I read and hear about people who retire and soon
afterwards return to work. Mostly they
seem to be men, which begs the question, “Do men find retirement less
fulfilling than women?”
The Bank of Montreal conducted a survey in January
2012 in which they found that women may adapt better to retirement because they
are more able to cope with the transition from work to retirement. According to the article, women have nurtured
families and friendships through the years and have that as a replacement for
the work place, whereas men are usually more closely tied to their jobs and
don’t have the same support system. (1) The
unique challenges that women face, such as longer life spans, intermittent work
histories resulting in smaller pensions and reduction of income due to
widowhood or divorce, may give us a different perspective on how we appreciate
retirement.
Personally, I love retirement. I get up when I choose, plan my day the way I
want and feel more relaxed than ever before.
It’s been seven years and I still pinch myself. All of my friends are retired, so we plan
activities together during the time other people are at work. When we first retired, we continued to plan activities
on the weekend until we realized we didn’t have to wait. Every day was the weekend!!!! What a revelation that was.
We plan excursions mid-week when rates are lower and
route our outings to coincide with desirable traffic patterns. I have time for reading, writing, and
gardening. Whenever I can get my extended
family together at one time, I plan family dinners and spend time with my
grandchildren. I’ve met new people in
book club, scrabble group and dance and exercises classes. This is a most wonderful time of my life, and
I am thoroughly enjoying myself.
1. BMO Retirement Institute Report Survey; Harris
Decima; January 2012
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/bmo-retirement-institute-report-men-143800572.html
