Say No to Retirement & Yes to Redirection

I have no desire to retire. For me personally, I think it is one of the most depressing stages in life and I don't understand the people who are excited or longing for their retirement.

I have no desire to exit life and sit on a beach somewhere. However, there are many ministry opportunities that I frankly have no time to be part of as long as I’m part of the corporate world. I’m actually looking forward to getting involved in more of these after retirement, so I’ll have the time.

In addition, the older I get, the more I realize how much less energy I have than I did 40 years ago. Working >50 hours a week makes it that much harder to spend additional time outside the office on things that take a lot of time and energy. Not having the corporate grind to deal with is not, IMHO, something to be feared.

There’s a guy from my company at my church, and he now works less than 25% of the time at the company, but I can see how many ministries he is now involved and spending most of his day with. He hasn’t checked out of life at all. Assuming the Lord allows that, I want to be in the same position.

While I have no desire to retire, I am finding in the last couple of years that I cannot keep up the same pace as I could just two-three years ago. Everyone is different, some have better genes than others, I guess.

If you have the strength, nothing wrong with keeping going on, but some things are just physically beyond your control. We are all in God's hands.

Don, I agree each person has to figure out what is right for them. My mom and dad are both 77 going onto 78 and they are still full steam in their careers, working over 40 hours a week. I am hoping that is the case for me at the end of the day. My job(s) are not very physical, but the work is so rewarding that I would prefer it never to stop.

What I do like about the article is that it proposes redirection. That gives a lot of opportunity and thought for those who may find genetics having an impact on their current situation. There are so many areas that could use the expertise and value that comes from someone who is older. It is a shame when I see people place a target during their working years to retire at 55 so that they can finally relax and play golf. There are others that let their mind go when they refuse to learn as they get older. I scratch my head when I see someone who is 60 complaining about why they need to use a computer and how they are so difficult to understand. My mom is in digital marketing and leverages AI tools everyday as well as video editing and she only started learning it when she was 63. I tell people don't use your age as an excuse.

I would like to keep on serving God for at least another decade and a half... but it might not be in the same role. My mother made it to 98, though her last years she wasn't able to work, became quite childlike (and at times very stubborn!!). My dad worked into his seventies, but eventually had to give up his business.

However, I am with you on those whose goal is to just hang it all up. Life can get boring in a hurry and the boredom itself is a killer.

Our lead pastor was retired and stepped in to interim pastor our church, then came out of retirement to be our lead pastor full time. It has been a huge blessing to our congregation. I hope I have that much energy when I reach that age… well, I already don’t have that much energy! But he is also seeing the need to slow down now and we are working a lot on succession.

I am reminded of a proverb (not mine) about how the most dangerous month in a man's life is the month after he retires, and then you've got the example of Bear Bryant, who took about that much time to die after retiring from the Crimson Tide. So at the very least, let's not put too much stock into our corporate jobs.

Side note is that with both Social Security and Medicare being actuarially insolvent--prospective future revenues come nowhere near meeting spending needs--it might be a great thing if our country got more open to part time work in general. This would work great for not only senior citizens, but also the disabled and a lot more. As many here have noted, it's not always easy to keep going a full 40-50 hours per week as the body gives out.

I don't think prospective future revenues meeting spending needs is a big issue for our government, regardless of which party you mention.

I often find that part time work is easy, full time is hard. Walmart, grocery store, Target, movie theater.... almost all hourly jobs prefer to hire part time as no one wants to pay benefits. My kids have a very easy time getting a job in the summer.