Enjoying Retirement

There may be some glorious days ahead-the days of your retirement. No longer confined to the rigors of the workaday world, you can spend your time doing what you want to do. Don’t, however, expect everything to fall magically into place. Like most things in life, you’ll get the most from retirement by planning.

Start by thinking about how you will replace your work routine with a retirement routine. Before the last day on your job, have an idea of how that first day of retirement will be filled. You don’t want to start this new phase of your life wondering what you’ll do. Take some time to think about your lifestyle and how you’re going to adapt. If getting up early for work has always been drudgery, plan for a leisurely beginning to your day. If sitting at a desk all day was against your nature, now is the time to let your active self take over. Just remember, you don’t have to rush like you did to catch the train or beat the traffic! The goal is to get the most out of a precious resource-your time.

New Choices

Ask yourself some important questions: What do you like to do? Were there things you longed to do but didn’t have time for when you were working? These are the activities you should begin building your retirement days around. In a way, these new activities may now be your job and can provide you with the most satisfaction. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

Education. Early in life, schooling involves acquiring skills, so maybe you’ve never had the opportunity to study something just for the sheer joy of learning. Take classes at the local community college on a topic you want to know more about. Or go to the library and develop a list of books you’ve always wanted to read, then dig in.

Outdoor activities. Cooped up in an office, factory or other building all day, you may have longed to spend more time outdoors. Turn your garden into the showplace you know it can be. Go fishing or take up bird-watching. Whatever your interest in the outdoors, enjoy it.

Hit the road. Now you have the time to indulge your wanderlust. Make a list of the places you want to go, and make vacation planning your hobby when you’re not roaming.

Handwork. Woodworking, needlework and painting are just a few hands-on hobbies. To do them well takes time, something you had little of when you were working. Now you can perfect your craft. Make a place at home where  you can work with your hands to your heart’s content.

Speak out. If an interest in politics and government has always played second fiddle to your career, give it first place now. Whether you run for office, work on someone else’s campaign or keep tabs on legislation that affects you, find a way to get involved.

Pet pleasure. Perhaps you’re someone who enjoys pets, and now that you have more time on your hands, you could provide a good home for a dog, cat, bird or fish. If you have the space and the desire, caring for a pet can be a rewarding experience. Pets can be loyal companions and have positive effects on your well-being.

To Work or Not to Work

You may find that you want to go back to work-but this time on your terms. Work has its own rewards-the regular contact with people, the feeling of being needed, the knowledge that you’re contributing-and you may find that there’s still a place in your life for work. You may even be able to continue with your previous employer, perhaps as a consultant or a part-time employee with valuable knowledge gained over the years.

It may seem strange to think about reentering the work force just as you’re leaving it, but many people find that, without the pressure to earn a paycheck, work can actually be enjoyable. Others find that they’re able to take a job they’ve always wanted, even though the pay isn’t so great. And some take jobs that don’t pay at all, deciding volunteer work is the best way to use their retirement hours.

Be aware that holding a paying job can have an effect on your Social Security benefits as well as your taxes. You can still collect Social Security benefits if you work, but if your earnings exceed the allowable amount, your benefits will be reduced. Earnings over the limit also affect the benefits of your family members. Before you take a post-retirement job, call or visit your local Social Security office to find out the latest regulations and their implications for your benefits. Also, check with your accountant or tax advisor to determine the tax implications.

Volunteering allows you to use your life experiences, skills and talents to help others in your community. There are numerous organizations that need help: the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), the Coalition for Literacy, the American Red Cross, United Way, the Peace Corps, VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and more. If you decide to volunteer, choose something you enjoy and are familiar with; that way, you’ll be volunteering some time while dealing with people who have interests similar to yours. Other possibilities include local hospitals, schools, scout troops or religious organizations.

To Your Health

While you’re planning your new lifestyle, be sure to consider your health. Start by thinking about your exercise routine. Don’t have one? Design one that’s right for you! Moderate exercise is necessary to help maintain your health. While you were working, the demands of your job may have helped to keep you physically fit. If you had a regular exercise routine, your work schedule probably helped keep you on track. Now those sources of motivation are gone and you may need to find a way to make sure you don’t become a “couch potato.”

