The 3 stages of retirement
24 Dec 2018
Each milestone in retirement comes with its own set of joys, challenges and concerns, so we spoke to three Probians at various stages of retired life to see how they’ve managed their retirement years.
There is no one blueprint for retirement. We all have different levels of savings, different interests and different levels of health and well-being. But there are some basic truths that apply to the retirement years. The early stage of retirement will often be very active; you’re free from work and young and healthy enough to get out and get into life. In the middle stage, things might slow down a little as you take stock of your finances and try to keep your mind and body strong. And during late retirement, it’s likely that money and health may limit the things we’re capable of doing, which makes it a great time for reflection.
Joan Baumber, 96, recognises that things have slowed in her final years of retirement, but she still finds joy in the small things.
“At 96, my biggest worry with my grandchildren is that they won’t get married,” Joan says. “And I was just looking out the window watching the herons picking for worms in my garden, and it was just lovely. I have an acre and a half and the birdlife is just fantastic.”
Taylor Harrison, author of Active Seniors and managing director of Active Seniors Health Centres, says there are some similarities in people’s retirement years.
“Generally, what we see when people first retire is actually an increase in activity,” Taylor says. “Things like travel, more time with the grandchildren, and with that increase in activity – particularly if they have come from a more sedentary desk job – there needs to be a focus on getting themselves moving better and working on
their strength and balance.”
Taylor says there are often big trips planned for early retirement and these might include long walks, long plane rides or the physical strength needed to keep a caravan on the road.
As people move into the mid-range of retirement, Taylor says that priorities change – like maintaining health, strength and balance – but the approach may differ.
“With the mid you are focusing much more on downsizing, moving to a smaller space, and the main focus here is balance. If you start to lose your balance, you lose your confidence and that can stop you doing what you love,” Taylor says.
He adds that you should also focus on strength, because strength is independence: doing the shopping, climbing the stairs, and doing the gardening. “It is better to focus on strength in the mid stage of retirement rather than the late stage, because when that strength is done it is very hard to build back up.”
Further modification is needed in later retirement, when safety comes to the fore, so exercises might be tailored to what the person can do.
“At this stage there are five key indicators for longevity: foot mobility, or being able to walk well; balance; strength; social contact; and energy and appetite,” Taylor says.
We had a chat to three Probians to see what challenges they face at various stages of retirement.
EARLY RETIREMENT: A ride on the emotional rollercoaster
Kitrina Britain, Steventon Probus, South Australia
At age 64, Kitrina considers herself very much in the early stages of retirement, even though she first retired at the age of 59.
Kitrina left her lifelong job in the banking industry and workers compensation, and she says the biggest challenge she faced was getting used to the drop in her income. “It was a financial challenge because I went from a very high fortnightly wage to just part pension. And it was my husband’s pension, not my own, so I didn’t really have any money of my own at all. That was one of the challenges, coming to terms with that emotionally as well as practically.”
Practically, she had to make some pretty significant changes. “Before we could go away on holiday whenever we wanted to, often for a fortnight at a time to places like New Zealand, and now we have to decide whether to have our usual brand of toothpaste, or are we better buying a generic brand?”
Kitrina and her husband Colin have four children and six grandchildren, so family is important to her, but one aspect of retirement that surprised her was simply getting used to being around Colin all day!
“I was working, so we had time apart and – since he was a house husband – he looked after the household chores, and we had to get used to a new division of duties because that was his terrain,” Kitrina says. “A lot of these are emotional challenges as well, to get on with each other for the whole period; there were a lot of adjustments to do.”
To offset this uncertainty, Kitrina and Colin went into a retirement village, and Kitrina used her super to secure their position. This way, they knew they had a roof over their heads. That security was key to helping make the move from employment to retirement for them. “Living in the retirement village has been very good because you are surrounded by people with similar backgrounds and similar experiences and the community spirit here is very good, so we have lots of friends to draw on now if we are a bit down or a bit sick,” she says.
Illness did make an early appearance in their retired life when Colin was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The pair had to think about what that would mean for them in the long-term in relation to living arrangements and financial security.
Within the space of six months, Kitrina had taken early retirement, sold the house, moved into a retirement village and fit in a short family holiday to the Flinders Ranges. “To say it was an extremely stressful six months is making light of the situation,” Kitrina says.
But, with Colin in better health and their retirement life working out well, they have settled into the community life at Tea Tree Gardens Retirement Village and thrown themselves into a variety of activities. Kitrina has become the treasurer of the Residents Committee and now also volunteers at the Memorial Hospital twice a week.
And they have decided to expand their Probus experience by joining a new Club that is larger and goes on more trips. “Being in Probus helps, because everyone has a story, and meeting other people – it’s good to hear their stories,” she says.
MID RETIREMENT: Taking the time to consolidate
Merryl Moore, Applecross/Attadale Ladies Probus Club, Perth, Western Australia
Merryl Moore, 76, has been retired for 16 years from her role as a carer in hospitals, private homes and aged care. Despite having first-hand experience with seniors for most of her career, her own retirement still threw up some challenges.
“My health, mainly, because if you don’t have your health you can’t do anything,” Merryl says. “I also had a very ill mother, so I had to look after her too. Making sure I’m healthy and eating well keeps me in good stead.
I keep a positive attitude and I keep myself involved in the community. I find that really important too.”
Merryl has tackled retirement on her own since she was divorced over three decades ago, but she can rely on her three sons and her daughter for support, and has had her grandkids living with her for various periods so has always had some younger people around.
Financially, Merryl is very frugal with her money, and what she has left over she puts into a piggy bank. She does a weekly budget to make sure she has enough money for the later retirement years.
She has been a member of Probus for a number of years and finds it has helped her a lot. “I get a lot out of going out and meeting other people. I get out of my comfort zone. I’ll travel for maybe three quarters of an hour to get to a Probus meeting,”
Merryl says. “Life is full, the fellowship and wonderful people I have met and have as friends from all my activities keeps me healthy and motivated.”
But one of the realities of getting older is that she is now looking for a Probus Club closer to home. “When I first joined I belonged to a choir in Mount Pleasant, and three people in the choir said come to our Probus Club – but they have all left now. Coming up towards 80, I am better off finding something closer to home.”
So what advice would she offer those in the middle of their retirement journey? “I would make sure that you look at what you would like to do once a week, and whether it is joining a writing group – I have just written my own book on my life as a child – a singing group, or a sporting group, you need to do something that can keep your mind active. It is important to keep the mind mobile as well.”
LATE RETIREMENT: Making sure you’re staying active
Joan Baumber, Tatura Probus Club, Victoria
One of the biggest challenges for Joan Baumber, 96, is to keep up the active lifestyle she has long enjoyed on her property in central Victoria.
“I find it extremely frustrating to not do these physical things, because I used to be very physically active, and now I am very slow doing things and I find it an absolute pain in the neck,” Joan says.
Joan still regularly jumps on the back of her ride-on mower, eats out regularly and leads a very active social life. But she has had to give up the organ due to arthritis, and always has a walker at hand as she has become a fall risk.
“Balance is my big problem, and I have to be very careful,” she says. “I have three wheelies, one in the house, one in the car and one in the garden to try and keep myself out of trouble.”
Joan doesn’t dwell too much on what she can’t do, but rather points out that less time in the garden has meant she has more time for activities with Probus and family.
This active retiree writes a column for the local newspaper once a month on tree planting, does The Age crossword every day and is always heading into town “to pick up bits and pieces.”
Joan has family and friends check on her regularly and does the books for a local revegetation group, as well as acting as the church parish secretary. “I am always using my brain for something or other,” she says.
®