What does retirement mean?

We can use the dictionary definition of Retirement and we see many different views but the main thrust of the definition is the withdrawal from work due to age.  If one is older and in poor health, the reasons for withdrawing from work is not seen as the illness but is seen as retiring early.

Retirement is defined as seclusion or privacy, or withdrawal from work due to age.

An example of retirement is going into a back bedroom and taking a nap.

An example of retirement is a 65-year-old person deciding to permanently leave his job.

Retiring or being retired; specif., withdrawal from work, business, etc. because of age

privacy; seclusion

a place of privacy or seclusion

of, having to do with, or for retirement or retired persons: a retirement community

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.

Retirement noun

a. Withdrawal from one's occupation or position, especially upon reaching a certain age.

b. The age at which one withdraws from work or activity: On reaching retirement, he took up woodworking.

The act of retiring or the state of being retired: the retirement of debt.

Privacy or seclusion: in the retirement of your own home.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition Copyright © 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Retirement Noun

An act of retiring; withdrawal.

(uncountable) The state of being retired; seclusion.

The portion of one's life after retiring from one's career.

Origin: From French, from retirer (“withdraw", often used reflexively “retire"), from re- + tirer (“draw, tear away") + English suffix -ment (movement, placement). English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

retirement - Legal Definition

The voluntary termination of employment upon reaching a certain age

The Old Age Pension came from Germany. Germany became the first nation in the world to adopt an old-age social insurance program in 1889, designed by Germany's Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. The idea was first put forward, at Bismarck's behest, in 1881 by Germany's Emperor, William the First, in a ground-breaking letter to the German Parliament. William wrote: ". . .those who are disabled from work by age and invalidity have a well-grounded claim to care from the state."

The German system provided contributory retirement benefits and disability benefits as well. Participation was mandatory and contributions were taken from the employee, the employer and the government. Coupled with the workers' compensation program established in 1884 and the "sickness" insurance enacted the year before, this gave the Germans a comprehensive system of income security based on social insurance principles. (They would add unemployment insurance in 1927, making their system complete.)

Germany was one of the models America looked to in designing its own Social Security plan; and the myth is that America adopted age 65 as the age for retirement benefits because this was the age adopted by Germany when they created their program. In fact, Germany initially set age 70 as the retirement age and it was not until 27 years later (in 1916) that the age was lowered to 65.

Bismarck was motivated to introduce social insurance in Germany both in order to promote the well-being of workers in order to keep the German economy operating at maximum efficiency and to stave off calls for more radical socialist alternatives.

Today the face of retirement Is changing. We live longer, in the 1920’s the life span in Canada for men 59 and for women 61. There were very few people that made it to 65, so the Old Age Security was only for those who lived longer. In the 1960’s we had a life expectancy for men of 69 and for women 76. We worked until we were 65 and then retired, and died about four years later. Retirement was seen by many as a time waiting for the end. Today we have a life expectancy of 77 for men and 82 for women. So, the realities of retirement have changed, we are no longer sitting around waiting for the end. 

Many of us are in good health and we want to be active.  Many of my friends are working. The difference is that they are working doing more of what they love and not what they have to do. I and my friends are early boomers, which means that what we do, the majority of boomers will do as they reach our age. So, a trend that is starting is that more people will work, albeit part time when they retire.

In retirement, it is important to have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Although money is important, retirement is about more than just money. Today, retirement is about being happy. Today, as you plan for retirement think differently. Think about life and what life means to you when you are retired. It's not easy, and it may require some soul searching so you can determine your priorities. When thinking about retirement you need to think about what you are going to do with your time, how you are going to maintain your health and who is going to be part of your retirement in terms of friends, family and other social groups.

Retirement today is busier and full of more choice because we are living longer and we are healthier than are parents and grandparents. Your success at retirement is really dependent on you and the choices you make. The more you plan and think ahead, the more likely you are to enjoy a happy retirement. After all, retirement today will last more than 20 years, and hopefully will be the best years of your life.

Are you retiring to something or from something?

We are all retired and we were meeting for lunch on a Friday afternoon. The talk moved through many topics, from funny things grandchildren say to more serious issues such as stroke and medical issues. One of the people at the table was a man I had not seen for about six months. When we had a chance, he asked me if I was still working. 

I explained that I had, in fact, stopped working for pay two years ago. His first response was that is great, his second was to ask me this question: “What are you doing to keep yourself busy?” I explained that I was giving workshops to seniors on Health and Wellness issues as a volunteer. In fact, over the last 18 months, I have given over 85 workshops. He thought that was interesting.

When we worked, we spend decades dreaming of the day when life won't be dictated by alarm clocks, commute times, meeting schedules and office politics. When we retire, we realise that if we don’t do anything then retirement can be kind of a drag. And there may be 20-plus years of it ahead of you.

