Retire to What?

Having given almost 15,000 rides as an Uber driver, I have had the opportunity to talk to a good number of people about retirement. I consider myself to be semi-retired, having retired from full-time work 3 1/2 years ago and currently "working" about two days a week as an Uber driver. I would argue that if you love what you do, it's not really working, but I do receive income from driving. I do know drivers in their 70's and 80's who are doing what I'm doing now at 64 years old.

The consensus from many people is that when you retire you should have 3-4 things that you love to do and you should spend a lot of time doing them. Writing is one of my things that I love to do and that's why I'm doing this.  

There are many people who have always thought that when they retire they'll just relax, watch television, do some traveling and they have no interest in actually doing some other things. I read an article recently by Hannah Seo, who is a journalist living in New York and the article was titled, "America is Doing Retirement Wrong."

While interviewing several people for the story, she explained that sometimes when people age they feel limited in what they can do, but sometimes they limit themselves. Research has shown that, "A sense of purpose in life is a vital factor for health and happiness in older age."  Other key benefits to be actively involved in life is, avoiding loneliness, depression, and increasing strength and walking ability.

She interviewed one retiree, Paul Draper, who had a great way of looking at. He said, "There are a million fun things to do in life, but 99% of them are unsustainable to do them as a career."  He looks at his retirement as a way to do some of those things.

About 19% of people 65 and over are working and the numbers are expected to go higher than that.  Whether you're volunteering or working part-time, it's important for your well-being and others to be active pursuing something that has purpose and meaning to you. Spread the word-I've done my part.