To not really want to work anymore?

[caranconnor]

I am 50 and although I have enjoyed working in the past, I would prefer never to work again. I feel I have done enough. It is not an option, I have to work for another 17 years. But anyone else feel like this?

I know I sound like a grumpy old git on this thread. But I actually get a lot of pleasure out of small things. I am off work today, at work tomorrow, but am going to go a walk soon down by the local canal. Sunday planning a visit to a local art gallery and Sunday lunch. My ideal life is doing something fun every day, but living at a more relaxed pace generally.

But days stretching out with no purpose in life other than childcare and housework? a bit of volunteering if you're lucky and some coffee mornings? No thanks very much. I'll die with my boots on.

There's much more to retirement than volunteering and coffee mornings. If you think that's all life consists of outside of work, I'm not surprised you don't want to retire!

My parents do volunteer, but they both do other things as well - travel, days out, exercise, seeing friends, learning new things, relaxing, enjoying their hobbies - all sorts. I wish I had their life!

@caranconnor that is exactly my idea of a good life - a more relaxed pace with a bit of fun every day!

I wonder if the thing about wanting to stay working vs having had enough depends on whether you have a career as opposed to merely a job.

I don't know about others, but I never have a problem filling my spare time with reasonably constructive activities - other than feeling too tired to do anything. If I didn't have to work, I'd spent most of my time on my creative hobbies, as well as reading more and possibly learning a new language or trying to become fluent in a language I have some knowledge of. I'd also implement a proper routine for housework rather than squeezing it in when I have the energy, so I'd have the comfort of living in a house that was always clean and tidy.

Well isn't that the saying "Only boring people get bored"

I love my semi-retired life... Work 12 hours a week - keeps the brain ticking over, gives me enough interaction with people to keep me going. Then the rest of my time is free to do with what I wish.

Silent solitude of early mornings after all have gone to work or school, wandering with the dog, picking up the paper with a bit of shopping. Choosing what we will have for dinner based on what I really fancy cooking rather than on what's left in the fridge and the time we get home. Having time to do things properly and to the best of my ability, giving time to a task/a book/a hobby/a conversation rather than rushing it is a real eye-opener.

@Orangeblossom78 - well yes. I think people who can’t imagine what they would do if they were retired must be a bit one dimensional.

Having time to enjoy my home and garden, enjoying evenings going to bed without having to think about what to wear or what to take for lunch the following day, Saturdays not spent shopping, washing and ironing for the following week.

Why would anyone assume retirement is boring? As long as you’re not boring, why would your retirement be?

Those I know who are retired are travelling the world, spending weeks at a time in the sun, doing all the hobbies they love. Some people have been brainwashed into thinking work should be the centre of your life, but there’s so much more to life!

It's probably not an option for you, but I took voluntary redundancy from my old job in January.

I'm 50 and had been working for 33 years, so it was more about the break and fear of the ' restructure' at work than the payout, which , bar a few months 'live on' money, went back into the house.

The first month was OK, it was great to not have to go to work in February, but if you are a person that naturally worries of stresses, that will show up in your ' new life'. Eventually I got back into work earlier than I needed to because I was stressed at how much there was to do round the house ( everything was left to me because I 'wasn't doing anything') , I was lonely and felt estranged from society.

being back in work now has made me happier, given me some structure back, and made me more sociable.

I would suggest a ' sabbatical' or a few months unpaid leave just to have a break. If you stop work, it doesn't have to be forever.

Ultimately, life is too short to be chained to the daily grind and then be too knackered to enjoy your retirement.

I remember someone (cant remember who) ,saying on retirement They were going to do "nothing at all and wouldnt be starting that until lunchtime!" Some people are happy to volunteer some not .I do think that if you have worked 20 30 40 years you are in need of a well deserved break!

I’m ill and a single mum with a mortgage. I’m working but would give anything to stop. I’m knackered. Yanbu!

Im a bit jealous of the retired. Then again, i think i will apprechiate ot so much more after having worked first.

My parents do volunteer, but they both do other things as well - travel, days out, exercise, seeing friends, learning new things, relaxing, enjoying their hobbies - all sorts. I wish I had their life!

