WILL RETIRING MEAN I’M OLD BEFORE MY TIME?

Dear Coleen

I’M A woman aged 62 and I’ve worked all my life, having had two successful careers. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about retiring as I have young grandchildren who I don’t see often enough.

I have a happy marriage, but I worry that my husband and I could be making more of these years together.

He has his own business and took a step back from it a few years ago, although he’s still involved.

I suppose I’m worried that I’ll suddenly feel old and start behaving differently. There’s nothing wrong with my life, but after dedicating so many years to work, I feel I ought to be thinking of having more time for myself and my family. What’s your advice?

Coleen says

I THINK it’s very common to worry about what’s on the other side of retirement. But just because you’re retiring from work doesn’t mean you’re retiring from life.

If you want to, you can fill your days with other things that might be more rewarding at this stage in life.

Your job doesn’t define you – it’s about your attitude to life and what you do with it. I know people who have been lucky enough to stop working in their 40s and 50s and they certainly haven’t shuffled off to a bungalow to see out their days quietly.

You’re in a fantastic position to have the choice to give up work and think about what opportunities are open to you. So it’s a state of mind and it’s about approaching it positively and with excitement rather than thinking of it as “giving up” something.