We plan and think about retirement mostly by looking at the financial essentials — expected returns, inflation, withdrawal rates, portfolio rebalancing, tax planning, which is needed. However, most of us don’t prepare for the emotional challenges of post-work life.

When we work, we may dread the day to day boredom of employment, but there's something to be said for the structure it provides.

I have talked about this before, work is where many people derive their sense of purpose. It can also provide a framework for your days (projects, meetings, deadlines) and a sense of community (thanks to water coolers, slow elevators and happy hours). When we retire, many of us suffer from the syndrome “I used to be an important person”, I know I did. After you retire you are no longer wanted or needed, you are replaced, and your sense of purpose may be gone. 

 So, a question to ask yourself, are you retiring to something, or are you retiring from something? I retired from something and it took me almost 8 years to find something I felt good about retiring to in my life.

Here are steps you can take to help protect your golden years from being tarnished by dissatisfaction.

FIND A REASON TO SET YOUR ALARM

For the first part of my retirement, I travelled, spoiled my grandson, organised the sock drawer and descaled the coffee maker. After two years, I decided to give back to the community so I sat on the board of a major charity, and that helped to inspire me to get out of bed each morning.

There is research that shows people who have pursuits outside of their professional life tend to fare better in retirement. If you're not interested in taking up a new hobby, consider ways to use the professional expertise you've cultivated over the years. It's even better for the psyche to apply your talents to serve a cause that you care about.

Don't wait until you retire to explore new pursuits. Test-drive volunteer opportunities in your community before retirement to plant seeds for future endeavours. I am no longer on the Board, but I have taken up another wonderful volunteer activity which I can see myself doing for the next 10 to 15 years. Many of the active volunteers in my organisation are in their mid and late 80’s. So I hope to continue to do this work for a long time if my health allows.

Retirement can be a major relationship disruptor. All that "me time" you and your partner had when one or both of you were at work is now potentially "we time."

I think it is important to have a series of conversations with your spouse about whether you will retire at the same time. Retirement can be especially stressful if one partner retires before the other. My wife retired due to a medical issue, and I decided to retire at the same time, with little thought to the consequences of my decision. Talking with your spouse prior to making the leap into retirement, will save you much stress.

Expect that there will be an adjustment period, and perhaps spats over household duties ("You were home all day; why didn't you mow the lawn?") and scheduling conflicts ("I can't take that week off work for a road trip"). But if you're prepared to be flexible, respectful and understanding of the other person's perspective, you can achieve peaceful coexistence in retirement.

Being Human

On this Sunday afternoon, I am thinking about being human. So here are some interesting quotes about this topic from GoodReads

“Yes, I value emotions deeply.
Call me sensitive, call me weak, call me outdated, call me anything you may, but tell me the truth, can you deny emotions give life to life.
If Emotions are an integral part of Being Human,
Why do people suppress feeling them?
Does the bruising scare them? Then I wonder who is weak?”
― Wordions

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 “There is some kind of a sweet innocence in being human- in not having to be just happy or just sad- in the nature of being able to be both broken and whole, at the same time.”

― C. JoyBell C.

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“Be the reason someone smiles. Be the reason someone feels loved and believes in the goodness in people.”

― Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

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 “When someone you love dies, you are given the gift of "second chances". Their eulogy is a reminder that the living can turn their lives around at any point. You’re not bound by the past; that is who you used to be. You’re reminded that your feelings are not who you are, but how you felt at that moment. Your bad choices defined you yesterday, but they are not who you are today. Your future doesn’t have to travel the same path with the same people. You can start over. You don’t have to apologize to people that won’t listen. You don’t have to justify your feelings or actions, during a difficult time in your life. You don’t have to put up with people that are insecure and want you to fail. All you have to do is walk forward with a positive outlook, and trust that God has a plan that is greater than the sorrow you left behind. The people of quality that were meant to be in your life won’t need you to explain the beauty of your heart. They already understand what being human is----a roller coaster ride of emotions during rainstorms and sunshine, sprinkled with moments when you can almost reach the stars.” ― Shannon L. Alder

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 “Do you know what the definition of insane is? Yes. It’s the inability to relate to another human being. It’s the inability to love.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

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“My first world is humanity. My second world is humanism. And, I live in the third world being merely a human.”  ― Santosh Kalwar

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“Do not let the roles you play in life make you forget that you are human.” ― Roy T. Bennett

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“In humans (and humans alone), sexuality is embodied in desire--in the primordial desire for life-as-relation. That the sex drive serves the vital desire for relation--that on the level of the primordial process, the desire for life-in-itself clothes itself in the sex drive--belongs to the particularity of being human.”  ― Christos Yannaras, Relational Ontology

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“Yes, I value emotions deeply.

