Non financial - how to prepare for retirement

vulcanrtb

sheslookinhot said:

Neasy said:

This is such a useful discussion! I'm trying to map out what non-financial benefits I get from work (social network, status, intellectual challenge etc.) and plan how I'm going to get these things once I retire. I quite like the "vitamin" model proposed by Warr, e.g. here https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.727449!/file/Vitamin_chapter_2017_Handbook.pdf 

Why do you believe “status” is a non-financial benefit in work and particularly in retirement, why do you feel you need to get “status” ? 

That's actually an interesting question, most of my non-work friends don't know or understand (edit to add "or care") what I do, therefore I have zero transferrable 'status' outside of work. That suits me perfectly. No doubt plenty struggle with losing it on retirement. Something that's best sorted while you're still working, lose that ego, it's of no use on retirement.

barnstar2077

I know a few managers that will never give up work, they have no personal skills and without their status at work no one would give them the time of day.  I know I'm looking forward to walking past them in the street like I don't recognise them after I retire : ) 

Anonymous101

vulcanrtb said:

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That's actually an interesting question, most of my non-work friends don't know or understand (edit to add "or care") what I do, therefore I have zero transferrable 'status' outside of work. That suits me perfectly. No doubt plenty struggle with losing it on retirement. Something that's best sorted while you're still working, lose that ego, it's of no use on retirement.

Perhaps it is an ego thing but ego always seems a little arrogant to me. For what ever reason some people need to feel like they're succeeding at something, almost like they need the reassurance.

OldMusicGuy

Anonymous101 said:

Perhaps it is an ego thing but ego always seems a little arrogant to me. For what ever reason some people need to feel like they're succeeding at something, almost like they need the reassurance.

There are many different personality traits and aspects of personality. Some people need the approval of others and need to be recognized as "successful", others don't. It's not a good or bad thing, it's just the way we have evolved. People who are "driven" in business often have this type of personality and it's part of what makes them successful. I've worked with (and met) many very successful people and I can't really imagine them kicking back in retirement and putting their feet up. 

One of the most important things in preparing for retirement is understanding yourself and what really makes you happy. There's no point retiring if work is an important part of defining who you are. One of my ex-colleagues started his own consulting business when he "gave up" full time employment. He defines it as a "lifestyle" business and controls how it is run (although it seems like a pretty full on, full time job to me). He has no plans to retire and says he will "go out with his boots on". That certainly isn't how I want to spend my remaining years on this earth, but he seems happy with it. I do hope his wife and family agree.....    

Albermarle

OldMusicGuy said:

Anonymous101 said:

Perhaps it is an ego thing but ego always seems a little arrogant to me. For what ever reason some people need to feel like they're succeeding at something, almost like they need the reassurance.

There are many different personality traits and aspects of personality. Some people need the approval of others and need to be recognized as "successful", others don't. It's not a good or bad thing, it's just the way we have evolved. People who are "driven" in business often have this type of personality and it's part of what makes them successful. I've worked with (and met) many very successful people and I can't really imagine them kicking back in retirement and putting their feet up. 

One of the most important things in preparing for retirement is understanding yourself and what really makes you happy. There's no point retiring if work is an important part of defining who you are. One of my ex-colleagues started his own consulting business when he "gave up" full time employment. He defines it as a "lifestyle" business and controls how it is run (although it seems like a pretty full on, full time job to me). He has no plans to retire and says he will "go out with his boots on". That certainly isn't how I want to spend my remaining years on this earth, but he seems happy with it. I do hope his wife and family agree.....    

You are right . Some posters seem to forget that not everybody is like them, and it is not a crime to either want to keep working or to retire early. Each to their own.

Anonymous101

OldMusicGuy said:

One of the most important things in preparing for retirement is understanding yourself and what really makes you happy. 

I couldn't agree more. I think that's the crux of the whole topic.

A huge issue I see here is that many people are so caught up in work and paying bills etc that they don't give the "what makes you happy" part any real attention. If they do it usually results in some form of buying something - bigger house, faster car, nicer clothes. When really what they should be thinking about is what they find rewarding, giving themselves financial security, spending time with family, achieving something at work, giving something back to their community etc etc.

Nebulous2

When my dog meets another male dog he hasn't met before there is a bit of a spat while they work out who is higher up the hierarchy. Unfortunately for him he usually ends up submitting. Next time they meet it is much more civil because the order is already established.

We are a bit more refined in how we do it, but in our own heads we all measure ourselves against the people we meet, with job being an important factor for many people. It is by no means the only factor though, with different people valuing different features they have more than other features that don't favour them, which lets us both 'win.' 

Bigger, younger, slimmer, prettier, cleverer,  higher status, richer (remember the Harry Enfield character?) are all things we may value, but we have a carefully constructed narrative in our own head about who we are. 

I was in a job which had some regulatory control over, and involved negotiating with, managers and senior managers in other organisations. I've had conversations with colleagues where they felt at a disadvantage in these negotiations because they didn't earn as much as the people they were directing to follow a certain course of action. I even had one colleague tell me she needed to arrive in an expensive car otherwise she would not be taken seriously by these managers. I was travelling by bike and never judged my worth by what I was being paid. I also never felt I had any difficulty being taken seriously, as they knew I would be fair, but they also knew I would use the regulatory levers I had if I needed to, regardless of vehicle or salary. 

Its a funny world - but we all try to work out our place in it - and these internal negotiations can be knocked out of kilter by a major change. 

MaxiRobriguez

Albermarle said:

Genuine question. Is there evidence the wider public doesn't enjoy retirement?

Not that I am aware of but there is plenty of evidence that the majority of regular posters on this site ( including me probably) are not generally  representative of the wider public . 

There's plenty of research on happiness by age cohorts. See below, about half way down the page:

 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/wellbeing/bulletins/measuringnationalwellbeing/october2016toseptember2017

Strong evidence that retirement massively increases happiness.

PennyForThem_2

I find the common theme on this forum is that 
1.  Most hate their jobs for one reason or another
2.  If don't hate their jobs have a hobby/life committment which they really want to pursue
I liked my job. Also I did not want to worry about spending when I retired.  I came to pensions really late (in my 50's).  So as a baby boomer I had lucked out through no conscious intervention of mine, I actually worked past retirement because I liked where I worked and the money and the increase in a DB pension plus deferring 10% ish SP.  So hey ho achieved my aim and really not worried about inflation, spending etc.  My main worry is IHT.

Albermarle

PennyForThem_2 said:

I find the common theme on this forum is that 
1.  Most hate their jobs for one reason or another
2.  If don't hate their jobs have a hobby/life committment which they really want to pursue
I liked my job. Also I did not want to worry about spending when I retired.  I came to pensions really late (in my 50's).  So as a baby boomer I had lucked out through no conscious intervention of mine, I actually worked past retirement because I liked where I worked and the money and the increase in a DB pension plus deferring 10% ish SP.  So hey ho achieved my aim and really not worried about inflation, spending etc.  My main worry is IHT.

Careful, if you say on this forum that you liked your job and worked a few years more than really necessarily financially , usually someone comes along and say you must be a boring workalcoholic !