About Retirement

A person retires when he withdraws from his occupation or job and does not intend to seek new employment or start a new business. Typically, people retire in their mid 60s, although it is also common for people to enter retirement earlier or later than this. For many, retirement is a time to relax and enjoy many of the things they were too busy to do while working, such as traveling, spending more time with their families and enjoying their hobbies.

History

In years gone by, many people never made it to retirement because of lower life expectancies and the lack of pensions and other monies to live on. Today, however, people can rely on Social Security and pensions to provide a means to live and even enjoy their favorite pursuits once they give up gainful employment. There are also retirement savings accounts that allow people to save for this stage of life and ensure that they will have enough money to take care of their responsibilities and do at least some of the things that are important to them. There are even financial planners who focus on helping people to plan for retirement well in advance of reaching retirement age.

Identification

Retirement means giving up all work. If a person chooses to continue working part time or decides to take an extended period of time away from work, that is not generally considered retirement. Typically, a person chooses to retire because of advancing age. However, many people also choose to retire because they've reached financial goals that allow them to do so. In fact, a person may retire at a younger-than-typical age because savings and investments give her adequate money to do so. Additionally, a person may retire because of health-related issues that make it difficult or even impossible to continue working.

Types

Most people are familiar with voluntary retirement. This is when a person voluntarily gives up his career or occupation, with the intention of staying unemployed for the rest of his life. However, some people choose a different type of retirement, which is called semi-retirement. When a person is semi-retired, he gives up regular full-time employment, but keeps some sort of part-time job or business. He may retain this level of work out of financial retirement or simply because he wishes to stay busy. Forced retirement is yet another type of retirement in which a person is forced out of work by layoffs or company cutbacks. However, a person may also be forced into retirement when his employer deems him too old to perform his job. Finally, early retirement occurs when a person retires at a younger-than-typical age.

Identification

The normal age of retirement varies, depending on the country in which you live. Typically, retirement age is between 55 and 70. Age 65 is normally viewed as retirement age in the United States. However, to collect Social Security, except in cases of disability, a person must be at least 62 years old. In the past, a person would have to reach 65 to receive full Social Security benefits, but this cutoff point is moving toward 67. Additionally, many people are choosing to continue working into their 70s for various reasons.

Effects

Though many people envision retirement as a time to live life to its fullest, many people actually experience emotional and mental stress during this time. After years of working to support their lifestyles and families, many retirees feel put out to pasture. They lose their sense of worth and struggle with feeling less vital and needed. Many lapse into depression or experience anxiety. Even those who enjoy retirement may deal with periods of restlessness.