Retirement: what do I need to know?
THERE is, in my estimation, a song title which applies to almost every situation in life and, I must confess, the tune running regularly through my head lately has been The Clash’s epic 1982 anthem Should I Stay
Or Should I Go?
Well, dear readers, retirement beckons and, yes, I have nodded in agreement.
Ask me how I feel, now that the decision is made, and my answer is I’m somewhere between terribly nervous and terribly excited, both for the same reasons of not knowing
exactly what lies ahead.
But then that’s true of life, anyway, right? So, best to take the positive view and look forward to finding out — is there is life after retirement and what does it look and feel like?
Well, can you tell me, please? What should be my plan of attack?
I’m asking Wash readers to send me their thoughts — and experiences — on retirement. The dos and the don’ts, the pros and the cons, the pitfalls to be avoided and so on.
Plus, let’s have some humour on the topic. Feel free to share your amusing anecdotes about being retired and, if you don’t want to embarrass yourself, or others, we can make an exception and accept nom de plumes.
By my reckoning there should be a wealth of information out there in retirementland because when I googled ‘‘NZ Retirement Commission’’ (it’s now called the Commission for Financial Capability), the website revealed there are close to 700,000 New Zealanders over the age of 65.
And, it adds, ‘‘by the middle of this century that figure will almost double’’. Not that they are all retired, of course. Many decide to carry on working after 65. I, however, choose not to.
There is also an interesting reference to ‘‘the three stages of retirement’, which are listed as follows:
The Discovery stage: (6574): ‘‘This first or early stage of retirement will, for many, be the ‘doing’ years. The time to have a go at all the things you’ve said you’d get around to ‘some day’.’’
The Endeavour stage: ( 7584): ‘‘The middle years of retirement may be more about consolidation, a time to choose fun things, develop old skills, explore fresh talents and grow new friendships.’’
The Reflection stage: (85plus): ‘‘As this third stage is a time when health and finances may limit choice, it’s a time to accept help graciously, to make the most of all those memories and to keep up with old friends because you hold each other’s history.’’
So, there you are, a big issue for readers to tackle, but I am hopeful, with your help, we can turn this admittedly emotional development into an informative and enjoyable experience.
The Wash’s future
So what, I hear some of you ask, does this mean for The Wash? Well, sad to say, it will be published for the last time on Friday, October 6.
But, fear not; editor Barry Stewart wants to assure readers a new column will be introduced to replace The Wash, although a starting time, name and other details are still to be worked through, so stay tuned.
In the meantime we will carry on as usual, as we have for the past six and ahalf years, and put the remaining time to good use.
Remembering Sandy
When an email arrived yesterday from the Department of Internal Affairs, headed ‘‘Reminder: Daylight saving starts this election weekend’’, I suddenly thought of Sandy Edmonds.
And soon after I began to hum along to: ‘‘Oh, daylight saving time You gonna give me more time To find love with my baby
Oh, daylight saving time
Keep the sun ashining Everything will be fine’’
Does anyone else recognise this as the chorus from Sandy’s 1967 hit (yes, it’s 50 years ago!)
Daylight Saving Time? In fact, does anyone else remember Sandy Edmonds?
Well, the Britishborn
Rosalie L. Edmondson (she will be 69 next month) was one of New Zealand’s pop stars back in the days of Mr Lee Grant, The Chicks and the muchloved
C’mon music show on TV.
And, as for daylight saving (we’ve lived with it since 1974 and I’m still a huge fan), it will run from this Sunday until Sunday, April 1 next year.
Pavers trial
Further to last Wednesday’s column, I noticed yesterday there were two more lots of paving stones installed in the upper Octagon as part of the DCC’s trial, so have included a photo of them today. They are quite different from those which featured last week.
Intersection concern
As we have written previously, the changes to the Playfair StSouth Rd intersection in Caversham are in full swing, but now I’m wondering if any readers are concerned about visibility issues?
If you are trying to get out of Playfair St, the orange barriers on the right, next to Mitchells Tavern, are high enough to obscure traffic heading up South Rd and make getting across quite tricky. I’ve raised the matter with the DCC.