Morally obliged to volunteer if retired?

[notnownorma]

Just that, really. If one has no grandchildren to care for, is one morally obliged to give something back to the community if no longer working and in good health? If so, how much time is "enough"?

Inspired by a conversation I recently had with someone thinking of retiring soon.

Nope, I'd say there was no obligation. If you want to, fine.

This

There are no moral obligations in our society.

It depends on your ability. Generally I'd say there's no obligation provided you don't have any children or grandchildren to care for. If you do, you probably do owe society something, so yes 20 or so hours volunteering would be a good way to pay back your debt.

Not all pensioners are physically or mentally capable of course, but people who retired "young" (eg in 50s or 60s) should pay society back. The problem is pensioners on final salary schemes retiring in their 50s then just enjoying life at our expense, they're the ones who ought to be made to do unpaid work.

Absolutely not.

you’re not obliged but it would be a nice thing to do (if you want)

Sure there are. Some of them are enshrined in law, but many aren't.

Pay society/ the community back for what exactly though?

There's no moral obligation. But there's often a lot of satisfaction doing something you enjoy that is helpful to others.

Twenty hours!!!

The clue is in the name. Hardly voluntary if people have to do it

I don't think so, no. It's a nice thing to do, but there's no point volunteering unless you really want to. Doing because you are obliged is community service which is used as a punishment!

No moral obligation. My DH are early and mid 50’s, we spend out days going to the spa, me seeing friends, him playing golf, me caring for my mum, us being around for our DC, days out, costal walks, lunches and cinema trips.
We paid 100k in taxes per year for many years so feel we’ve contributed a great deal already.

What, 20 hours a week? Also don't quite understand the "if you have grandchildren to care for"? If you do, you probably won't have 20 hours a week spare.

No requirement, we both volunteer but that's because it's something we're interested in and is better than sitting watching daytime TV.

I don’t think you’re obligated. But I do volunteer work (I’m not retirement age) and have found that apart from the obvious benefit to those you help, it has been fantastic for my mental wellbeing. I’ve met some really lovely people.

When you see the attitudes on here towards those "ghastly greedy boomers who have caused all the ills in the world today" I can understand why people might feel they have no moral obligation.

Personally most of the retired people I know do volunteer. My mum was volunteering and teaching English to refugees up to a few days before she died at the age of 87.

Moral obligation is a concept that it is very personal to the individual

It is lovely that lots of people do want to give something back to society but it is ridiculous to imply that all retired people must do some kind of voluntary work regardless of whether they want to or not

It depends on your ability. Generally I'd say there's no obligation provided you don't have any children or grandchildren to care for. If you do, you probably do owe society something, so yes 20 or so hours volunteering would be a good way to pay back your debt.

There’s no obligation at all. Otherwise it wouldn’t be voluntary. GC or not is irrelevant.

People feel different moral obligations.

Also there are very few truly purely altruistic acts. Volunteers often find volunteering rewarding, it provides opportunities for socialising, exercising, etc. People wouldn’t do it if they didn’t enjoy it.

No, it is a personal decision.

"Forced to do unpaid work"

Are you quite serious? Why?

I worked from 14 to 17 part time (after school and weekends) and full time from 17 to 60 (made redundant and buggered if I was going job hunting at that age and after all those years, and yes I know I was fortunate to be able to do so) and no way would I have volunteered for anything straight away. I had two years of doing what I wanted, when I wanted but then felt I wanted to do something useful and now have three totally different volunteering roles.

No one should be forced into volunteering - who wants an unwilling "volunteer". Don't feel pressured into doing something you don't want to.

I’m retired and volunteer.
Im actually shocked at all of these replies. There is thread after thread about wonderful Labour supporters who care about the disadvantaged in society, but it appears that when it actually comes down to it people want someone else to do it.

I think people are increasingly selfish and materialistic and there’s a great deal to be said for volunteering and contributing something positive in your community. If you’ve spent your life working in the public sector or a caring industry then you’ve already made a huge contribution. I don’t think this translates as a moral obligation though. The people who could probably benefit the most are the ones who think it’s nothing to do with them and “ why should I”