Journey Through the 6 Stages of Retirement

[Midpack]

Obviously the experience is (very) different for each of us, but an easy reading summary. This is the part I encourage pre-retirees to give some thought to...

Life planning is an important key to successful retirement. Workers that have given serious time and thought to what they will do after they retire will generally experience a smoother transition than those who haven't. But it is never too soon to begin mapping out the course of the rest of your life.

Journey Through The 6 Stages Of Retirement

 

[W2R]

Interesting article. Thanks.

From the article, stages 4 on sound pretty grim. But here's a description of the third phase:

3. Honeymoon Phase - I'm Free!
Of course, honeymoons follow more than just weddings. Once the retirement celebrations are over, a period often follows where retirees get to do all the things that they wanted to do once they stopped working, such as travel, indulge in hobbies, visit relatives and so forth. This phase has no set time frame and will vary depending upon how much honeymoon activity the retiree has planned.

NO WONDER I'm still stuck in Phase 3. When it comes to those things that I wanted to do once I stopped working, I have enough left to last 5 lifetimes. I am never going to feel "let down" or wonder, "Is this all there is?" because there is so much more that I want/need to do now that I have stopped working.

 

[REWahoo]

NO WONDER I'm still stuck in Phase 3.

Yep, in a couple of days I'll celebrate [-]six[/-] seven years stuck in Phase 3!

 

[Nords]

Yep, in a couple of days I'll celebrate six years stuck in Phase 3!

I thought there were only three stages to begin with...

 

[obgyn65]

I guesss I am stuck in stage 1...

 

[Midpack]

I thought there were only three stages to begin with...

If you do it right, there may only be 1 thru 3 and then 6, you can avoid 4 & 5. I suspect folks who retire without plans and/or just to escape something, might have to work through all six...

 

[MichaelB]

Another one stuck in stage 3. No disenchantment, no new identity. Also no complaints.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I think this guy just made this stuff up.

 

[DayDreaming]

"Retirees must face what is essentially the last transition in their lives."

Nice article but I completely disagree with that one statement. I don't feel like retirement is the last transition to anything - it's just one more step along the journey, and I've never had much of a clue where this journey is taking me. And I like it that way!

 

[Brett_Cameron]

It is pretty simplistic. I remember a short period of time after FI and before RE after I made the decision to RE of a general letdown. It was blasted away by RE. There was another short period after RE where it was "Holy Crap! What have I done?"

Good summary but not entirely applicable to my real life journey.

 

[Dawg52]

Yep, in a couple of days I'll celebrate [-]six[/-] seven years stuck in Phase 3!

Damn, you must be getting old.

 

[happy2bretired]

I have a touch of stage four but hopefully working on stage 5.

 

[REWahoo]

Damn, you must be getting old.

Unlike you, I haven't figured out a way to 'hold' at 52...

 

[scrabbler1]

Another one stuck in stage 3. No disenchantment, no new identity. Also no complaints.

Same here. There isn't any stage after #3.

Because I worked PT for 7 years before I ERed, I had begun several activities with my added time I could not do while I worked FT. By the time I ERed, I was working only 2 days a week so to go from that to working zero days a week was not huge change to my daily lifestyle, just ridding myself of the "nuisance" to my weekly schedule called "working." Switching from FT to PT back in 2001 was a bigger change because it enabled me to partake in those activities to begin with. That was the big transition, not as much ERing.

 

[W2R]

Nice article but I completely disagree with that one statement. I don't feel like retirement is the last transition to anything - it's just one more step along the journey, and I've never had much of a clue where this journey is taking me. And I like it that way!

+1 Good observation, and I couldn't agree more. My life is still unfolding and changing. Just because I am retired, doesn't mean that I have one foot in the grave, so naturally the journey continues.

Another quote that I disagree with is this, taken from the description of Stage 5:

Perhaps the most difficult aspects of this stage to manage are the inevitable self-examination questions that must be answered once again, such as "Who am I, now?", "What is my purpose at this point?" and "Am I still useful in some capacity?"

"Am I still useful" and "what is my purpose" imply that I am not really a human being with innate worth that I express every day in everything that I do, but instead some sort of tool that has no value unless being used (useful to whom? comes to mind). To me discussion of Stage 5 is a continuation of the type of societal brainwashing that keeps so many working when they don't have to work or want to work. I will state here and now that I do not believe that one's self-worth must or even should depend upon returning to the salt mines day after day. Furthermore, I think it is sad, though understandable, that so many people fall for this line of thought after a lifetime of societal conditioning..