Just as important is your diet. Again, your three square meals a day may have revolved around your work schedule. With relaxed schedule, you may find your eating habits relaxing a little, too. Just being aware this can happen may help you avoid it: Make a point of eating right by taking time to prepare healthful meals that are low in fat and high in nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables and grains.

Before you retire, get a thorough checkup from your doctor. Have your eyes examined and your teeth cleaned and checked, too. Scheduling these visits while you’re still employed allows you to take advantage of your health insurance. After you retire, you may have less coverage. If you have to get new or supplemental health insurance, your rates and coverage will be affected by your current health situation.

Another important thing to do before you retire (and certainly before you reach age 65) is to check on your Medicare eligibility. Call 1-800/SSA-1213 to get a copy of form SSA7004, which requests information on what Social Security records show about your eligibility. If you don’t sign up for Medicare when you’re first eligible for coverage- at age 65-you have to pay a higher premium for Part B coverage (which covers charges from doctors, surgeons and outpatient providers and also medical supplies). Likewise, if you don’t have enough Social Security credits, you will not get premium-free Part A coverage. There is an enrollment period during the year you turn 65. Check with your local Social Security office for more information and for a copy of the Medicare Handbook.

Think of the long term, too. Your health is likely to change over time, and there are a variety of illnesses you’re more prone to with age. So, don’t forgo regular preventive health visits, particularly for blood pressure and cholesterol level checks. Talk to your doctor about your family’s health history and the likelihood that you’ll develop a problem. Ask about the symptoms you should watch out for, and, of course, get medical help whenever necessary.

Also, take a close look at your insurance situation and decide whether you need extra insurance. Choosing a supplemental health policy can be complicated. Do your homework, shop around and don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a quick decision. Long-term care insurance is sold by insurance companies to help pay for nursing home or home health care expenses. Most states have a counseling program on senior health insurance issues with trained volunteers available to help older adults and their families with questions.

Home Sweet Home

At some point you may want to evaluate housing alternatives for your retirement. Start by asking yourself how well your current home works for you. If you own your home, think about the size of the house and property and the amount of upkeep required. Many folks have paid off their mortgages by the time they retire, but others have not, so think about the expense of maintaining your home. Look ahead and consider how well this home will meet your future needs. If, for example, you’re finding it difficult to climb stairs in your two- story, it may be time for a move.

Now think about how you’re planning to spend your days. If you’re a northerner planning lots of golf and other outdoor activities, a move to a more moderate climate is worth considering. Just a few of the popular retirement spots are North and South Carolina, Alabama, Florida, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

But before heading off for a change of scenery, think about how far you would be from family and friends. Most retirement experts advise staying close to loved ones. Remember, your life is going to change with retirement, so keeping your relationships in place gives you a good support system to help you deal with the change. If you do decide to move, do your research. Check the availability and eligibility requirements for various services you might need in a new state. Consider the cost of living, transportation, availability of good medical care and safety factors before putting down new roots. Make sure you know the area well, in different seasons, and consider renting awhile before buying a home. If you feel uncomfortable in your new surroundings, ask yourself why. Sometimes it’s just the newness, which will pass. But if you continue to feel unsure, start looking at other housing options.

Should you decide it’s time to move-across town or across country-you have plenty of housing options. In addition to apartments and houses, there’s a boom in housing options specifically geared to retirees.

Condominiums. Providing all the comforts of home without all of the upkeep, condos are apartment-style homes you purchase rather than rent. The common areas you share with your neighbors are maintained for a monthly fee. Condos are popular with retirees for their convenience and comfort.

Retirement communities. If you’d like to be surrounded by people your age, retirement community living may be for you. There may be several housing options to choose from, along with a host of services and activities-transportation, security, community dining and social events. Be aware, however, that some retirees find this lifestyle too rigid, while others miss being around people of all ages. Some communities have restrictions on guests and pets.

