Is there a retirement recipe that would fit us all?
Searching for a honest man Bryon Howard REMAX Realtor on Retirement
It is a common belief that after one has worked most of their life, there is a time to slow down and enjoy relaxed, carefree living. The concept is not new, however it has gone through many drastic changes in the last 25 years. This has resulted in major differences in regulations in the age of retirement. In European Countries one can retire at the age of 55, and it is mandatory in all countries in the EU that one retires at 65 years.
In Canada one can retire at 60 with a pension. (I know some stopped who stopped working in their 30’s, and more in their 40’s and 50’s.) There is however no age restriction for employment. Theoretically, you can be working at 95 years old.
There are therefore many options for the person who begins working at age 28 and how to plan their professional career. It is however much more complicated than it seems.
The great majority of Frenchmen consider early retirement a blessing, and fight for government jobs, with a full pension at 55 years. There are however many people in Europe and outside Europe who enjoy their work and consider retirement at age of 65 a painful reality. (You must retire at age of 65 in EU.) Many in the EU envy our ability in Canada to choose to have control of professional activities in the advanced age.
These changes in the approach to retirement by different cultures is more complicated than one would think. One of the more important aspects is the changing concept of old age. It was not a long time ago when the American Medical Association defined “Old Age” as 65 years. Today we have a 79 year old man who is a serious candidate for the United States and few people question his age as a limiting factor.
All these considerations apart, the crucial element is how does an individual feels about retirement. This of course is controlled by numerous factors; family dynamics, individuals health; job environment; financial situation – just to list a few.
It is often stated that women in retirement cope better with their new life than men. Women in many households are responsible for running the house. They still have a lot of responsibility once then stop working.
When I was a teenager watching television, I often saw “old people” on a commercial having the best times of their lives on a beach, in a sailboat or in a hammock – this of course was “Freedom 55” which provided huge benefits to the financial institutions.
With these considerations in the background, how am I to make my decision when to retire? I am self employed and enjoy my work, so the concept of retirement is not an important issue. I cannot say at this age, how many years to I see myself working as I’ve only gotten better at my profession and am not slowing down. At this point, I see no reason why I should stop. I can see myself working 20 years from now realizing that 10 years from now, I can suddenly decide that when I had enough. (If of course, retiring would be a financially viable decision.)
This is part of a series of pieces, written in about twelve minutes, proof read once with tiny edits and then posted online. Someday, probably not, I may publish a book entitled: Bryon Wrote This Book in 12 Minutes.
