Retirement

Recently I started a new career and because of my age a number of people asked me why I haven’t retired. This is not a new subject for me since I spent many years as a financial planner specializing in retirement planning. I was reminded of a young friend of my who started working for the railroad and when he was about 25, I asked him how he liked his job. He said the job was OK but they have great retirement plan. He was a guy with 40 years of work ahead of him and he spends his time thinking about retirement. While this is an unusual case, I have encountered many people in their 40’s and 50’s who think about retirement in this way. What they have forgotten is that it is the journey not the destination that matters. Many times we discover that planning for a vacation turns out to be the most fun. While it makes sense to have a retirement plan it also makes sense to live each day as it comes along. These people often tell me about all of the activities they will be involved with when they retire as if each day is going to be one exciting event after another. People who are working know that some days they really don’t feel like going to work but they go anyway. After retirement when these days come up most people just take it easy that day. That means more TV and more snacks. As time passes these days increase in number and so does the waistline. Within five years of retirement it is not unusual to see a 10 to 20 percent increase in weight. This means it takes more energy to be active and the take it easy days increase in number. Most people need the discipline of work to keep them active. Enjoy planning and thinking about retirement as it is ok to build castles in the sky but it’s not to live in them. Don’t be surprised if it is not as great as you thought it would be. Life is full of surprises.