Retirees weigh up the pros and cons of giving up work

Whether you have already given up work and are making the most of your new-found free time, or are considering when might be the right time for you to do so, being retired can bring with it a whole range of emotions, opportunities and even difficulties. Depending on your personal circumstances, such as family, location and finances, retirement can be a time for you to tick some long-held dreams off your bucket list and enjoy some new adventures.

Taking to online forum site Gransnet, one woman revealed precisely what it is that she likes and dislikes about being retired, sparking a huge reaction from other users who were quick to share their own thoughts and feelings on the key life stage.

“I’ve been retired for nearly eight years now. The time has flown by, I’m having such fun,” the user, identified only as ‘LondonGranny’ wrote. “OK, the drop in income took some adjusting to but we spend far less on food.”

She then went on to share a list of what she considers to be the best and worst aspects of a life without work, with retirement seemingly winning out as her list of pros far outweighed her list of cons.

The worst aspect of retirement for the user was “being at home for scam/spam phone calls”. She added: “I never realised the sheer volume of daytime landline scammers. On a bad day there’ll be six or seven between 9am and 6pm.”

However the things she loved included pottering in the garden, having time to cook and learning to enjoy cooking again, the ability to take afternoon naps and, most importantly, being able to ditch her mobile phone, revealing she would often have received messages from her former line manager as late as 10pm before she made the decision to retire.

Hundreds of people commented on the post, sharing their own personal reasons for loving – or loathing – the freedom that retirement brings. Many people agreed with LondonGranny, revealing they too relished retirement, with one person even revealing that they loved “everything” about the period, and disliked “nothing”.

Another user agreed that afternoon naps were a major con, adding: “Doing stuff without one eye on the clock.” While another said: “I’ve been retired for five years now. I love it. Best thing, not being tied to the clock. We can come and go as we please. I don’t see a down side.”

While a third revealed that their favourite thing was being able to travel more freely, writing: “Going away lots in our campervan (at Port Eynon on the Gower just now ).” They added: “Gardening. Cinema in the afternoons! Time to look round charity shops.”

However others revealed they had not quite adapted as well to being retired, with one user admitting they were struggling to adapt to life without their career. One said: “Been retired for 11 years now, wish I wasn’t, still miss my job, and don’t like being retired at all despite doing voluntary work etc.”

Another wrote: “Not being able to chat about our day and share our news as we have spent all our time together. We’re not joined at the hip but spend most of our time together.”

Another common theme was a lack of income in retirement, with many users revealing they felt guilty about spending and worried about running out of money, meaning they couldn’t fill their free time as they’d perhaps like.