Real Meaning of RetirementMost of the people are worried about retirement and making ends meet afterwards. There are also innumerable advisors serving retirement related advice.We hardly try to ponder on the real meaning of retirement. In ordinary parlance retirement means a stage in the life of a person when he no longer thinks of doing a productive or profitable work again. A retired person stops thinking beyond his retirement and starts idling his days in oblivion in the process of his final demise.A person is supposed to retire and then to stop working the way he used to be. The outcome is that he ends up raising his grandchildren, taking them to school, attending senior meetings, living in senior homes, roaming around shopping malls, coffee houses and libraries. There can be no pathetic life than this.Creation versus ConsumptionOn retirement, one is abruptly transformed into a consumption entity from a creative individual. It seems as if the work that one was performing was truly a burden and one is now unchained and free from the burden that he had been carrying on for so long.
You might have been planning for a long time for this kind of a life and accumulating savings in order to enjoy the fruits of your labor. But most retired persons find their retirement nests short of their needs.There is a false notion that one’s expenses will decrease after retirement. In fact in many cases contrary is true. There are increased costs associated with health care, need for caregivers, travel, leisure and entertainment and young children’s education.Traditional Sources of Retirement IncomeThe traditional sources of retirement income are company benefits, social security benefits and old age pensions. Unfortunately these are no longer going to be enough to sustain retirement. They constantly get devalued by inflation.Retirement means not only stopping productive work but also consuming whatever one has accumulated after working hard for a long time. The traditional sources of retirement income are not only dwindling but also drying up. There has to be some permanent solution to it.Stopping Work Means DeathIf one stops work, how can one remain active? One is bound to become miserable and die an early death. This is in addition to ending a productive and creative life. There are only two outcomes of one’s actions; either to go forwards or backwards. One cannot stay neutral and at one place. That will mean sure death.The Perfect SolutionWhy to retire? Is it necessary to retire and stop working creatively for ever? One can see that there is nothing 100 per cent positive about retirement.
So the best thing is to continue to work till one has the capacity and energy. Exceptions will be when a person has become incapacitated and is no longer able to carry on.Unfortunately, most of the people do not enjoy what they are doing. If a person loves what he is doing, then that will be his pleasure and entertainment throughout his life. There will be no need to retire.The first necessary condition is that one should love what one is doing. There should always be an effort to find a job which one likes so that it becomes never necessary for him to quit.In fact one should never give up one’s job. One should continue to remain a productive member of a society. That way he will not have any fear of depreciating retirement income, short life and a bitter living.
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