When asked when he was going to retire, 75 y.o. Tom Jones replied: Yeah, to what? (S.T. March 4 )
There are many elderly who do not want to retire because they do not know what to do if they retire. If you enjoy your work, like Jones, do not retire but if you do not enjoy your work (or more likely your job) but are hanging on to it for the money or the fear of not knowing what to do after retirement, then work, work, work till your health takes a heavy toll.
Retirement is the time when one enjoys a slower pace of life and has the opportunity to engage in work that one likes or even enjoy a second wind where one is one’s own boss!
Cheers!
Hi Abel
Not many elderly have your kind of financial burden. After five more years of working, what are your plans for yourself? Hope your family and relatives in Bandar Lampung will take care of you when you need help. All the best. :)
Dear friends,
Am born 19Forty-seven and have two daughters born in 20ZeroOne and 20Zero Five and my monthly CPF Life income is $Four Hundred and Seventy-six, thus I have to work for at least the next five years and pray God, the Rupiah remain weak against the Sing Dollar, still less than $OneHundred and Eight=One million Rph. so as to enable me to remit to Bandar Lampung since October last year Five Million Rph which is sufficient to support my wife, daughters and a soon to be Eighteen yrold stepson plus assisting my wife’s elder sister(abandoned by her husband in mid20ZeroSeven) with two teenage children and providing a home for my wife’s younger brother(works impermanently as a long-haul big truck driver) with a wife and three children.
Regards
Abel Tan
Some work to do after retirement includes paid and voluntary work. It is meaningful work (paid or voluntary) that gives the retiree a sense of self worth, dignity, joy, even fulfilment.
Cheers!
Agree with you, Caroline. The best thing in life is to do what you like to do…..and get paid for doing it.
Cheers
DC
I am still working because I enjoy my work, I have a good employer and great colleagues, lovely work environment, very good medical insurance coverage (something we need very much as we become less young) and because I have expensive hobbies. I would only stop work if my health fails me or if my employer does not need my services anymore.
For now, I look forward to coming in to the office and make the best of the day, every work day.
Caroline
After being with SilverHairsClub for more than 10 years, I come to some conclusions about retirement among SHC members, over 45. There are 3 groups.
1. More than 80% of our membership are actively working 5 days a week. Many are happy with their jobs; although I think many wish they could retire totally or work part-time to keep themselves busy.
2. !0% do not need to work fulltime, but have a reasonable stable and happy side income. They are happy, flexible with their time and travel frequently.
3. 10% are totally retired, away from any form of paid work. But,many are busy daily with grandchildren, an interest and spending time with their spouse and children.
* I had wanted to join Group 2 after reaching 55; but I still feel the need to join Group 1 because I need a continued income, enjoy my business and the need to keep my sanity.
Well Jassmine, your post on retirement do indicate the need for more work to be done before one can retire. It is nice to hear what others have to say.
Terence Seah
Hi Henry
Glad that you’re enjoying your retirement and finding joy in simple living (English name of Chinese song: Voices from the heart)
Cheers!
Yes, if you are enjoying your work, why retire?
We only retire if our health requires us to slow down, or if we are not happy working, assuming that we are OK financially.
I was not too happy with my work and decided to retire at 60 yrs old, 2 yrs ago. I think that was one of the best decisions I made. I now live the life like the Chinese song : ???????
The site cannot interpret Chinese character…
What I meant was ‘Xiao Ren Wu De Xin Sheng’