As you head towards retirement age (whatever that may be for you), do you wonder what it might look like? Do you have any particular plans for what you might do? Take that overseas trip? Or finish painting the house? Perhaps just relax and watch the days go by – and maybe a bit of sport on TV.
What is your idea of retirement contentment, and is it achievable?
With an increasing number of Australians in retirement, these are important questions. Thankfully, the burgeoning number of people living in retirement provides access to many who can share secrets to retirement contentment. And probably quite a few who can warn us of mistakes they have made.
Age Wave, a consulting firm specialising in policy and practice surrounding ageing populations, has surveyed those very people. In conjunction with investment firm Edward Jones, they’ve produced a report based in a survey of more than 12,000 adults.
What does the report tell us about retirement contentment?
The first thing to note is that the results delivered in this report are based on a North American survey. The 12,000+ respondents come from the US and Canada. But given the largely similar western lifestyles shared by ‘Statesiders’, Canadians and Australians, the lessons are certainly translatable.
That’s good, because the survey reveals that from age 50, most people experience increased levels of happiness, resilience and freedom.
Better still, their anxiety levels also drop. And that’s despite three-quarters of them having had to respond to what the report calls ‘curveballs’ and ‘cannonballs’.
Cannonballs are major life events such as the death of a partner, divorce or a large financial setback. The more minor (though still significant) ones are labelled as curveballs. These include health issues, becoming a caregiver or a family member passing away.
How did retirees overcome their retirement setbacks?
What were the secrets to achieving retirement contentment in the face of these cannonballs and curveballs?
The Age Wave survey found six key elements to retirement contentment. They were:
- becoming a grandparent
- taking a dream holiday
- discovering a new or renewed purpose in life
- beginning a new romantic relationship
- making new friends
- receiving an inheritance or other financial gift.
Of course, not all of these options are possible for every retiree.
Becoming a grandparent or receiving an inheritance, for instance, are pretty much out of your control. And some, though possible, are not advisable. If you’re already in a relationship – particularly a happy one – beginning a new romantic relationship might not be ideal!
However, for many, a dream holiday might be within reach. It does not necessarily need to be an international sojourn; perhaps a simple camping trip at a new destination.
Discovering a new or renewed purpose in life is the one that stands out for me. For Australians in relatively good health, there are many options out there.
My local cricket club has welcomed a host of new members to our over-50s team in recent years. Many of them have never previously played the game, and have come to love it.
Cricket is not for everyone of course, but that’s just one of many options. Maintaining an active mind and body (if possible) appear to be keys here. Taking on board even a couple of these suggestions could help you attain retirement contentment.
Are you anxious about heading into retirement? Or, if you are retired already, do you have any advice to share with those who will be soon? Let us know in the comments section below.
Also read: The big four retirement questions
In reading the report you need to understand although Australian life-styles are similar to the USA and Canada there is a major difference in retirement and that is our pension available to those who qualify and our superannuation system that many of our current retirees either did not have access to or if they did for only a limited time.