Assisted-living communities. If health considerations are a big factor in your retirement choices, investigate assisted- living communities. With this style of housing, you can have private living quarters and get assistance as you need it.

Life care centers. These communities offer a full range of services. Usually, you pay an entrance fee and are guaranteed housing for life. You also pay a monthly service fee that covers services such as housekeeping, meals and custodial care.

To find out more about popular retirement spots, assisted- living communities and life care centers, your library and bookstore are good places to start. Look through some of the many guides published on retirement communities. After narrowing your list of possibilities, call for more information. Many communities now offer videotapes to give you a better idea of what they’re like. It’s important to visit several communities, ask lots of questions and get a feel for whether it’s a well-managed place where you would feel comfortable.

Time for Travel

Your travel options are virtually limitless. Whatever your dreams, whatever your budget, you may be able to make them come true. Travel is the most popular leisure activity among retirees, and many airlines, hotels, restaurants, car rentals and tourist attractions offer senior discounts.

One very popular travel/study program is Elderhostel, which offers short-term residential learning programs to people 55+ throughout the United States and in more than 50 foreign countries. For a catalog, write to Elderhostel, 75 Federal St., Boston, MA 02110, or call 617/426-8056.

Get Your Financial House in Order

Without adequate financing, many of your retirement dreams may remain just that-dreams. So before you finalize retirement plans, you may want to consider professional assistance. To get a complete picture of your financial resources, include Social Security, pensions, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), 401(k) plans, savings and any other investments in your equation. Then talk to a professional about how best to allocate those resources and get an idea of how much income your investments will generate.

Also, if you’re expecting a lump-sum payment from your retirement savings plan, be prepared to make the choice as to how you will handle it. The reality is that you’ll have to share some of this money with Uncle Sam. However, how well you understand your options for managing this money, and how well you’ve planned, will determine how much you actually end up with. Basically, you can: take the money up front and pay tax on the entire lump sum (special tax treatment may be available); or continue deferring by arranging to roll over your entire lump sum directly into an IRA or annuity, in which case you will pay taxes later as you receive distributions.

Evaluate the costs of the retirement lifestyle you envision. Think about added expenses-for example, health insurance if your retirement plan doesn’t provide it. And be sure to figure in taxes-unfortunately, they don’t stop just because you stopped working. Think of this exercise as a reality check. You’re sure to feel more comfortable with the retirement decisions you make after doing all the math.

Article by the MetLife Consumer Education Center

Life After Retirement

Retirement is the start of second innings of your life. This is the time that is supposed to give you all the freedom, time and resources to fully enjoy your life. Not all people can enjoy retirement life as they should, owing to financial difficulties, ill health and several other issues.

Retirement life can be a fun, enjoyable experience, if you have maintained an active lifestyle throughout your working years and you have set aside enough money to fund the travel packages you always wanted. Life after retirement can also become a bitter experience, if you don’t have enough money to spend and if you are down by physical ailments of various kinds.

Your planning for life after retirement should start by the time you join the workforce. In fact, it is even better to have a well laid down retirement plan, before the first day you go to work. IRAs, 401k, Investments, Social Security, Taxes, etc all should be part of your retirement plan.

IRAs or Individual Retirement Accounts are for working professionals. Traditional IRA accounts are Roth IRAs are Tax-Free retirement savings, which offer tax-free growth. There are however contribution limits, income limitations and more. Roth IRAs are more suited to certain class of workers than for others. You can also find other investments, which provide good value growth over the years and provide financial cushion by the time you retire.

Planning insurance, signing up or withdrawing Social Security benefits, tax planning, etc are also part of your retirement planning.

All the above factors are directly linked to finances and money. However, money is not everything in life. The biggest thing is life itself and it matters how you live. If you have an active lifestyle, you are likely to continue it into your life after retirement. Good physical health is important. If you are tied to a bed, or to a clinical center, life after retirement is nothing better than life in hell.

