Retirement: A Happy Occasion?

Posted by admin on November 24, 2008

Sooner or later we will all reach that milestone: the last day in our working lives, our retirement. Whether or not this is a happy moment will depend on a number of different factors: How much did our work fulfil us? Did we like the daily routine that went with work? What did our job mean to us?

But it is also a question of balance: did we live a balanced life, pursuing hobbies and interests outside of work? Are we living in a close-knit community where there are lots of other things that keep us busy besides work?

Someone quite accurately summed it up as follows:

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell if retirement is a reward for a lifetime of hard work or a punishment.”  (Anonymous)

Ernest Hemingway clearly didn’t like retirement, as he is often cited as having said that “Retirement is the ugliest word in the language.” On the other hand, there is this quote: “Retirement itself is the best gift.  No gold watch could ever top it.”  (Abigail Charleson)

In the light of the very different reactions and feelings towards this occasion, it is impossible to generalise and pretend there is the “one and only” appropriate retirement gift idea. Of course, there are the very traditional gifts, like the (gold) watch, or the gift basket, but is that really enough to get our message across?

If we want to be more thoughtful and give with meaning, we have to do a little work and ask ourselves a few questions: 

• What is the message I want to get across? Is it a cheerful “Yay, you are done – life is about to start!” or more of a “Don’t worry, this is just the begining – life does not end here!”
• What is the relationship with the retiree? A husband / wife deserve a different gift than a colleague or neighbour.
  
• What is the retiree’s character like? Humours? Adventurous? Conservative?

Only if we answer all these questions to the best of our knowledge, will we be able to come up with great retirement gift ideas and finally make that choice.