What I have learned from one year of retirement

I retired from work on 28th June 2024, a few days before my 57th birthday. I have now been retired for a whole year. After 39 years of working it was time to make the most of life and I was in the fortunate position to have no mortgage and a pension big enough to support me through my retirement.

The day after I woke up and realised that I had not only retired from work, but it had coincided with my three adult children becoming self sufficient. I had not just lost my work responsibilities, most of my family ones too.

After the first few weeks of “holiday” I started to get into a routine, but it took the same shape as work routine. Over time I have got out of that habit and I now concentrate on doing things I enjoy, like my musical and ham radio activities.

So here are the six things I have learned about retirement:

Retirement is a life without obligation

I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to do, and I don’t feel guilty about it. If something doesn’t bring me pleasure I don’t do it. Yes, there are always tasks – like looking after the garden – that aren’t much fun, but the outcome makes it worthwhile.

I also have no employer setting me tasks that I am not interested in, or putting limits on my private life. This has allowed me to get more involved in political activity through my trade union and elsewhere.

I am surprisingly busy, but doing things I want to do

Having time in retirement has allowed me to do things I could not have done if I was still working. Like learning to play the flute, and undertaking bigger musical projects like writing and recording. I don’t have much spare time and my days are filled with good things.

I am not spending as much as I thought I would

When I retired, my income dropped about £500 a month but I am not feeling any poorer. I pay myself a regular monthly amount and always seem to have a surplus. I must have reached the point in life where I don’t need as much stuff.
At the start of retirement I sold off some of my spare musical and radio equipment and used the money to refresh some of my older gear. Once that was done my budget really settled down.

I don’t miss work

The day after I retired I gave up my professional qualification so I could not go back part time or freelance. This was absolutely the right thing to do. It felt hard giving up the status that it brought, but it drew a line in the sand. There is no way I can slip into helping out organisations, or trying to earn a bit of extra money. This would have killed the benefits of retiring.

I sometimes miss people at work, but time moves on. I never got my sense of self worth from my work, so maybe it has been easier for me to move on from it than it might be for some people.

I am happier

My life is almost stress free. Most of the stress in my life came from work. That pressure impacted my ability to enjoy doing the things I did in my spare time. Going out to play music after a day’s work was much more difficult than after a day’s pleasure.

It’s like being Four again

I can remember the carefree days before I went to school at age five. Retirement seems very similar. I have everything I need and I don’t need to strive for anything any more.

I am lucky to have been able to retire at such a young age, but regardless of what age you are thinking about retiring I can recommend doing it sooner if you have the opportunity.