There are many outdated beliefs and misconceptions surrounding retirement, with many holding the belief that retirement means sitting around and wasting away.
However, with today’s active retirees, that belief couldn’t be further from the truth.
When the over-60s community was asked on the online forum of Ask Old People on Reddit, “How do you spend your time in retirement?”, the seniors stepped up to share their best tips on navigating the newfound freedom that might seem daunting to some.
The reigning advice was to make sure you keep busy, but to ensure you’re doing so by taking part in an activity you love.
“I’m 3 months short of 80. I retired on my 60th birthday, so my activities have changed somewhat over time. I originally did a lot of photography,” one user said.
“I spend a lot of time reading, which I didn’t get to do so much when I was working. I bought a SteamDeck and am trying to learn how to play, I go to the gym 4-5 days a week, and spend time with my dogs. I’ve been retired a little over a year now, and I can think of only twice when I did something I didn’t 100% want to do…so that means it’s been a pretty successful retirement thus far,” said another.
“As my old boss said after he retired ‘I just don’t know how I found time to go to work everyday’,” someone offered.
“Now that I am retired it seems like there’s always things to do. I’ve upped our cleaning standards, grow more vegetables. We travel more. And day to day there is always a list of stuff to take care of.”
Some retirees said they find the ultimate fulfilment in volunteering at places like hospitals, churches and various charities, while others said travelling was their go-to retirement activity.
“On an average day, I walk 3 miles (I installed a pedometer app on my phone). Some days, more ‘just doing what I do’,” one user commented.
“I volunteer at an animal shelter, go boating, fishing, cook, garden, design and build electronic projects, repair/maintain the cars, cut wood, split it, move it, meet friends for lunch, in the summer, find an island and boat there for lunch. In the winter, burn firewood, snow ski, go for walks, ride a bike, travel a little to the coast, or take a trip to Hawaii and SCUBA or snorkel.”
“I volunteer at my local hospital. Mrs and I spend time walking in the countryside. We travel a bit in Europe and in much of the UK,” another retiree said.
“Mrs is a member of U3A and regularly meets up with like-minded friends to socialise, play cards and board games. She’s also involved with the retired members of her union.”