Thus, it is important that you have a plan for your lifestyle, just as much you have plans to manage your finances for life after retirement. Your health is one significantly important investment you can make. You can’t automatically start enjoying your life after retirement. Enjoying your life is just the continuation of what you have been doing all your life. You can’t start an active lifestyle after leading a stagnant lifestyle for more than half a century. Thus, investing financially for life after retirement is only half the story. Other half of investment is on yourself  your health, your body and your lifestyle. Without which, the great 50% senior citizen discount for the most exotic holiday will be of no use to you.

Article courtesy of American Federation of Senior Citizens

Retirement, the First Day

It’s 6:00 a.m. and your eyes are wide open. The alarm clock wasn’t even set the night before, but old habits are hard to break. Today is the first day of your retirement. You don’t feel like a senior citizen but today you will not be going to the office, store, or job site but rather will sit at the breakfast table a little longer drinking that extra cup of coffee and wondering ” what now?”.

It’s your first day of retirement and time to review the retirement plans that you have been making for years. Are you going to expand that workshop so you can finish all those remodeling projects that you have put on hold? Maybe you will finally buy that set of golf clubs you have had your eyes on and go the driving range to hit a bucket of balls. Or perhaps you will now have the time to make your yard and landscaping the best in the neighborhood. How about getting involved in a senior volunteer program? Maybe you just want to enjoy a leisure outdoor activity.

There are literally hundreds of interesting retirement activities you can get involved in now that you are retired. Which ones you choose is not as important as making the commitment to get involved in an activity or project that is both challenging and satisfying. Having an activity you enjoy will give you a purpose for your retirement years. You start out slowly and watch it develop into an accomplishment of which you can be proud. The first day of retirement is very special. You have been looking forward to this day for a long time —– like a child waiting for Christmas morning.

Today is the time to sit down with your spouse and perhaps other family members and discuss how you are going to make the most of all that extra free time you suddenly have. Remember, you still have as much as 1/3 of your life ahead of you. Retirement is not an ending, but rather the beginning of new experiences and opportunities. Retirement is an extension of living. Look around you. Are you happy with what you see or do you want to make changes?

t is your choice.Your retirement years are ahead of you and how you make the best of these years will determine the quality of the rest of your life. You have paid your dues, now take the plunge!

Article by Piet Van Lier

Retirement or Re-routing?

When I was in my twenties, the idea of retirement seemed a death sentence. Anxious to establish a place for myself in the professional world, I found the prospect of unstructured time terrifying and wasteful.

Now, in my fifties, I find the prospect of retirement seductive, even compelling—not something to be pushed to the end of one’s life like an afterthought, but something that must be planned for, actively pursued while there is yet time.

However, when I made the announcement that I would be taking an early retirement from my teaching profession, I was not prepared for some of the comments I received. “What will you do with your time?” ”Are you happy?” another colleague asked me six months into my retirement. ”Are you truly happy?”

The question misses the point— retirement is not so much an issue of happiness (in the way Freedom 55 ads would like us to believe) as it is an issue of integrity. The decision to leave the professional world is just as serious as the decision to work till one’s dying breath. The question ”Are you happy?” I fear, comes from the bias of our highly production-conscious society. Work is considered legitimate only if it produces something tangible. And a good life is one that is obviously productive, defined by traditionally external measures of success such as schedules, visibility, profit and status. How can one who opts out of the professional life be happy?

Perhaps an answer can be gleaned from Impressionist Artist Claude Monet whose life shifted in a somewhat new direction when he turned 50. At 21, Monet was conscripted into the army. His father bought him out of military service on the condition that he received formal art training in Paris. Every fiber in Monet resisted classical training; what he wanted most was to paint outdoors. Rejected by the Salon in his early career, he persisted in painting the way he saw, insisting that his eyes were all he needed. Refusing to allow theory to eclipse his sight, he traveled extensively, to the outlying shores of France, London, Holland, the Mediterranean Coast to capture the dramatic and exotic in landscapes.

It wasn’t until 1890, when his art generated tremendous enthusiasm in New York that he became financially secure. 1890 was a watershed year. Monet turned 50 and the property at Giverny which he had leased a few years before, became legally his own; he was able to purchase it outright for 22,000 francs. Instead of continuing in the same vein as he had through most of his life,– traveling, painting exotic landscapes that were highly lucrative on the market– Monet retired to his country cottage at Giverny and started a flower garden.

