Your World

If retirement today was a foreign country it would be one no previous generation had ever visited. And that is exactly how it is – and exactly where you are.

For a start, the inhabitants are different.

Would your mum have shopped for the latest fashion, joined an aerobics class or had a ‘night out with the girls’? Would your dad, in his 60s, have, jogged, gone to a music festival, or made plans for international travel?

Come retirement, would either of them have been anticipating fresh discoveries, challenges and experiences? A wider world beyond work and family?

The answer to all these questions is almost certainly ‘no’. Because, in just one generation, incredible changes have taken place regarding how we live and how we approach things when paid work comes to an end.

  • The ‘young-old’ – retired and active

    Today, you are one of a growing multitude who make up the ‘retired and active’ generation. Sometimes called ‘the young old’.

    For most of us, our parents were already feeling old, and were classed as old, by the time their pension beckoned. Not only old in body but old in mind-set too. After all, why have a bucket list if your knees are gone, your pension is minimal and the clock is ticking fast?

    That’s not how it is for us. A generation later, 65 has become the new 55. And 70 the new 60. Forget slow lane, pruning the roses and a Horlicks night cap – and bring on the adventure.

    Even though we are now retiring several years later, we are still younger in mind, body and outlook. Indeed, there are those in their 70s thinking seriously about how they invest the rest of their lives. And why not?

    • Physically: We will live longer, fitter and healthier lives
    • Culturally: We are more open to fresh challenges and opportunities
    • Practically: We have the financial resources to follow our dreams

    With the benefit of better health and the prospect of a longer life in retirement, many who reach their due date choose to a gradual transition rather than baling out in one clear move.

    Whatever the choice, the way retirement is today calls for a clear and prayerful head and some wise choices. This new country needs an informed travel guide. The good news is that you have found it here at AfterWorkNet.

How different was your parents’ retirement to yours? Please tell us when you join our Facebook community. And don’t forget to Sign up to our blog.

The word retirement is not even in the Bible. What is taught in scripture is transition. There is nothing that says you work most of your life and then get to be selfish for the next 20 years"

Rick Warren, PurposeDrivenLife

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