Senior Options: Decisions on the cusp of retirement

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Redefining your major role from full-time employee to retired person is your chance to take sensible charge of your retirement.

In planning the roles you will assume in retirement a good first step is to analyse your pre-retirement roles and relationships.

Who do you want to spend more time with? How often do you want to see them? Who do you want to spend less time with? What activities do you most enjoy doing with each person? Make a list.

The changes that you would like to make in your roles and relationships may not match the expectations of those around you.

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Your son may expect you to spend more time babysitting his children; your mother may assume you will spend more time with her; your golf partner may push you to two extra rounds a week.

It’s your responsibility to renegotiate and redefine your relationships to reach your own, not others’, retirement goals.

Another aspect of this is forming new relationships. You can find people with similar values and interests to your own by joining professional or social organisations and by using networking techniques.

Choosing meaningful retirement roles

For many people retirement satisfaction is determined by the amount of time they spend in roles that they have chosen and how freely they are able to express themselves within those roles.

Analyse the principle roles you do today. Consider everything you do at work (paid or volunteer) and in your family, community, social activities, and hobbies. Best make another list.

Think ahead to your first few months of retirement. There will be much more time available to develop new friendships and strengthen old ones. Decide on who you want to spend time with and how often.

Tips for retired singles