What were the reasons for this dramatic change? Financial security was part of the answer. The other part, I think, had a great deal to do with Monet’s sense of integrity about what he wanted to do with his life. Released from bread and butter issues, he could finally pursue a path that he could call his own. ”My garden is slow work, pursued with love and I do not deny that. What I need most of all are flowers, always, always.” And flowers he grew—a whole feast of them—tulips .lilacs, marigolds, dahlias, nasturtiums, all arranged with an eye for color and light.

It was a self-contained world—the paintings mirroring the garden, the garden mirroring what he perceived to be the incredible mystery of light and atmosphere. Yet by no means was it a trivial world; in pursuing what he loved, Monet had entered what most of us yearn for but deny ourselves because of lack of time—the deepening of spiritual experience. He had begun to answer the need that surfaces when our bodies begin their dissolution (usually around 50)—the need to deepen ourselves, move down into the earthy layers of our psyche and take root.

This rooting is most evident in Monet’s later series of paintings on grainstacks and water-lilies, paintings that he replicated laboriously at different times of the day in order to pursue the subtle nuances of change that accompany perception in time. These subjects were, from the perspectives of market in the late 1800’s, very limited and compromising because of their ordinariness. But passionate about this work, Monet delayed several times to honor requests for more profitable and exotic pieces he had contracted to various art dealers and journals. What was his excuse? Working on the grainstacks. Money was no longer important now, but the integrity of his passion was.

A friend once told me that retirement should be more appropriately called “re-routing,” that is, taking a different route, a more personal route, a route less traveled but no less rewarding. It is a re-routing to the unlived life that has been pushed to the periphery by the demands of livelihood, parenthood, ambition: the kids need to be fed and you have to prove yourself to the world. Paying attention to our dreams and yearnings takes time. Listening to the voice of inner guidance, working to connect with spirit–all these take time. To a world consumed by schedules and productivity, re-routing might seem like wasting time. But it is only within the luxury of time that roots can grow.

Retirement Quotations

Here are some reflections on retirement. This collection of retirement quotes includes sayings from some of the great minds of the past and present. Many are humorous, some inspirational.

R etire, now it is your time to:
e xperience all that life has to offer,
t ake time to smell the roses,
i nvestigate your hobbies,
r evitalize your dreams, and,
e mbark on a new way of life!
— Catherine Pulsifer

“Retire from work, but not from life.”  — M.K. Soni

“Sooner or later I’m going to die, but I’m not going to retire.” — Margaret Mead

“Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty five I still had pimples.” — George Burns

“Retire? I’m going to stay in show business until I’m the only one left.” — George F. Burns

“As in all successful ventures, the foundation of a good retirement is planning.” — Earl Nightingale

“When a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a watch.” — R.C. Sherriff

“Musicians don’t retire; they stop when there’s no more music in them.” — Louis Armstrong

“Preparation for old age should begin not later than one’s teens. A life which is empty of purpose until 65 will not suddenly become filled on retirement.” — Arthur E. Morgan

“The question isn’t at what age I want to retire, it’s at what income.” — George Foreman

“The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.”
— Abe Lemons

“We have no porch, no rocking chair — and no time. My biggest need is a calendar because there are so many things to do. Now I encourage people to retire — theyounger the better.” — Maurice Musholt

“Retirement must be wonderful. I mean, you can only suck in your stomach for so long.” — Burt Reynolds

“Don’t think of retiring from the world until the world will be sorry that you retire.” — Samuel Johnson

“Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.” — Harry Emerson Fosdick

“Waiting until your retirement party is too late to start planning your (retirement) portfolio.” — Richard Wastcoat

“The student who secures his coveted leisure and retirement by systematically shirking any labor necessary to man obtains but an ignoble and unprofitable leisure, defrauding himself of the experience which alone can make leisure fruitful.” — Henry David Thoreau

“When a man retires, his wife gets twice the husband but only half the income.” — Chi Chi Rodriguez

