However, in practice, retirement itself is really a multi-phased experience – given both the substantive nature of the transition itself from what precedes it and the sheer duration of retirement that encompasses many years and decades (throughout which our lives continue to change).
Accordingly, Andy Millard highlights a series of 6 key phases of retirement, including:
- Honeymoon (when the initial retirement transition happens, and suddenly you’re free from work and have the time to take that extra-long cruise, finish that home project, or pick up an ad hoc hobby);
- Rest and Relaxation (once you’ve gotten through the honeymoon activities, where you settle into the ongoing routine of retired life and the extra time it allows);
- Disenchantment (when eventually it settles in that all this rest and relaxation is nice for a while, but then begins to lead to a sense of lost purpose and a gnawing wonder of “is this all?” and “what’s next?”);
- Reorientation (where we try to break ourselves out of the disenchantment phase by finding a new way to become engaged and have purpose, looking for new ideas and new possibilities, from taking up a new hobby to joining a new club, getting involved in a non-profit or even starting a new business);
- Retirement Routine (as the new reality becomes the new normal, with the new more-meaningful activities in retirement becoming the new retirement routine); and then, alas,
- Termination (the harsh reality that all good things come to an end… and that it is important to plan for it, even if only so we can better enjoy retirement as long as we can?).