The Mythology Around Retirement

The mythology around retirement

I often meet people who spend immense amounts of time on making sure they have enough money to retire (good idea) but virtually no time planning for or even considering what emotional change they might experience when they retire.  Retirement is one of the more challenging transitions most people will make in their life.  Yup, retirement is full of endless opportunities and possibilities.  A time for personal growth and exploration.  It also represents a significant emotional, physical and psychological time of change.

Who will you be when you are no long that which you have been for most of your life?

Consider this for just a moment.  Up until the last day of work you’ve had:

A schedule to follow, a place to go and a reason to be there

Socialization/work friends

You were needed

You were respected

You were part of something bigger

And

You were intellectually challenged

In day one of retirement…all of that goes away.  I would even argue that most of your work friends will be difficult to hold onto because most of what keeps those friendships alive is the daily events at work.  This is not intended to be negative, just a simple truth.

So why don’t people invest more time into considering/planning who and what they will be when they retire.  I have come to believe that, at least in part; it is because there is a mythology that has been created around retirement that suggests that this is not something we need to be concerned about.

Let’s back up a bit.  Retirement on a national scale began with the implementation of the Social Security Act of 1935.  1935 was the middle of the great depression.   The Social Security act was initially created as an economic stimulus program to incentivize older workers to leave the workplace and make room for younger workers.  It worked but not as well as the government had hoped so the government initiated a well thought out marketing program to “sell” the idea of retirement.  The federal government pushed this marketing program out to all federal employees.  The insurance industry was the next to pick up on it and thus began the creation of the mythology around retirement.  It was built up and sold as paradise, nirvana, the Garden of Eden.  Expectations have been built up to the point where many people can find themselves confused about the reality they find when they arrive.  And when they are in the early stages of retirement those who are confused often feel as though something might be wrong with them because certainly no one else seems to be this confused. The simple truth is that many are in the same boat but are afraid to say it out loud.

 At least in part, I believe that’s why many people give little planning or thought to what they will become when they no long are who they have always been.