfilled.
Learning new skills or even just learning about something you never had time to study is one of the best ways to stay young and curious about the world. Plus, most schools offer free admission to seniors.
As many people feel disoriented and lost after being thrust into a world where their only purpose is to serve their own needs, "unretirement" is becoming popular.
There’s a paralyzing feeling common to those who suddenly have far too many choices available to them. Making a structure for yourself with some constraints, like things separating the week from the weekend, will help ease the transition.
Another problem with retirement is that many people only have enough to live off of, whereas it's advised to wait to retire until you have enough money to thrive. You don't want to wait your whole life for an anticlimactic second-half.
But this is simply a return to the familiar, whereas retirement offers the chance to live intentionally, explore a different purpose, and choose who you have meaningful interactions with instead of forced bonding with colleagues over work.
Unretired people craved a sense of purpose, a way to use their brain, and a form of social engagement. The money was nice, but not cited as a primary incentive.
Some people go straight from working full-time to working no-time, and that will make the transition abrupt and jarring. Try to ease your workload down slowly, and you’ll slowly incorporate other ways to fill your time.
The feeling of being needed is not something we can unlearn very easily. Whether it’s caring for a partner, taking on babysitting responsibilities, bringing the poker set to your friendly games, or tending to a garden, keep a sense of purpose around you.
Avoid being slowed down by health issues, insurance costs, and budget problems—as well as the haunting feeling of unfulfilled promise—by getting to your travel plans right away.
It’s hard to set up a healthy future if you haven’t made peace with your past work life. Accept that you did all you could in your old job, and focus on your next task.
See also: Age-specific tips for better sleep
After all those years of experience, you can be a consultant in your field and make your own hours.
Government healthcare programs take a hit when there are an increase of chronic medical conditions needing treatment, especially as baby boomers continue to retire in large numbers.
Published in 2017, a survey from RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research firm, found almost 40% of workers over 65 had previously, at some point, unretired.
We all too often underestimate the role that food plays in our life, and going from eating three regular meals and having snacks in between at work to suddenly having breakfast at noon and snacks into the night will throw your body and mind off.
As a retiree, it's in your hands to find social opportunities, determine your purpose, and show up for yourself, which is a proactive attitude that might be unfamiliar after years of being an employee.
The curse lies in the transition from work to retirement, from how you manage it to how it alters your behaviors and affects your quality of life.
Society has a strange relationship with growing older, loaded with false expectations and somewhat backward logic. Many of us will work through our best physical years, grow completely used to being instructed what to do, then when you are a little more tired than before and likely more ready to sit for longer periods, you’re given all this free time and an allowance for fun. It’s supposed to be this incredible gift we give ourselves, but studies are showing it's turning out to be more of a curse than a blessing if you don't do it right.
Click through to learn about what the "retirement curse" is, how it might affect you, and how you can take concrete steps to avoid it.
What is the "retirement curse" and how to avoid it
Now is the time to begin preparing for your retirement
LIFESTYLE Healthy living
Society has a strange relationship with growing older, loaded with false expectations and somewhat backward logic. Many of us will work through our best physical years, grow completely used to being instructed what to do, then when you are a little more tired than before and likely more ready to sit for longer periods, you’re given all this free time and an allowance for fun. It’s supposed to be this incredible gift we give ourselves, but studies are showing it's turning out to be more of a curse than a blessing if you don't do it right.
Click through to learn about what the "retirement curse" is, how it might affect you, and how you can take concrete steps to avoid it.