Are you enjoying your retirement?

I retired 2 months ago and so far absolutely loving it. Been really busy with one thing and another and it's been so lovely not having to worry about work. I had been semi retired for the 5 years previous which has helped me wind down. I also have several hobbies and have joined the u3a

I cant wait to retire. Only got 2.5 years left to work so not long at all. Xx

lovebeigecardigans1955 i am with you all the way with simple pursuits. As long as i have friends and family, my home and garden, and relative good health....mobility is my main issue, i feel content. Although i lost my DH earlier this year i feel i have coped well with just one or two hiccups that have stressed me out but i have come out the other side. I miss him dreadfully and the most unexpected things can have me in floods of tears but on the whole i keep positive and am determined to enjoy the rest of my days. His death has taught me each day is prescious and even if not much is happening i feel thankful to still be alive and able to enjoy my retirement.

Absolutely adore being retired! Yesterday morning when the wind was howling and the rain lashing on the window, I just snuggled down in bed and read a couple more chapters of my book! I no longer have that Sunday evening gloom at the thought of work the next day ( and I loved my job ). I feel very privileged.

So sorry to hear about your daughter Redhead

I retired from teaching at 31 when we moved to the Netherlands. Over there I did volunteer work mainly in the children's schools.
I enjoyed being a SAHM. When we came back I dabbled at various things until DH retired at 60.

We have had a great retirement so far and hope it will continue. I agree the growing old is the unpleasant part.

Another retired teacher here and very happy to have left behind the stresses and strains of the job, not least of all the awful commute with limited parking at the other end. Before retiring, I set up a small business selling my paintings and jewellery. I am now my own boss and enjoy almost everything that brings. I love the freedom of walking our lovely park and going to concerts, theatre and just having a coffee and a chat. So different from the manic and unreasonable demands of my job but I do miss the children. Have often thought about doing voluntary work and see that lots of you do this. I wonder about the degree of committment required and types of work available?

I love being retired, most of my married life I was a full time mum only taking on part time work after my children were at Uni. to keep my brain active.
I loved being furloughed and decided never to return to the workforce.
Life is great. Long may I continue to be healthy and happy.

Yet another retired teacher here. I loved my job and did an extra year after 60. After retirement I hoped to have more holidays and travel more, but DH started another job straightaway so his time was limited. I helped DD with her small children, then trained to do voluntary work. I enjoyed the studying, the company, the challenges. I also joined three choirs and got more involved at church, producing the weekly newsletter for a while. After five years we moved house, nearer the family. I transferred the voluntary work, and still do a limited amount, working from home, since Covid. I also spend a fair amount of time working on my family history.

My one regret is that DH’s health is not so great, and he is not keen, or not well enough, to get out and about much. I do feel lonely at times, as I hate going for walks by myself. I haven’t really managed to make individual friends, though I have a number of friendly acquaintances.
It is lovely to be able to stay at home rather than going out in the rain or blazing heat.

I worked for 6 years after retirement age because I enjoyed my job so much, but I’d always wanted to write and never had the time. After several years of short stories I’m now in year 3 of writing a novel. Probably never be published, but oh, the joy of sitting down to develop my story!

Love, love, love it! Although I'm not as active now as I once was or hoped to be, I love that my time is my own and I can do what I want when I want. I miss some of the lovely colleagues I had but we keep in touch. I don't miss the timetables, deadlines and overtime and the daily commute, I don't need that much 'structure' in my life.

Oh you lucky people! I don’t have a great pension and had a heart attack in the summer. I am bored! We moved for my husband’s benefit but he has since died. Lots of acquaintances but no friends and not up to volunteering at present.

midgey

JenniferEccles

The thing is as women do we ever truly retire?
Yes from paid work but for those of us who gave up work when we had our children, at this age nothing much has changed.

I’m not complaining, just stating that the housework, food shopping, cooking, laundry etc still has to be done.
My husband is semi retired and does help more now, and he’s always looked after the garden and, as Theresa May once said, all the ‘boy’ jobs !

Yes we have more time for days out, and we love having our baby grandson here once a week, but in all honesty I wouldn’t describe myself as retired ( apart from on official forms of course!)

With you there JenniferEccles. When I first started playing tax, I thought this was why women's state pension age was 60!!!

Condolences travelsafar

I love the freedom of doing (or not) what I want, when I want. Just simple things, not exciting outings or holidays. No more 12 hour days or long commutes. Not having my head full of ‘work stuff’ all the time. Being able to just enjoy simple things and the changing seasons at last. It’s like being let out of prison. I’m very fortunate to be financially comfortable after the years of hard graft and I appreciate that very much and feel for those with money worries. My health isn’t the best and does limit me a bit but could be very much worse. Just being able to sit in the garden in the sunshine watching and listening to the birds or read the books I never had time for before is the greatest luxury for me.

I am pleased I retired, although I do a bit of consultancy, which helps me not to feel 'past-it'. I hadn't realised how much of my identity was bound up with my work.

