Adults Preparing for Retirement

Retirement can elicit excitement or fears. For the unprepared, it is a daunting task while for the prepared, it is welcoming. However, anticipation for retirement will always have its challenges like any other human development stage (Amune, Aidenojie, &Obinyan, 2015). It is challenging to leave while you still have some active years. The body gets used to everyday activities that if one changes lifestyle, it takes time to adjust. It will be the ability to adapt to the changes that make it a success for others. Others may feel that life is uninteresting. Taking time to relax and adopting a new routine becomes difficult.

Retirement will mean a loss of identity and more time for oneself. The status of one’s profession goes with departure. That makes one question of identity. More time and less money generated comes with mental health problems like anxiety and depression (Greenwald, Copeland, &VanDerhei, 2017). At the stage of preparing for retirement, many people still question what to do with their time. Coping up with this stress requires planning on retirement (Dodds, Cruz, & Israel, 2013). Everyone should accept that it is a stage that will always come and their work on making the transition smooth. Having so much anticipation for what the world holds will add to much pressure. Everyone should plan on how to spend the extra hours.

Preparing for retirement requires practice. Setting goals to achieve and making friends can work in preparation for retirement (Topa, & Valero, 2017). Though it is a time to relax, there is a possibility of isolation in retirement. If one can cope with resting, then applying for a bridging job will be better. However, in laying plans, one should be flexible in experimenting on various activities.

References

Amune, J. B., Aidenojie, E. O., &Obinyan, O. (2015). Management of life after retirement and its implication on retired academic librarians in Edo State, Nigeria.

Dodds, D. W., Cruz, O. A., & Israel, H. (2013). Attitudes toward retirement of ophthalmology department chairs. Ophthalmology, 120(7), 1502-1505.

Greenwald, L., Copeland, C., &VanDerhei, J. (2017). The 2017 retirement confidence survey: Many workers lack retirement confidence and feel stressed about retirement preparations. EBRI issue brief, (431).Topa, G., & Valero, E. (2017). Preparing for retirement: how self-efficacy and resource threats contribute to retirees’ satisfaction, depression, and losses. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 26(6), 811-827