“Retirement can be a great joy if you can figure out how to spend time without spending money.” — Unknown

“In retirement, only money and symptoms are consequential.” — Mason Cooley

“Retirement itself is the best gift. No gold watch could ever top it.” — Abigail Charleson

“Retirement, when every day is Saturday! “— Unknown

“The key to retirement is to find joy in the little things.” — Susan Miller

“When I retire I’m going to spend my evenings by the fireplace going through those boxes. There are things in there that ought to be burned.” — Richard Milhouse Nixon

“What will I do with myself when I retire? When I quit my job, I do not want to quit living. Can I possibly be of use when retirement day comes, or will I just be taking up space?” — J. A. West

“I’m not in retirement. I just don’t want to work so much, and I don’t get that many offers any more.” — Max von Sydow

“Retirement is a time to make the inner journey and come face to face with your flaws, failures, prejudices, and all the factors that generate thoughts of unhappiness. Retirement is not a time to sleep, but a time to awaken to the beauty of the world around you and the joy that comes when you cast out all the negative elements that cause confusion and turmoil in your mind and allow serenity to prevail.” — Howard Salzman

“When men reach their sixties and retire, they go to pieces. Women go right on cooking.” — Gail Sheehy

“In this country . . . men seem to live for action as long as they can and sink into apathy when they retire.” — Charles Francis Adams, Sr.

“A retired husband is often a wife’s full-time job.” — Ella Harris

“Age-based retirement arbitrarily severs productive persons from their livelihood, squanders their talents, scars their health, strains an already overburdened Social Security system, and drives many elderly people into poverty and despair. Ageism is as odious as racism and sexism.” — Norman Vincent Peale

“The great thing about show business is that there’s no mandatory retirement age.” — Scott Bakula

“The only way to avoid being miserable (in retirement) is not to have enough leisure to wonder whether you are happy or not.” — George Bernard Shaw

“I’m not just retiring from the company, I’m also retiring from my stress, my commute, my alarm clock, and my iron.” — Hartman Jule

“Retirement has been a discovery of beauty for me. I never had the time before to notice the beauty of my grandkids, my wife, the tree outside my very own front door. And, the beauty of time itself.” — Hartman Jule

I”n retirement, I look for days off from my days off.” — Mason Cooley

“There’s one thing I always wanted to do before I quit , retire!” — Groucho Marx

“There are an enormous number of managers who have retired on the job” — Peter Drucker

“There are some who start their retirement long before they stop working.” — Robert Half

“I only work every couple of years. I go into retirement between films.” — Paul Hogan

“Retirement: No Job, No Stress, No Pay!” — Unknown

“People may live as much retired from the world as they like, but sooner or later they find themselves debtor or creditor to some one.” — Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

“Retirement to me does not mean nothing to do but the realization of the decisions I made in the past. That I made in my life.” — Jack Bowman

“Retirement is wonderful. It’s doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it.” — Gene Perret

“Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it the fullest, but not so fully that you run out of money.” — Jonathan Clements

“Retirement is a one-way trip to insignificance.” — Mason Cooley

“Retired is being twice tired, I’ve thought First tired of working, Then tired of not.” — Richard Armour

“Retirement without the love of letters is a living burial.”  — Seneca

“I’ve been attending lots of seminars in my retirement.  They’re called naps.”  — Merri Brownworth

“When you retire, you switch bosses – from the one who hired you to the one who married you.”  — Gene Perret

“Age is only a number, a cipher for the records.  A man can’t retire his experience.  He must use it.”  — Bernard Baruch

“A gold watch is the most appropriate gift for retirement, as its recipients have given up so many of their golden hours in a lifetime of service.”  — Harry Mahtar

“O, blest retirement! friend to life’s decline – How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these, A youth of labor with an age of ease!” — Oliver Goldsmith

“Retirement is the ugliest word in the language.”  — Ernest Hemingway

“In my retirement I go for a short swim at least once or twice every day.  It’s either that or buy a new golf ball.”  — Gene Perret

