About to retire? Here's how to take control of the next stage of your life
People can have fulfilling lives after retirement, with some continuing to work in another area.
Retiring doesn’t have to mean finishing a career you love; it can be a time for ‘re-trying’ a passion you hadn’t time to do while building your career.
Rupert Murdoch may have stepped down as co-chairman of the Fox Corporation and executive chairman of News Corp, but even at 92, one imagines he’s not done yet. Warren Buffett, 93, CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway; Sheldon Adelson, 87, CEO, chairman and treasurer of Las Vegas Sands — they were incredibly involved in their companies, way past retiring age.
In Ireland, retirement age is acknowledged around the age of 65. It is not the same age as the State pension age, which is 66, so depending on where you work and its protocols, there is no reason you have to retire at 65. When you reach this age, you are old enough to have hopefully accumulated some savings and also still young enough to enjoy active pursuits such as travelling with your savings. It really depends on how you feel and what you want to do in the next episode of your life.
Many managers and CEOs remain active during retirement, by serving on corporate and community boards, entering politics and acting as consultants for the companies they worked for. If you have assisted a company well, there is definitely opportunities to be considered for board service which can be a very lucrative position.
As we work hard, parent our children, look after our elderly family members, survive illnesses, grief, loss, age — we are gaining so much life experience which may matter more as we get older. There will come a time where we can concentrate on ourselves again and look forward to the retiring stage.
Pat Dawson, 70, retired this year as CEO of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) after being in the travel sector for over 50 years. He opened his own travel agency, Dawson Travel in Cork, which is still a successful family-run business.
He says: “When you retire, I think the first thing that hits you is that the last five to 10 years flew by, it’s like it was 10 minutes ago. It is important to have varied interests like walking, sports, close family ties, getting out and about, and to have an interest in what’s going on the world, good or bad.”
In preparation for the retirement years he said: “You really have to prepare financially 20 years before, at least, because the minute that bank transfer stops, you will notice that drop in your bank balance. So, you really need to be prepared for this and think about how you can substitute that regular income. Obviously you won’t need as much as before, but you still need something in the bank.”
On making new retiree friends, Dawson says: “You must have a close circle of friends. Over the years you will see that some will go by the wayside but the good ones will stay around. Surround yourself, if you can, with positive people. There’s nothing worse than listening to people who are negative. Because you are not as busy now, you might have to listen to them more, so make sure they are worth listening to.
“The main thing for me and anyone retiring, is to take care of your physical and mental health. Join the Men’s Sheds, etc. I really feel — live in the now, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet.”
Maureen Forrest, 77, is from Mogeely, East Cork and stepped down this year from her role as Honorary Director for The Hope Foundation Ireland. Forrest founded the Hope Foundation after witnessing the extreme poverty in Kolkata.
She shared why she set the charity up: “I could not ignore what I saw, little children alone on the streets, suffering abuse, neglect, violence, and hunger, I felt compelled into action and decided to start The Hope Foundation to fund the set-up of a protection home for abused girls.”
That was 23 years ago and while now retired, she will still remain active in the Hope India operations. Forrest was involved in all aspects of the organisation since its foundation, watching it grow over the past 25 years to the organisation it is today. She always regarded her work as a labour of love. So why step down now?
Forrest says: “I felt like it was time to take less of an active role to a certain extent, to allow myself more time to spend with my family. However, it would be impossible for me to completely step back which is why I continue with my involvement with operations in India. A particular quote by George Bernard Shaw best sums up my thoughts on this, ‘I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can’.”
She continues: “Today the foundation runs 60 projects including 10 residential childcare centres, a life skills training centre, a restaurant and a hospital. I was — and still am — hugely helped by my sister, Jenny Browne. Jenny was the Hope Overseas director spending much of her year in Kolkata. For four months a year, I also worked — and continue to do so — on the ground in Kolkata as a volunteer.”
But for now, with time on her hands, Forrest shares what retiring means to her: “Perhaps a slightly slower pace of life, but I will strive to continue the legacy of Hope for as long as I possibly can. There is still so much work to be done. As I have stepped back from day-to-day operations, I now look forward to spending more time with my family being part of my grandchildren’s lives, time with my friends, doing yoga, reading and walking.”
Paddy Stapleton, 72, is a retirement coach now living in Kildare. He retired at age 60 from the ESB after 42 years. He says: “I felt it would give me the best chance with the rest of my life. My last five years in ESB was as a senior executive coach and I trained to be a supervisor, which actually helped my coaching a lot. I didn’t want to be a stereotypical pensioner.
“I did a lot of group work in retirement planning for some companies but my wife, Anne, developed dementia and she passed away in 2019 at the age of 66. She was the one who encouraged me to do more after I retired other than travelling, golfing, etc. She was right. I now do one-on-one coaching with a variety of professionals. I also wrote an article on retirement planning called ‘The New You’ for Standard Life, a life assurance, pensions, and long-term savings company which included a roadshow, sharing my knowledge with their staff.
“The coaching really meant I could leave the graft of being a group manager and work in a space that had real meaning and purpose for me.
“During covid, I worked on a voluntary basis, with an outfit who were providing coaching support to HSE staff. People do realise at 60+ that they can’t keep working forever for so many reasons. I have found the top three concerns for many in my workshops are health, isolation, and financial security,” Stapleton says.
“They also feel they no longer having meaning and purpose and you know when you are in the work environment you may have a title, there is learning going on around you all the time, new systems, new people and also comradery, so when this is gone, you have to be very positive again and do new things. People need to turn on the proactive switch even if it’s on a voluntary basis and meeting new friends. You can’t be dropping into your old workplace. In terms of voluntary work, be careful not to become a busy fool, you need to be valued for your knowledge. As I say in my retirement planning presentation: Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.”
You can plan your retirement with coaching support, meaningful volunteer work and really take control of where you want to be in your latter years.
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