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.

Put u first. It might be something u have not managed to do often. If h de ide u want to volunteer, fine. It ur choice

I volunteer but as I also help with DGCs it's not that regular. I find my friends don't, on the whole, but are busy holidaying in their camper van, going on cruises etc so it's difficult to volunteer unless you are consistently around (or it's a headache for the charity covering the work).

No one is morally obliged to volunteer. It is a personal choice. Everyone is different, has different skills and aptitudes. Organisations really don't want people volunteering unless their time is given freely and happily and they have the skills required

You seem ignorant about how civil service final salary pension schemes work.

When civil service wages are calculated by the government, the eventual pension benefits are fully costed into the salary paid for the job, which is significantly lower than the equivalent salary for the same work in the outside world to reflect the pension being accrued. The pension is being earned just the same as with any other pension scheme, the fact that is reflected in an initial lower salary, rather than in a visible deduction from a higher salary, doesn’t affect this.

My salary for quite a specialist role (directly comparable to private sector roles) was calculated at approximately 25-30% less than the equivalent private sector salary, to reflect the pension I was accruing. I paid for my ‘gold-plated’ pension just like everyone else.

the real difference with pension schemes like this is that building up a decent pension isn’t (generally) optional, and doesn’t require willpower to choose to sacrifice current income for a future pension.

So public servants in their 20’s and 30’s are accruing generous pension benefits, while those in the private sector often don’t feel able to top up their basic contributions at this stage - because it’s much harder to give up money you’ve received, than not to receive it in the first place! They look generous because they often reflect high pension contributions from a young age.

whether civil servants earn their salary is a completely different question - but they earn their pensions just like everyone else.

I suspect what annoys many is there isn't a pension fund for CS, a decision consciously made by the government at the time. Civil servants were seen by many as suckers at the time as the money clawed back was more than the pensions payed out. Now it's going the other way. A benefit for the government of this also is the pension is smaller. If you were on 50% pension and your salary was 80k then your pension would be 40k, however by reducing salary to take back the contributions your salary becomes 60k and your pension 30k some 10k per annum less.

Well volunteering isn't one of them.

This is mental 😂

And so could a million other things too. No obligation for anyone to volunteer. No “debt” to society unless you are a criminal, nobody owes anyone anything or is owed anything.

People should get paid properly for all work.

I have no GC but had to retire early at 60 to become a full time carer for my terminally ill husband. I don't have a moment free to do any volunteering, and I wouldn't necessarily feel obliged to do so, even if I wasn't a carer. I worked full time from the age of 17 to 60, so feel I've done enough. That's not to say I won't do something once my DH dies, but I won't feel obliged to do so.

Agreed. It's so offensive I don't know where to start!

My Dad got himself a job as a van driver. Worked with very different types of people compared to his profession. One was wearing a tag for some offence. It opened his eyes to how others live. He enjoyed a job where you forget about it 10 minutes after booking out. After two years he was ready to retire completely and volunteer.
He then had 2 or 3 people in the next village to call on regularly. They were housebound and welcomed Dad's company; just tea and a chat. A bit of help filling in forms.

It would be nice if people did, I think we should all try and be more active in our communities, rather than all our energy going into paid work and our own families. I think it’s a real gap these days that has a negative impact both on society and on individuals.
But the reason people don’t is twofold. Firstly, work is more demanding, draining and time consuming now than it was in the past. People just don’t have the time and energy to do anything else, they’re running to stand still. And secondly and not unconnected, when you do volunteer for anything, the organisers are bloody relentless in their demands. I’ve had more stress and emotional blackmail from voluntary activity than I’ve ever had for paid work. And the end result is obviously that I walk away.

By the time I retire (don't think I'll make it, I genuinely think I will be dead before I get the chance) I will have been working in excess of 50 years. When exactly am I supposed to have a time in my life that I don't have to work around someone else's schedule?
I want to be able to wake up with a long stretch of day ahead with no plans, no one to please but myself. I don't want to wake up and feel like I need to get my jobs done because I have committed myself to volunteering for the next couple of days that week.
If people want to do it then good for them, I certainly have no plans to do anything in retirement other than please myself for a change.

