Will You “Work” Post-Retirement?

To Work or Not to Work, that is the Question!

How would you imagine William Shakespeare’s life to be after he no longer wrote plays?

Kenneth Branagh did just that — he imagined and wrote a movie, All is True, about Shakespeare’s life post-retirement, and in his version, life was hell. By day, he gardens, and by night he has to listen to family resentful about his retirement. I need to see this movie as I love aging/retirement movies!

Just think — for most of history, people had no choice but to work until they died. By the end of the 19th century, it was possible for some people to spend their latter years in retirement. In 1935, President Roosevelt started the U.S. Social Security program, when half of our seniors lived in poverty and many lived with their adult children in later life.

Some retirees will enjoy doing little. For many other, leisurely retirement may be ending. Many simply want to change their occupations at retirement, driven by personal preferences to work or simply needing income. By retirement, you’ve “been there and done that” and you are ready for something new and challenging.

• President George W. Bush is a painter.
• Gene Hackman, an actor, is a novelist.
• Bill Gates from Microsoft is off to save the planet.
• So many more…

I have personally talked to many not-so-famous retirees who also can’t just sit. They still need purpose, feel the right to be needed, and simply want to keep busy.

I take this seriously as I could have a long long retirement. I retired at age 55 and it’s quite possible I could live to age 90 because my mother is 94 years old. That’s a lifetime for some people! Can we really live 35 years without work— both financially and also about living a fulfilled lifestyle?

I must clarify here — by “work” I mean, finding something fulfilling to do: online, consulting, part-time, whatever. I don’t mean a new full-time career, I mean work that is satisfying and yet not demanding nor stressful. It’s FUN to work when it’s what you choose to do and when you choose to do it (yes, I’m thinking of my own website — where I can “work” if and when I want and wherever I want too)!

QUESTION: Do today’s retirees seriously need to work longer? We do have longer life expectancies due to medical advances, living conditions, and even finances.