Otherwise, I love not setting the alarm, and deciding for myself how to fill the day. I had found things to fill my week before Covid, but most of them have finished now, or have died out as a result of the pandemic, so I'm in a state of transition just now, and looking for things to do. I am in the process of setting up a local group around one of my big interests, I have joined the National Women's Register, and am looking out for other ways to meet new people and find new ways to keep my brain working.

One thing I do regret is that I can't drive. I had hundreds of lessons, but never passed a test, and it's so restrictive not being able to get to where I want to be. Buses here are expensive (no passes for the under 66's) and concentrate on getting from local towns into the city, rather than connecting the towns. I hate relying on lifts, and it puts me at the mercy of others, who can be unreliable. I would join the U3A, but am not sure that I could easily get to meetings.

On the whole, yes, I like being retired. This last 18 months has curtailed a lot of what I was involved with (as it will have for everyone of course), but I also enjoy just pottering, too, doing things as and when.

I’m sure this is true of us all, but there are times when I could climb the walls, but this was the case when I worked, too, so I can’t say retirement is responsible for those feelings when they sneak up!

I certainly don’t miss the early start, the late finishes, the commute, being out in foul weather, attending endless meetings (many of which weren’t necessary for everyone to attend, but we had to), the stress, the time constraints etc. In fact, I don’t miss the work at all, if I’m truthful, and I also don’t feel the need to substitute paid work with voluntary work which would require set commitments on me that I don’t feel I could give. Helping out with various things as and when I can is a different matter, and I’m very happy to do so, but joining committees/volunteering and committing myself to a set timetable of things to be done within a timeframe is a big no - I did enough of that whilst in paid employment.

I think, though, that some of us settle to retirement more happily than others. The change from a structured day to one with less structure can be difficult for some to adjust to and can mean that unless they can find something to fill their days outside the home they feel a loss of purpose and regret retiring.

Others, of course, struggle with the reduced income, especially if they have only the state pension and some benefits (if they can have them) to manage on. Retirement must be very hard in those situations and not enjoyable.

? midgey

What Mapleleaf said.

My thoughts and experiences of being retired are pretty much covered by Mapleleaf particularly regarding anyone who is on a very limited retirement income.

My sister and a SIL are in this situation and it isn't always possible to give them all the support we'd like to. Sadly neither of their adult children are in able to do very much either. It is what it is and thankfully both are safe, housed and able to have heating and food.

For me the bonus is, if I hit the afternoon low I can take a 'Nana Nap', couldn't do that at work and some days it was hard to push thought to the end of the work day.

Also I no longer have to spend time/money going on training courses, reading journals and and new publications to stay current or use my weekends for marking.

Happy Days.

I too love retirement and wouldn't go back to work if you offered me a fortune to do so, unless it was only for a very short while and a very very large fortune we were talking about.

My last years of teaching coincided with my parents' needing more and more help, their deaths and estates to be wound up.

I found it all exhausting, mentally and physically.

Now DH do what we want when we want, and we have been so thankful that the pandemic didn't start while we were still working. I feel so sorry for all those who have faced financial problems due to the pandemic and all those who were flung into completely new work routines.

I’m 72 and still working part time my husband drives me nuts as all he does is watch sports on TV no gardening or DIY o swear he deliberately ruins things so he gets out of it he is pre useless

I retired from General Practice aged 61 back in 2013.
I did enjoy the freedom of retirement and the time to spend with my GC . That was curtailed by Covid as they live far away.
I got quite despondent at first , and quite bored, even though I have many hobbies
When Boris asked for retired doctors and nurses to go back to work I did think long and hard. The family were worried about the risk to my health and to DH .
However, I went ahead and volunteered. I had to really , didn't I ? All those years of experience going spare while there was a major health crisis?
I haven't regretted my decision. I only do 2 sessions weekly but I feel useful .
Surprisingly, returning to an environment where I have always faced risks from other infectious diseases really helped my Covid anxiety because it all felt so normal again.

I also do voluntary work, it gives my week structure and i rarely am bored. I have met some lovely people and am raising funds for a local animal sanctuary. No need to ever be bored!

No, I retired early thanks to a botched op., my DH is 10 years older. He has been my carer for over 10 years, and as much as we can had fun. Sadly hehit a significant birthday 5 years ago and again this year and has decided he is old - and won't do anything or go anywhere. I'm bored to tears

I would have enjoyed my retirement more had my final boss not been the most delightful, fun loving , reasonable and kind person that I had encountered in a 41 year teaching career. Having worked under the auspices of previous heads who made Miss Trunchbull look angelic, I worked past retirement age until my lovely boss retired. I missed her and everything about my last school for a long time and went through a sort of mourning period. I’m now thankful that I finished on a high note with lovely happy memories.

I love being retired! I didn't want to but took voluntary redundancy due to mental health issues. I'm a different person now. I love being able to spend time with my husband and ponies . We don't have a large income but we have enough and a simple lifestyle