Call me sensitive, call me weak, call me outdated, call me anything you may, but tell me the truth, can you deny emotions give life to life.

If Emotions are an integral part of Being Human,

Why do people suppress feeling them?

Does the bruising scare them? Than I wonder who is weak?”

― Wordions

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 “Life is a Long Journey between Human Being and Being Human. Let's take at least one step each day to cover the distance.” ― Wordions

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 “Awakening to the people's nature for a person brings sadness and not happiness, for it is very much like glowing of a bulb from outside for others but inside own feeling the burning sensation.” ― Anuj Somany

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“As it turned out, being human was every bit as much fun as she'd always thought it would be.” ― Marissa Meyer, Cress

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“We're nothing but human.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men’s souls – has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We think too much and feel too little.

More than machinery we need humanity.

More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness.

Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

Don’t fight for slavery, fight for liberty.

You are not machines.

You are not cattle.

You have the love of humanity in your hearts.

In this world, there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

We all want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other's misery.

We don’t want to hate and despise one another.

We all want to help one another human beings are like that.

You the people have the power... the power to create machines… the power to create happiness.

You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful…

To make this life a wonderful adventure.

We are all faced throughout our lives with agonizing decisions, moral choices.

Some are on a grand scale... Most of these choices are on lesser points.

But we define ourselves by the choices we have made.

We are, in fact, the sum total of our choices.

Events unfold so unpredictably, so unfairly.

Human happiness does not seem to have been included in the design of creation.

It is only we, with our capacity to love that give meaning to the indifferent universe.” ― Anonymous

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 “How shallow is the stage on which this vast drama of human hates and joys and friendships is played! Whence do men draw this passion for eternity, flung by chance as they are upon a scarcely cooled bed of lava, threatened by the beginning by the deserts that are to be, under the constant menace of the snows? Their civilizations are but fragile gildings: a volcano can blot them out, a new sea, a sand-storm.”  ― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Wind, Sand and Stars

Lighten Things Up With Retirement Jokes

Most people approach retirement in a gloomy countenance. They approach it as if it is a surrender to the hands fate and debilitation of the body. So it is important that one will help them realize that it is something to be accepted since it is an inevitable stage in one’s life. But how can one do that? It’s simple: poke fun at retirement. I have been retired for a while, and while one can approach retirement with dread, I can say it is much more fun than working.
   
Retirement jokes, like ones said on speeches are popular. Speeches tend to become emotional that it hinges every one in the room in a state of gloom and sympathy. But one can raise the bar in retirement jokes (without insulting the retiree, of course). 

Examples
   
In addition to talking about the wonderful moments the speaker has shared with the retiree, he/she can add something that will lighten up the atmosphere. One may give a stone slab, which has inscriptions on it, “in advance”. Friends may also joke and call the retiree “grandfather” whenever the latter tries to reprimand the former in a conversation can also help lighten the mood. But don’t overdo it, of course. 
  
Other gags that might be of interest is a wig with an unusual color like pink or purple, a follow up item to the joke that he may need a wig in the future. If he, in an inexplicable moment, declines it, say: “okay, then wear a paper bag instead if you get bald”. Always be ready whenever jokes don’t succeed; so keep those backup jokes ready!
   
Believe it or not, some service providers also write and sell personalized retirement speeches with witty jokes after understanding the personality and interests of the retiree. These companies usually add jokes about the retiree’s profession. 
   
If one cannot find enough retirement jokes, a little visit to the bookstore can help a great deal. There are joke books that cover a wide range of topics, one of which is retirement. A little scan here and there will help inspire the reader if he/she isn’t the natural comedian. These may also be good retirement gifts as well, helping the retiree have a good laugh in one of those boring Tuesday afternoons. 
   
There are also a lot of websites available on the net that provide a lot of jokes and free retirement e-books like retirement-quotes.com. The e-books that they have range from the “200 best things said about retirement” to “retirement wisdom you won’t get from your financial advisor”. 

Conclusion
  
There is a lot of leeway one has on inserting jokes in a retirement party. If you know someone who is coming near to retirement, you can send an email or two which has retirement quotes like “retirement is when everyday is Saturday” and “retirement: goodbye tension, hello pension!” It is a good gesture and gives off the sense that you know what the future retiree is going through. Again, keep the retiree (future or not) off tension as much as possible and make him/her anticipate retirement with smile and not with a sigh as much as possible.
  
And when the retirement party does come, keep the same lighthearted approach, inserting jokes here and there and probably some gags like the ones said above. Not only will the retiree will be less fussy about retirement, he/she will focus more about the people who kept him happy on that bittersweet day, especially the one who gave him that weird pink wig.