Two days earning, two days learning, three days having fun. A mantra for retirement that I’m tempted to adopt. It seems to capture perfectly my aspirations as I consider my options approaching the end of forty-four years of employment.

This week I took another step closer by attending a preparing for retirement workshop. I joined six other retirement wannabes on a course entitled Planning and Managing Later Life.  

The day was facilitated by a very sprightly man. Is that a good way to describe someone? Would I want to be described that way? Probably not. But it seemed to fit him. And there was much to be admired. He was over seventy, working as a facilitator two or three times a month for the business that he founded. Plus he runs ultras. An ultra is any run longer than the traditional marathon of 26 miles. Not that I have any intention of running one but he was a good example of how an older person can lead their life.

The workshop was broken up into a number of sections. Not unsurprisingly there was a significant amount about finance, a little less on keeping fit and healthy and the importance of relationships but a lot on planning. There was a strong focus on using your last thirty years (and it could be) to do everything that you want (and can afford) to do, to have a purpose and to have fun. Your later life is the last chance. 

A number of things struck me. Planning for retirement should be a lifetime process. In many ways planning two years out is too late. Particularly where finance is concerned. 
All of us in the room had pensions that could sustain a comfortable retirement. Some of us were lucky to have a defined benefit pension. But such a pension will disappear over the next few years. It is therefore so important to start planning decades out from retirement. But very few will do so. Because at thirty of years of age you will never be old. I wasn’t going to be. I was fortunate in that my pension just happened. I didn’t have to to anything. My children are going to have a very different experience. They will need to save and plan if they want in anyway the type of retirement that their dad and I are going to have. 

The second thing that struck me was entering retirement being fit and healthy. Of course, as someone that is passionate about fitness and is qualified to deliver exercise for older adults this was always going to be of great interest. To enjoy your retirement not only do you need sufficient finances you need to be healthy enough to enjoy the opportunities that retirement brings. 

But health as are finances are a long time commitment. Whilst retirement gives us the time to become fitter and concentrate on our health it is a lot easier if it is already a lifestyle. So we spoke a lot on what we can do to stay healthy but very little on the barriers that stop people embracing fitness. It was taken for granted that we would exercise and eat well. But in a society that tells older people to ‘slow down’, ‘you deserve the rest’ it can feel counter intuitive to challenge one’s body to get faster and stronger. 

Finally, the importance of family and friends. Retirement is the opportunity to spend more time with our nearest and dearest, see friends that have been neglected due to our busy lives. Plus the opportunity to make new friends. Neglecting relationships can contribute to loneliness in our later years. A miserable place to be and one that is a proven cause of premature death. 

But we also spoke about redefining our relationships particularly with partners. If the fifty hours a week we free up from not working and commuting is spent with that one person it could be a recipe for disaster or murder. So part of retirement planning is discussing how the partnership will work when we are not consumed by work and the structure of life that accommodates it.

I did suggest that one relationship I wanted to work on is with my dog. Currently it is not particularly good. He infuriates me and he will obey me when it suits him. But I think the rest of the group thought I was a little demented. 

Anyway, all in all the take home message on having a good retirement was the following:

1. Have sufficient money to live the life you want

2. Be physically fit

3. Be mentally fit

4. Maintain and develop relationships 

5. Enjoy

I can’t wait.