The Retirement Newsletter: Should I treat my retirement like a career?

Issue Number: -63 — working at your retirement?

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

Welcome

Welcome to issue number -63. This week, I will examine whether I should treat my retirement as a career.

What is retirement, and should we treat it as a new career?

Last week in issue -64, I looked at retirement. And I asked, why do we retire, and should we retire?

From the age of 5, we are on a “moving walkway” — we go to school, we go to college, we go to university, and then we go to work. OK, some of us may skip some steps, but for most people, it is education and then on to work.

And that takes us pretty much from the age of five through to sixty-five.

So, for 60 years, most of us have been on a defined path: education leads to work, and work leads to retirement.

My father’s generation tended to go into a job when they left school (in his case, he left school at 14 — it doesn’t seem possible?) and remain in the same job for 40+ years. Now, it’s pretty common to change careers many times during our working life.

I have friends who are on their third or fourth career.

And while I have remained in the education sector, I’m on my third or fourth career as the nature of my job has changed.

After my degree, I started in a lab as a trainee scientist. I became a scientist, gained my PhD, and went on to be a post-doc.

Then, I became a new lecturer with a research group and next a lecturer with a research group and teaching responsibilities.

Now I am a lecturer who teaches and has administrative duties.

The job I now have has changed beyond all recognition from the job I started after my first degree. But I am still working at a university.

And then we retire and no longer have a structured working life. And unless you have been self-employed throughout your career, you will find yourself with no boss, no human resources, and no perks of working for a company or a business.

You’re out there, in the cold, on your own.

Your support network has gone.

And at this point, it all comes down to how you treat your retirement.

How do you view it?

If, as some people, you view retirement as a permanent holiday, it can be dangerous.

As I said last week, people who retire early have a much higher chance of developing heart disease and stroke than those who continue work.

So retiring early, becoming a couch potato, and spending all day watching television and pottering around the garden could be bad news; hence, we should treat our retirement as a career and view it as being self-employed.

So, maybe you should treat your retirement like a career?

You should have a plan.

I’m not saying we should have Gantt charts, do SWOT analyses, run Professional Development Reviews (PDR) once a year and continue with Continuing Professional Development (CPD); but at least we should have a plan. And we may want to continue with some CPD to keep our minds sharp. If we view our retirement as a career change, why not have CPD?

I am viewing my retirement as a new career.

Throughout my working life, I’ve wanted to be self-employed and explore the opportunities offered. I lacked the courage to make the jump. What if it all went wrong?

During my working life, I wanted to take some time to write the books I promised myself I would write. I wanted to run a successful blog, expand this newsletter, make online courses and shoot videos. And I hope that retirement will allow me to do this, as I will have financial security through my pension (hopefully). That security will allow me to explore alternative forms of income and activity. I will have a safety net. I can’t wait.

Yes, I will treat my retirement like a change of job — a new career.

Bring it on.

Nostalgia corner

Last week I watched the final outing of Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who. And wow, what a 90-minute episode it was.

I’ve been a fan of Doctor Who for as long as I can remember.

In the UK, they say you can tell how old a person is by asking them, “who was your Doctor”?

In my case, my first doctor was Jon Pertwee (Dr Who from 1970 to 1974). Followed by Tom Baker — a great doctor (Dr Who from 1974 to 1981).

The last outing of Jodie Whittaker as Doctor Who made me feel very old as many of the Doctor's former companions made guest appearances.

To me, some of the companions hadn’t changed. OK, they had aged over the years but were still recognisable. Others, not so. And it was not only the ageing companions that made me feel old but also the ageing Doctors.

It is not only the ageing Doctors and companions that make me feel my age but also how they now run the episodes.

When I was a kid, a Doctor Who story would last four or more 30-minute episodes that usually ran over four or five weeks on a Saturday evening. You could follow along.

Now, Dr Who seems super fast-paced, and you must work hard to keep up with what’s happening. I guess that’s a comment on modern life and TV viewing habits.

Anyway, a great episode and the plot twist at the end was terrific. I didn't see that coming, and I can’t wait to see where they’re going with this storyline. But I will have to wait until November 2023 to find out.

Reflections

Last weekend was a funny old weekend.

Things in life and at work had been getting on top of me, so I decided to take a mini-break.

I checked into a hotel 6 miles (ca. 10 km) from my house, stayed the night and did a lot of walking from the hotel.

It was fantastic.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so refreshed from a short break.

The secret appears to be not to spend all your time travelling to and from where you are taking a break. Another plus was I got to explore an incredible local village that I had lived near most of my life, and I had never had time to look around.

So, a note to myself. Take more mini-breaks, and don’t travel long distances to go away for the weekend; go local.

Next week

This past week I became aware that I am not liable for a specific UK tax on my pension. Hence, I have my retirement maths wrong. So, next week, I will look at my retirement income and make adjustments for the tax change.

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS, If you have something you would like to contribute to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.