Ease your way into the next chapter

Test the waters before rushing into retirement

THE jump from full-time work to full-time retirement can be a shock to the system so many Aussies will make a more gradual transition.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures reveal about a third (37 per cent) intend to take up part-time work first to ease into the change.

Of these people, two-thirds plan to continue on with their current employer and one in five plan to change employer.

Almost half of those intending to change employer (45 per cent) plan to move into a different line of work, a quarter will be looking for contract work, and 21 per cent hope to work more hours from home.

Career Development Association of Australia national executive committee member Rebecca Fraser said easing the transition was more effective mentally than a sudden stop.

“There needs to be a consideration on how they will meet the mental or physical stimulation that they are used to,” she says.

“Retirement should never be seen as a stage of stopping, rather it is a change to move to doing things that have a more personal and self-fulfilling element to them.

“Taking a slow transition and planning how you want to fulfil your personal goals while staying mentally and physically fit is extremely important.”

Fraser said many people saw retirement as an opportunity to finally do what they had always wanted to do.

‘‘ RETIREMENT SHOULD NEVER BE SEEN AS A STAGE OF STOPPING, RATHER IT IS A CHANGE TO MOVE TO DOING THINGS THAT HAVE A MORE PERSONAL AND SELF-FULFILLING ELEMENT TO THEM.

REBECCA FRASER

“This might be going from office-based roles to the health or service sector, or others have chosen that they would like to mentor individuals seeking careers in the sector they work in,” she said.

“It is normally finally a chance for them to do what they would like rather than be driven by the pay cheque or career pathway they have taken.”

The ABS research reveals of the 3.9 million people who intend to retire, 40 per cent do not know the age at which they will do so.

Of those who do know, most (50 per cent) plan to retire between age 65 and 69. Meanwhile at the extremes, 20 per cent intend to work until they are at least 70 and seven per cent aim to bow out before their 60th birthday.

The main influence on a decision to retire is financial security, followed by health concerns, then reaching the eligible age for a pension.

In 2016–17, there were 177,500 people aged 45 years and older who had retired previously but were either in the

labour force or planned to look for work in the future.

Women made up about 60 per cent of this group and their most common reasons for returning to work were financial need (42 per cent) or being bored and needing something to do (32 per cent).