‘Many people completely fail at retirement.’ That’s what Hyrum W Smith reckons in his book Purposeful Retirement. So what can you do if you sense you have to un-retire?
Call them what you like: Olderpreneurs; Laterpreneurs; Silverpreneurs; or those people over certain ages who have a go! One study in the UK mentioned that olderpreneurs ‘create jobs at a rate more than seven times faster than the UK economic average’.
Creating a product from something you’re passionate about is what many entrepreneurs do. Whether it’s making or baking items, writing or inventing something, there’s a lot we can do with our hobbies in retirement or for a second career.
How can a workaholic retire? Will a workaholic retire? If your work constantly occupies your time and your mind you probably already know that isn’t healthy. But it can be hard to get off the work treadmill. After all, the work must be done. Here are the five things workaholics need to know about life and retirement.
When it comes to retirement, you have almost endless options in front of you. In a sense, it’s as you discard options that you begin to focus on what you will do and who you will be—or become. One of the options could be to continue to work where you are now.
In their book, Ikigai, Hector Garcia and Francesc Miralles reveal that the Japanese don’t have a word for ‘leaving the workforce for good’ (retirement). In fact, ‘having a purpose for life is so important in Japanese culture that our idea of retirement simply doesn’t exist.’
You often hear statements such as ‘80 is the new 60’; or, ‘60 is the new 40’. But how do these sentiments transfer to the workforce? Not very well it seems.
Almost 20 per cent of over-65s are still working full time or part time in the United States—that’s the highest level for more than 50 years, since 1962. And it’s financially driven, says Jean Setzfand, senior vice-president of AARP, the organisation that did the study.
Retiring 30 years after the age at which most people retire is quite an achievement. While most people’s lives are not royal, there are a few similarities worth considering.
One organisation helping to address the needs of older workers is SilverTemp, founded by Art Beavis. SilverTemp is now in its seventh year and currently operates from the Northern Rivers and Tweed Valley region of New South Wales. Art’s motto is ‘people don’t have a use-by date’ and SilverTemp is an ‘innovative agency dedicated to placing senior people in temporary, part-time, or casual employment’.