 

[unclemick]

Damn, you must be getting old.

18 years - I wa layed off at age 49. The plan was early retirement at 63.

Phases, PHASES!! I don need no stinking phases!



heh heh heh - Interesting article.

 

[Chuckanut]

As a single person, I guess I am stuck at stage 3 forever. Not so bad.

 

[Mulligan]

+1 Good observation, and I couldn't agree more. My life is still unfolding and changing. Just because I am retired, doesn't mean that I have one foot in the grave, so naturally the journey continues.

Another quote that I disagree with is this, taken from the description of Stage 5:

"Am I still useful" and "what is my purpose" imply that I am not really a human being with innate worth that I express every day in everything that I do, but instead some sort of tool that has no value unless being used (useful to whom? comes to mind). To me discussion of Stage 5 is a continuation of the type of societal brainwashing that keeps so many working when they don't have to work or want to work. I will state here and now that I do not believe that one's self-worth must or even should depend upon returning to the salt mines day after day. Furthermore, I think it is sad, though understandable, that so many people fall for this line of thought after a lifetime of societal conditioning..

Amen, W2R! Useless pseudo intellectual psycho babble talk for stage 5. I never had a goal in retirement until now. And that will be to never make it to stage 5.

 

[Chuckanut]

I will state here and now that I do not believe that one's self-worth must or even should depend upon returning to the salt mines day after day. Furthermore, I think it is sad, though understandable, that so many people fall for this line of thought after a lifetime of societal conditioning..

W2R, obviously you are a dangerous radical!

 

[Bestwifeever]

The author is a CFP (and I clicked on his name to see what more-recent articles he has on that site--the most interesting one spoke to other planners about ways to increase their prospects now that the no-call list has limited cold calls; he suggests tax preparation and mortgage brokering, not to bring in money, but to give planners access to personal financial information that the potential planning clients might be loath to provide otherwise. Ick).

For us the stages of retirement so far are:
Leave work.
Worry a little.
Euphoria.
Euphoria.
Euphoria.

 

[mickeyd]

Unlike you, I haven't figured out a way to 'hold' at 52...

Yea, fuzzy math works every time.

 

[Nords]

Damn, you must be getting old.

Unlike you, I haven't figured out a way to 'hold' at 52...

Old? Perhaps.

Mature? Never...

 

[W2R]

W2R, obviously you are a dangerous radical!

Apparently so! I just have to be the rebel.

 

[flyfishnevada]

+1 Good observation, and I couldn't agree more. My life is still unfolding and changing. Just because I am retired, doesn't mean that I have one foot in the grave, so naturally the journey continues.

Another quote that I disagree with is this, taken from the description of Stage 5:

"Am I still useful" and "what is my purpose" imply that I am not really a human being with innate worth that I express every day in everything that I do, but instead some sort of tool that has no value unless being used (useful to whom? comes to mind). To me discussion of Stage 5 is a continuation of the type of societal brainwashing that keeps so many working when they don't have to work or want to work. I will state here and now that I do not believe that one's self-worth must or even should depend upon returning to the salt mines day after day. Furthermore, I think it is sad, though understandable, that so many people fall for this line of thought after a lifetime of societal conditioning..

Yeah, are there really that many people who's self identity is tied up in their work. Maybe I've been hanging out here to long, but this stage isn't what I thought when i read the title. I thought this was about finding a new direction, something to be passionate about and challenge you, not struggling with your self esteem no that your no longer defined by your job.

I was thinking I missed stage 4 struggling with my father in law's illness and death last year and had hit stage 5 as I began pursuing some of my interests with vigor. I never had to struggle with who I was or how I might remain relevant in life. I'm relevant to myself and the people I choose to surround myself with and that's all that matters.

I never had a let down (stage 4) really. So this is it? Doing whatever I want, when I want. Sitting my porch smoking a cigar and drinking a beer, going fishing, travel, writing, whatever. Hell yeah and I love it. Not only is this it, it's what I dreamed of in my crappy cubicle when i was working.

I agree W2R, brainwashing. There is some kind of disorganized, organic conspiracy to keep people working. Notice, all this stuff is generally developed my people who are still working. Maybe their just pissed they still have to work and we don't so they trash retirement. If they can't retire and they can't make us go back to work, they will at least make some others question the decision.

 

[Free To Canoe]

I think this guy just made this stuff up.

+1

I guess we will have to FIFY it for him. We can lose step 4 immediately.

Kind of like Audrey's reinventing yourself every 5 years thing.