Interesting TEDx talk on the 4 Phases of Retirement

cfw1994

Just come across this interesting 13-minute take on retirement 👍
(apologies if this has been posted before)

The majority of threads here focus on finances, & whilst that is clearly very important, perhaps not enough time/thought is spent on the other elements of retirement 🤷‍♂️

His topics cover vacation, loss, trial & error, then reinvent & rewire 💪

Might be worth a listen for an interesting take on things 👀

I should perhaps add that don’t feel I am following those steps exactly: 4½ years in, I don’t particularly feel I’ve felt any loss (🫣), but I am certainly blending the other three phases to keep squeezing the most we can out of our time 🍻

MetaPhysical

A good video and great points made.

BridgetTheCat

Hmm. It would be nice to have a‘vacation’ phase early on but I think many people (especially women?) find themselves caring for elderly parents in the early years of their retirement. 

cfw1994

BridgetTheCat said:

Hmm. It would be nice to have a‘vacation’ phase early on but I think many people (especially women?) find themselves caring for elderly parents in the early years of their retirement. 

This can certainly be true….& the first part of my retirement involved a couple of years with ‘heavy’ caring responsibilities.  

To be honest, I saw that as a bonus - the time we spend with the elderly relative in their last years was not time wasted, albeit sometimes tough.  

eastcorkram

I finished work last Christmas. Health kind of ruined the first four months or so, which in a way, delayed the start of retirement. I'm definitely still in stage one, (without actual vacations), but in my head, I can clearly see stage two incoming rapidly! 

He said that for most people, stage one lasts about a year. He didn't talk about how long stage two and three can last for though. 

cfw1994

eastcorkram said:

I finished work last Christmas. Health kind of ruined the first four months or so, which in a way, delayed the start of retirement. I'm definitely still in stage one, (without actual vacations), but in my head, I can clearly see stage two incoming rapidly! 

He said that for most people, stage one lasts about a year. He didn't talk about how long stage two and three can last for though. 

I do feel everyone is different.  Some of us have a wide group of friends, some are loners.  Some were defined by their work, some not.  Some have lots of hobbies, some none.  Families can be large to non-existent.

I don't see the phases are being defined by particular timescales, but I do believe in the Go-Go, Slow-Go and No-Go years ahead.  Plenty of links on that - here, for just one example.

We are in our early 60s, & I see the next 10-15 years as "go-go" - that could be vacations, as the Ted fella talks, but also stages 3 & 4.  Health permitting, of course - & doing our best to keep that in check with sporting activities.
Quite determined not to worry about the "loss" phase - I keep in touch with a wide number of former colleagues (who were friends) to help avoid that, & I was very clear to never be defined by a title or my work.

Good luck with your retirement - may stage 2 be brief, & 3-4 be long and healthier!