“Retirement kills more people than hard work ever did.”  — Malcolm Forbes

“Retirement: Twice the husband, half the money! “— Unknown

“Retirement:  That’s when you return from work one day and say, “Hi, Honey, I’m home – forever.””  — Gene Perret

“I work harder now that I have retired from corporate life, than when I actually worked, but I love it.” — Catherine Pulsifer

“Planning to retire? Before you do find your hidden passion,  do the thing that you have always wanted to do.”
— Catherine Pulsifer

“For retirement brings repose, and repose allows a kindly judgment of all things.” — John Sharp Williams

“Retirement may be an ending, a closing, but it is also a new beginning.” — Catherine Pulsifer

“One of the problems of retirement is that it gives you more time to read about the problems of retirement.” — Unknown

“I have now the gloomy prospect of retiring from office loaded with serious debts, which will materially affect the tranquility of my retirement.” — Thomas Jefferson

“The worst thing about retirement is having to drink coffee on your own time.” — Unknown

“The key to a happy retirement is to have enough money to live on, but not enough to worry about.” — Unknown

“Have you ever been out for a late autumn walk in the closing part of the afternoon, and suddenly looked up to realize that the leaves have practically all gone? And the sun has set and the day gone before you knew it — and with that a cold wind blows across the landscape? That’s retirement.” — Stephen Leacock

“No longer having to punch a time clock is my definition of retirement. That way I could do what I want — when I want — anytime I want.” — Brooky Brown

“I don’t even think about a retirement program because I’m working for the Lord, for the Almighty. And even thought the Lord’s pay isn’t very high, his retirement program is, you might say, out of this world.” — George Foreman

“I’m retired — goodbye tension, hello pension!”  — Unknown

“Men and women approaching retirement age should be recycled for public service work, and their companies should foot the bill. We can no longer afford to scrap-pile people.” — Maggie Kuhn

“There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it “retirement.” I call it bliss.” — Betty Sullivan

“Enjoy every retirement day as if it was your last and one day you will be right about it. — Unknown wise person   I think my idea of retirement might be to one day work a 40-hour week.”  — Vince McMahon

“The company gave me an aptitude test and I found out the best work I was best suited for was retirement.”
— Unknown

“To retire is the beginning of death.” — Pablo Casals

“In this country . . . men seem to live for action as long as they can and sink into apathy when they retire.” — Charles Francis Adams, Sr.

“I like retirement life. It’s something to do when no one wants you to work anymore. “— Unknown

“The thing to do is to make so much money that you don’t have to work after the age of twenty-seven. In case this is impractical, stop working at the earliest moment, even if it is a quarter past eleven in the morning of the day when you find you have enough money.” — Robert Benchley

“A lot of our friends complain about their retirement. We tell ’emto get a life.” — Larry Laser

“When I lose my marbles which is never, when I lose my energy, I travel the world today for Viacom, China, Dubai, Kuwit. When that happens, I’ll know enough to retire, but that’s never gonna happen. I’m here for forever. — Sumner Redstone

“Retirement is wonderful if you have two essentials — much to live on and much to live for.” — Unknown

“I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to try to bring about peace, it’s difficult to say no.” — Nelson Mandela

“My retirement plan is to find a shopping cart with good snow tires.” — Patty Doyle

“Retirement may be looked upon either as a prolonged holiday or as a rejection, a being thrown on to the scrap-heap.” — Simone de Beauvoir

“Retirement to me does not mean nothing to do but the realization of the decisions I made in the past. That I made in my life.” — Jack Bowman

“Retirement will become evident to me at the time.” — Peter Brock

“When is the right age to retire? When you dread going to work.” — Mary Bright

“The retirement system that is in place for members of Congress and other federal workers features what is known as the Federal Employment Retirement Plan.” — Virgil Goode

“Retirement is waking up in the morning with nothing to do and by bedtime having done only half of it.”
— Unknown

“Retirement is not in this company’s vocabulary. If you are well and able to work, you can stay at the company and that’s what I plan to do.” — John H. Johnson

“I tell people retirement isn’t what you think. You are going to sit around and waste your life, you can only golf so much. To stay young, you have to stay in the mix.” — Ron Rice