Thank you.

I’ve been retired five years, retired at 58 (on voluntary early exit package after working full time no breaks for best part of 40 years). I have no grandchildren or children and no parental caring responsibilities (been there done that). At first I had plans to volunteer for something but I still haven’t got around to it. The trouble is I don’t want anything that feels like a job , or would interfere with my ability to go away whenever I want to, I retired to get away from that! I’m thinking about litter picking - something I can do at times that suit me. But I don’t actually feel the need to do anything - more that I feel I should.

@KimberleyClark , I was determined that my retirement would be about spontenaiety and travel. So when I decided that I needed something else to do to get me out of the house and feel useful in between trips, I needed a volunteer role that wouldn't tie me down or need me to be there on a certain schedule or day of the week.

It really wasn't too difficult. I took on a befriending role and only had to commit to visiting the person I was allocated (in a particular secure environment) for an hour once a week. It didn't matter when, just at a time that suited me.
I've upped my involvement with that organisation and taken on other roles. But those roles still fit around me, not vice versa.

No there should not be an obligation to volunteer (and it wouldn’t be volunteering if it was mandatory).

But volunteering is good for well-being, so everyone should consider it.

What exactly has the community given to me that I should be paying back?
I'll be working and paying taxes until I'm at least 66. I've done some volunteering during my precious free time while I've been employed. I have no idea how long my health will stay ok after I retire. By the time I do retire I'll have earned the break from work I've saved for.

We don’t have the level of pension to have multiple holidays every year, but even if we did, I’d probably still volunteer. My only voluntary role now is in a charity shop, I’ve been there several years, and I know my efforts are valued. It’s within walking distance, I enjoy meeting others, and I can go as often or as little as suits me.

People who do volunteer regularly get something out of it, it’s not all one way. When I don’t, I’ll stop. I’m in my 70s, and fairly active. I worked from my teens, had a few years off with the DC, then full time till 60. Redundancy, then part time for a few more years, with some DGC care on top.

All throughout my teaching career even my weekends were on a rota. I also 'volunteered'( in ' ' because it always starts out that way but then the willing and able end up being 'roped in' because they are fewer and fewer in number).You name it at Church;Youth Group Leader,PCC Secretary ,Sidesperson,after-service coffee rota,church cleaning, prayer group leader,going on Youth Leadership courses,organising and taking said Youth away on holidays/to rallies,committee member.I could go on...

Following retirement I volunteered for one morning a week at an organisation run by a friend.Originally I did it to help get her out of a hole,but I did enjoy it.Sadly,Covid more or less put an end to it as fewer and fewer people attended after restrictions were lifted and the whole organisation structure changed.

Another place I volunteered for tried to introduce a 'Volunteers Charter' demanding we all signed contracts.I was off....

I'm done with Volunteering! I 'Gave Back' in spades over the years.I've done my bit.Leave me alone to be a grandma and to be available for my DH on his 'bad' days when his progressive illness make it extra hard for him to cope.

Health permitting, I'm sure I'll volunteer on retirement, and probably doing work in the same field I do now. I find it interesting, and I would like to be able to offer my services free to help people who need help more than I can do now. The difference obviously is that I would pick and choose when I work. Having something which continues to make me feel I am doing something of value and keeps my brain stimulated seems to me to be a win-win.

Nope, lifetime in the NHS and teaching.
Volunteers at Samaritans and Brownies for decades.
When DH and I both retire it will definitely be "our" time.

Interesting, thank you. Might look into that..

A volunteering role was always in my retirement plan - an example set by my parents. When three big changes happened within two years, DH died, I retired and moved to another city, volunteering got me out, filled some hours and helped me to meet people. 10 years on I have given up the driving role for various reasons but still volunteer in a local organisation. Volunteering has kept me busy and fulfilled as does helping with GC care and school runs.