And yet many people on this thread are saying that even at 50yo, many people will have developped one illness or the other. And that’s what is making things so hard.
The reality is that we are now dying from chronic disease, which means many years of ill health. And most people over 60ss are on a long list of medication
That means the example of your parents is more the exception. Rather than the rule. And how could it be. Different when so many people are struggling in their early 50??

adaline

"There's much more to retirement than volunteering and coffee mornings. If you think that's all life consists of outside of work, I'm not surprised you don't want to retire!"

Fair enough. I get that a properly planned retirement can be fulfilling and useful - certainly I would like to at least have the option of being able to volunteer.

I still think, though, that I'd be a bit lost without a job. Come from a long line of workaholics though and maybe I need to step outside my comfort zone.

I sure as shit don't want to sit in front of the telly all day though. That would kill me within a matter of weeks.

And yet many people on this thread are saying that even at 50yo, many people will have developped one illness or the other. And that’s what is making things so hard.

That means the example of your parents is more the exception. Rather than the rule. And how could it be. Different when so many people are struggling in their early 50??

But just because you're too old/unwell/tired to work full-time, doesn't mean you can't out and do other things - yoga, volunteering, baking, coffee-mornings etc.

My dad was certainly struggling to work full-time as a doctor in his late fifties and luckily could afford to retire as opposed to going part-time. Just because he could no longer work 50+ hours a week, doesn't mean he's not capable of running regularly, volunteering, teaching in a voluntary capacity etc.

The key part of retirement is whatever you do is voluntary. If you're too tired, you don't have to go to yoga. If you don't want to help out at the church, you don't have to. If you're tired and feel like shit and in full-time employment, you still have to go in and work!

HeyNotInMyName
Also the parents are still together, single women be it through death or divorce are more likely to live in poverty

And of course it keeps coming back to affordability. Universal credits penalise the part time worker if it’s deemed they aren’t working enough, so up to 67 years old the decision as to how many hours you work won’t potentially be in your hands

I think with universal credits they have to consider health as well though and assess for that also, and give a guideline to hours based on that. There are advisors etc.

The key part of retirement is whatever you do is voluntary.

Not getting enough sleep is a huge problem when you're working. If you're retired, you can sleep in later if you had a bad night. If you're working you have to drag yourself out of bed at 6:30am even if you didn't get to sleep till 4am. Since my menopause (surgical, so the full whammy) I rarely get a good night's sleep and my tiredness builds and builds as the week goes on.

The key part of retirement is affordability. So of course doctors can retire early on their good pensions - because they can afford to.

When it comes to leisure technology my young colleagues are way ahead. But when we have had to learn last year how to use new technology at work, I was the one that got to grips with it first. That surprised me, but it was true. I got the impression that I was more used to having to explore different options
This is very interesting. A couple of years ago a friend of mine who teaches technology and AI said that he found that young people think they understand computers but that really, having grown up with Windows and apps, they actually only know how to operate those kinds of programmes. I remember being really young and learning basic programming, pre windows. People who are in their 40s and 50s now often learned a lot more about the workings of things than we realise.
Additionally, we often have the ability to find information and resources if the Internet goes down! Young people think that if it's not on page 1 of a Google search it doesn't exist.. We also have a sense of perspective when it comes to social media (which I started using for work back in 2002..) Sure, social media can be useful but it's a tool that has to be properly applied. Are your customers really going to follow your pest control firm on Instagram or is that a massive waste of time?
Still the world persists in thinking older people are clueless dinasoars with nothing to offer.

I think the problem is to have a happy retirement you need to have the funds...many don't.

I'm going to be able to retire from my current job in just under 18 months , and I have to say I'm ready . That'll be my 30 years done . It's not that I don't love the job , I do . But at 50 , my knees and ankles are creaking, and my hands don't mend as quickly as they used to . And I'm fed up of commuting 200 miles a day. So I'm going to retire , and top up my pension doing a 3 or 4 day week being a postie . Well that's the plan anyway .

I worked full time for 35 years. Redundancy and the sudden death of my dh forced me to take a break from work and I am now working 3 days a week.

It is a transformation! I enjoy my work and am no longer pushing myself through my tiredness to get to the end of the week.

I can retire in 18 months time but am not sure if I will - without my dh I'm not sure how I would fill my days if I retired.