Adding Value After Retirement

Woody  

By Jared Wright

Retirement doesn’t have to be seen as an end, but rather as a period of new opportunities. Too many older people see retirement as the end of the road.

After retirement, older people have more time on their hands and they are normally financially independent enough to explore new territories.

There are many stories about people taking up new study courses after retirement. Others travel the world, write books or just enjoy the hobbies they never had time for.

The baby-boomers (born around 1940 to 1960) made it clear that they are not interested in getting old and their expectations of retirement are very different from those of previous generations. Many have indicated that they are not ready to retire at the age of 65. This is, in many ways, good news for the country’s economy as they represent the majority of American business managers.

Technology has made it possible for people in affluent countries to live much longer and healthier than before. Retirement at 65, therefore, means another 20 or 25 years of quality living.

There are various ways elderly people can stay active in their communities and add value to the lives of others and their own.

Mentors

With years of experience in a certain profession older people has the time to provide quality assistance to family members or other people in their community, working in the same field. Experience is something you can’t learn from a book. For many years in history the only way the youth learned was by word of mouth. Knowledge could only be acquired at the feet of the elderly in the community.

Volunteer Work

Everybody understands the necessity of volunteer work in the community, but career people have less and less time to do volunteer work. People, in general, are quite happy and feel the need to assist charities, but it is, most of the time, rather a monetary assistance. While money is always appreciated, there are certain situations where money alone won’t solve the problem.

Providing food for the poor, needs money but it also needs hands. The still physically able can be invaluable here. Children’s homes need money, but affection and interaction with other caring people are sometimes more needed than money. Older people can make a difference in a child’s life in these circumstances.

The incredible changes in the world during the last 60 years will be reflected in the elderly of the next few decades.