How long does it take to get use to retirement? Weeks, months, years? Does it take longer if it happens during a pandemic? Is it an ever evolving state?

I’ve now been retired for ten months. Most of these months being under the restrictions of tiers and lockdown. So no holiday of a lifetime. No physical celebrations with family and friends. No rite of passage in the transition from work to retirement. But as the world starts opening up I’m fully embracing the opportunities that retirement brings. Trips away albeit in this country. Leisurely lunches with friend and occasionally my husband. Day trips out. And just lounging in my garden, reading, just because I can.

There is a lot to love about retirement. Being able to say yes to invitations without being confined to the constraints of a busy work diary. Indulging interests and guilty pleasures. Taking advantage of the concessions that being over 60 brings.

But it is a transition. A physiological process that is similar to other periods of transition. Starting school, going to university, starting work, leaving home, getting married, having children. These are all significant life events that demand change physically, mentally and emotionally. Retirement is right up there.

According to Google the transition into retirement comes in phases.

Pre Retirement Phase

You could argue that this is a stage that starts as soon as you start the transition into the world of work. When you are encouraged to pay into a pension. Encouraged to manage your finances to give yourself a ‘comfortable’ old age. Of course when you start your first job you are never going to get old. I just wondered when I would feel grown up. Far better to use your money on the here and now. Many of my generation have been fortunate. We have benefited from generous pension schemes. I spent most of my working life contributing into a final salary scheme. Such pensions are now largely a thing of the past. So for me retirement planning was more about when rather than how. I planned, I spoke about it, I wrote about it. In hindsight I was probably too up front about my plans. You can be said goodbye to long before the big day.

The Big Day

The last working day. Usually marked by some celebratory event. Hugs and handshakes. Except during a pandemic. No physical contact. No party. No rite of passage into the new stage of your life. Zoom celebrations are great but you can’t have those one to one conversations that you would normally have in a physical event. And you live in fear (or maybe hope) that your broadband will fail you.

The Honeymoon Phase

The elation of being free. Free of work responsibilities. Free to spend your time how you wish. If I had retired in normal times the biggest celebration would have been the end of the commute into London but that had already disappeared. Retirement for me was just a gentle slide. But I did struggle. Would it have been different if my first few months hadn’t been spent in the darkness of a winter lockdown? Who knows. But it is only now that I’m reaping the benefits of a more flexible life. I don’t miss work. This had been my greatest fear as work had been my passion. But I find myself not particularly interested in the issues that use to consume me. It feels as if the honeymoon phase has begun. I have submitted my application to do a PGDip in Coaching. I have booked a break in September in Torbay during Agatha Christie Festival Week (my guilty pleasure). And I am contemplating when it will be safe enough to step off these shores.

Disenchantment, Reorientation, Moving On

According to the Google gurus I have three phases to go. Once I’ve ticked off my honeymoon list I’ll enter the Disenchantment Phase. Is this it? Followed by Reorientation and Moving On. Although I can’t help feeling that I’ve already been there. Maybe the pandemic has skewed the process. Fingers crossed.