Is retirement boring?

Pollycat

I've been retired for over 22 years (early retirement aged 50) and have never been bored.

If you think you might be bored, perhaps you will.

Nebulous2

I'd echo what was said above about retiring to something, rather than from something. I retired earlier than I had intended due to Covid. I had a couple of hobbies - bought new equipment for them on retiring but quickly found that they were not as time-consuming as I had expected them to be.

I struggled to adapt and I then concluded I wasn't ready to retire and took a part-time job.

I'm now, several years later, giving it another go and this time it is much better.

I'd recommend a drop to part-time. if your work doesn't lend itself to part-time, find a different job which does. Don't focus on hourly rates - matching the status you have already isn't important.

I've described retirement as diving off a cliff, and part-time means finding a ledge half-way down to break your fall.

You need to let go of work, and your work identity. Find pleasure in small things. There are some interesting threads and a slightly different vibe in the over 50s money-saving part of this forum where some of that is discussed.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/over-50s-money-saving

Developing a routine works, a rhythm to your day . We like to get away regularly, particularly in the winter, and we programme in at least one winter holiday.

One thing to do is control your own destiny, rather than feel a hostage to circumstances.

I visited a retirement home once and the manager told me that most of the time she knew as soon as she met them who would do well there and who wouldn't.

The people who do well said "I liked my home, but following a fall I'm no longer able to live there. I'm here now and I'm going to make the best of it."

The people who never settled said they were only there because others made them. "I didn't want to leave my home, and I'm only here because my family / daughter / Doctor says I can no longer stay in it."

I thought that was a very insightful view - some people took charge of their own situation and others blamed those around them or circumstances. I think that can be applied to any big life change, including retirement.

Moonwolf

Can you keep yourself occupied? If you find an hour free will you pick up a book. I will admit there is a bit of a danger for me of endlessly scrolling but I have a paper book and a kindle book on the go most of the time so pick them up.

However, I have just started doing things I didn’t have the time for before.

I’m learning Spanish and go to a class, but I also use apps and web pages and Spanish TV series, I can fill an hour on a website.

I have always loved wildlife watching and photography, I am learning to identify spiders and dragonflies and I can spend hours out in the countryside or even just the garden, with or without the camera. I used to hate that I didn’t really have time for this.

We go out, particularly on weekdays when everyone else is working. An 11 o’clock showing at the cinema followed by going to a restaurant in the mid afternoon (taking advantage of weekday discounts). Trips to places like Harlow Carr gardens or just the train to York, Skipton, Ilkley etc. again a wander, a meal, something to drink and the train home, I love being able to do those days out when they are so much quieter than at the weekends.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6672519/is-retirement-boring

The people who are bored, will not respond to your post as it would make them look boring !

finbaar

It's great to read so much positively about retirement. There MUST be more people who do struggle though, possibly those who define themselves through their job - the ARE a teacher, solicitor, builder or whatever. I don't think that's me though.

vacheron

Mindset / perception is the primary goal. As others have said above, look to be retiring to something, not from something, consider it as "acheiving financial independence" rather than "retiring".

I will be "retiring" at the end of this month aged 52. My previous plan was 55 and I can access my private pensions at 57, but a recent (and well timed) redundancy opportunity and other "good leaver" options has afforded me the opportunity to bridge that gap. Recent events have caught me on the hop a bit though with regard to preparing a gradual transitioning as I would have done on my original 55 plan.

For many it seems to be an ideal opportunity to switch to shorter hours or a more enjoyable (but possibly lower paid) job with less pressure. When I was running my figures through AI for a second opinion it reminded me that during the 52-57 bridging years I would be leaving money on the table in the form of an unused personal allowance which will go to waste if I had zero income, so, by arranging just 1 or 2 days of consultancy per month I can aim to just hit my personal allowance threshold and so pay zero tax on any income received, which is one target to aim for, I just need to set up a few more milestones / targets as I progress.

Cobbler_tone

It is my biggest fear. I have bitten the bullet and dropping to 3 days from next month. I am also dropping my pension contributions right down (from 50% to 6%) to give me more net pay compared to working full time. I have plans for it to fund a new car that I was putting off for retirement next year when I am 58 (subject to change). Then I thought, blow that….going from being a saver to spender must be one of the hardest transitions but moving from 5 to 3 days can't be far behind. I'm not even a career person and can easily do the work I do now in 3 days. I genuinely believe I will enjoy it more. 5 days just drags and is boring but no idea what I'll do with my extra 2 spare days. It has been driven by kids flying the nest, elderly parents and my own aches and pains and thoughts of mortality. You have to prioritise yourself at some point!

Torry_Quine

If health is poor and or finances are limited then I'm sure retirement is a very different prospect.

ewaste

If you don't yet have grandchildren and that's something you're looking forward then I would suggest volunteering with Children and young people. You'd almost certainly never be bored, depending upon your personality it can be a joyous new lease on life especially if you are retiring from a career that involved office politics and bureaucracy.

subjecttocontract

Years ago one of our company directors was retiring and I remember asking my boss how he thought the director would cope with retirement. I said that today he has 4000 guys working for him, lots of responsibility and a big budget to manage. When he gets up tomorrow morning he has none of that and instead he has a rather large hole in his life where they once were. His answer was that he will struggle to cope if he has not been proactive and planned his future. Take note !