Retirement Isn’t Static

Retirement isn’t static, things move on. It is now 9 years since my husband retired. I was just a few months behind him. I remember his last week at work well, he went round with a huge smile on his face, and a bounce in his step. He was so delighted to be free. He retired 2 years ahead of schedule. Everyone at work was saying why? He just said it was time.

His Plans

To start with, he only had some short term plans.

Have a huge party! Which he did – 120 people, at our home, all catered by yours truly! Fortunately it was good weather….

Be a Tourist in London I was still working away from home every week in London, so he thought it would be a good idea to come to London 1 week a month, and go round all the museums and galleries that had free entrance. He would get a free breakfast at the hotel with me, then apart from a few tube journeys and a snack for lunch, his day wouldn’t cost anything. Needless to say he had a ball. I was less impressed, usually finishing lunch just in time to meet for dinner, and crawl into bed.

His longer term plans were do some research within his very niche area of engineering maths, and extend the work he did on his PhD, to keep his brain alive, as well as read many books, and generally enjoy a restful life interspersed with travel to interesting destinations.

Our main joint retirement plans were starting at the end of October, when I would retire too, and we would head off on some travels. (New Zealand and St Lucia)

What he didn’t plan for…

After a few weeks, he was contacted by his previous employer. Would he be prepared to do some consultancy for them, on a part-time basis? Many discussions ensued, and he agreed to work about 1/4 time, mainly from home, but would be happy to do a little work travel as required, as long as it didn’t interfere with our own travel plans. As we had not planned on him bringing in any income for 2 years, we treated it as saving money, and put it all away.

9 years on, he really didn’t foresee that it would still be ongoing. He now works about 1/2 time, but at times that suit him, it could be 6am, or 11pm. It is entirely up to him. He picks and chooses the work he does, and the trips he goes on. He can still work when we are away on our Slow Travels. When we were in Barcelona for nearly two months, he had some work to do, so he worked in the morning, I pottered round the apartment, learned some Duolingo Spanish, went to the market etc. Then from about 12:30 on, we were free to go for lunch, a trip and generally enjoy our day. It worked really well. He often says, it no longer feels like work – he is doing something he really enjoys, now he doesn’t have deadlines, office meeting, create plans etc.

The benefits

He says he still hasn’t found a downside. “What’s Not to Like?”

• He gets paid to do something he enjoys. Had he been fully retired, he would be doing research in a similar area anyway, extending his PhD.
• It still keeps him in touch with some of his old colleagues. He enjoys the odd wander into the office (about 6 days a year), which is as much a social occasion as a work session.
• It doesn’t interfere with our other plans, he has additional income, albeit it has just boosted our bottom line, but it has given us an extra safety factor, financially.

I get some benefits too

• My husband never gets bored…. He is not standing at the door, saying it is 12:30, are you not going to cook lunch. (It is often the other way round, he calls me when lunch is ready!)
• I get to ‘do my own thing’ whatever that might be. I don’t feel bad about heading out when I want to.
• We can do many things together. It is very rare that he says – I have something to finish today, I haven’t time.

So Be Prepared to Flex

Fritz at the Retirement Manifesto having already bought his retirement home, decided to move again within a year. He called it How to Move your retirement from good to great. They thought they had it right, but weren’t afraid to make the decision to change, when they had a better option.

Some other people I know decided to give up retirement and go back to work. Their choice – it suited them. In fact one person I know did that several times!

Another opportunity might arrive, after you already have plans in place, as it did for my husband. If it suits you – Go For It. If you already had your retirement path worked out, and something comes along which will enhance it, go with the flow. You can always say – I made a mistake, I’ll go back to where I was. You haven’t burnt any bridges.

Keep an Open Mind

9 years on, I feel I can speak from experience. We have shown that Retirement Isn’t Static. Things move on. We are fortunate, all our decisions have worked out for us (So Far!!) But if there are some things we think we should do to improve our retirement, we won’t be afraid to put them into action. Retirement is not static. It moves as you age, your views change, your circumstances change. You have to make it work for you at every stage.

These stones have been fixed in place in Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis, for many centuries, but your retirement doesn’t have to be fixed in stone. As I mentioned earlier, Retirement isn’t static, things change and move on. Enjoy your journey….

If you enjoyed this article and would like to Pin it, just click the image below. (The picture is taken in the Baths of Caracalla, a huge Roman Bath complex built around AD 216 – it seemed suitably fitting to use another ancient monument as a backdrop!)