Men Have Hard Time in Retirement - But Shouldn't

Apparently men in Israel have a hard time in retirement and most don't find much satisfaction from retirement living. Their retirement activities are not satisfying and their retirement is far from happy. Perhaps this is the new retirement that everyone has been talking about.

In November 2010, Sigal Naim, an Israeli researcher at the University of Haifa, found that workers in Israel who took early retirement still define themselves by their career even five years after retirement.

The retirees surveyed were men who claimed they would not have retired without workplace pressure to do so.

Five years after retirement, most retired men in Israel still had an identity based on what they did in their careers, whereas their complete family life could be stated in one or two sentences. (a little despressing, wouldn't you say?).

None of these retired men considered themselves too old to work and they all felt they still had a long and productive life ahead.

Naim's study found that the retirees viewed retirement age as an artificial "finishing line" primarily intended to satisfy workplace organizations and insurance companies' actuarial tables.

Most of the Israel retirees claimed that they retired early so that their pension rights would not be harmed. In other words, these retirees would not have retired without pressure from their workplace to do so.

The main retirement sentiment expressed by almost all of the participants was of profound disappointment in the workplace, the study found.

Researcher Naim also surmised that even retirees who claimed to have found satisfaction in retirement were doing so to cover up their disappointment and insult of being retired. "This is in fact a sort of mask for themselves," claimed Naim, "that helps them to build a new reality that they can live with".

Personally, I have a hard time believing this given that I know many people who are happy to be retired.

If these Israel men had read How to Retire Happpy, Wild, and Free and followed the Retirement Wisdom That You Won'd Get from Your Financial Advisor, they would have a happy and productive retirement.

Here are are few retirement quotes and money quotes to put retirement issues in perspective.

Early to Bed
Sleep in late
Collect your pension
Ain't life great!
- Unknown wise retired person

Life is mostly froth and bubble.
Two things stand like stone:
Dodging duty at the double,
Retiring and leaving work alone.
— Unknown Happy Retiree

Retirement Life is:
Having some important purpose to pursue;
Someone to love;
Something to appreciate today;
Something to look forward to tomorrow.
This brings much happiness.
What more do you want?
- from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free

Retirement Living Is Great If Your Wants Don't Become Your Needs

I  just received a Google Alert that my name was mentioned in an article about retirement living in the Vancouver Sun.

The article was titled Are Boomers Saving Too Much for Retirement - Not This One.

I noticed that the reason my name was mentioned in the Google Alert was because Daryl Nelson, a commentor to the article, had mentioned my book  How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free in his words "as the only book on retirement I have found at all useful."

Anyway, the article was written by Craig McInnes, who claims that he will need a lot of money in retirement. Here is one of his statements; "When I have time, I tend to spend more money, not less. On travel, on renovation projects, on shopping for things that I didn't realize I needed until I had time to look around and see what's available. Do you know you can buy wireless speakers now? Imagine how much better life would be if I could get rid of that rat's nest in the TV room."

To me, an attitude like this is why the world has such big problems and why the American economy is in the tank with a lot of baby boomers not having saved enough for retirement. It also shows a lack of creativity.

The following paragraphs were posted by me in response to the article:

I have received hundreds of letters, phone calls, and e-mails from retirees confirming that they live on much less money once they have retired as compared to when they were working. These people live on a modest amount of money because they have their wants in check. "Also, Statistics Canada has confirmed that the average retiree lives on around 50 percent of pre-retirement income. These results don't lie. People can — and do — live on a lot less money in retirement.

"Fact is, the key to living well in retirement is to be very clear about "needs" vs "wants."

"There are two major problems with North Americans, particularly baby boomers:

1. A need is any luxury that the neighbor happens to have

2. Instant gratification takes too long.

Plain and simple: Your needs have always been provided for — otherwise you would be dead! (Case closed!).

"I have a retired friend named George who takes in only $1,500 a month (CPP, Old Age Security, and supplement) and still saves $400 to $500 a month.

"Even a better example, another friend Ron has been getting only $450 a month from early CPP since he turned 60. He had no assets except for an inexpensive car and a older Airstream trailer in which he lives. He doesn't have to pay any rent because he has it parked on a friends land. Ron is one of the happiest people I have met. He just turned 65 on September 21 so with Old Age Security (the governmment should change the name to "New Age Security") and the supplement, he will now be making what George makes, around $1,500. Ron says that he will be able to live like a king on this. Incidentally, if you think that Ron is some sort of derilict, he isn't. On the contrary, Ron used to be a university professor and gave it up in 1990 because he didn't believe in teaching university students to be bigger consumers. When Ron appears in public, he comes across as more polished, distinguished, and intelligent than 95 percent of people in society.

"These eight quotations are some of my favorites to put needs and wants in proper perspective relative to happiness.

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.
— Henry David Thoreau

Be what you is, not what you ain't, 'cause if you ain't what you is, you is what you ain't. — Luther D. Price

Abundance isn't a matter of acquiring how much money you desire; it's a matter of being happy with how much you presently have.
— Unknown wise person


If you want to know how rich you really are, find out what would be left of you tomorrow if you should lose every dollar you own tonight.
— William J. H. Boetcker


My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants.
— J. Brotherton


That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.
— Henry David Thoreau


If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.
— Unknown Wise Person


If I keep my good character, I shall be rich enough.
— Platonicus


For the record, I drive a 1995 Camry even though I can purchase 10 brand new expensive cars for cash. This alone proves that a new car is not a need but a want — just as most things that people say are needs. Even a used car is not a need because I could get by without a car if I really had to.


The thing that most unhappy and dissatisfied people don't ever get is: "To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness.

Ernie J. Zelinski
Best-Selling Author, Innovator, and International Life Coach
Author of How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 125,000 copies sold and published in 9 languages)
and The Joy of Not Working
(Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)

Retirement Living Standards Do Not Have to Keep Improving

A recent OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) study recommends that member countries raise the average age at which people retire from the labor market so that people remain in the workforce longer.

Because the average age at which people retire from the labor market has declined markedly in the majority of OECD countries, the organization claims that the increase in the number of retirees relative to persons active in the labor force will reduce growth in material living standards and put public budgets under mounting pressure.

My question is, why do we have to have our retirement living standards continually keep improving. When will enough be enough? Isn't our standard of living pretty damn good compared to other nations and to what it was 100 or 200 years ago?

I a related vein, this ever-increasing desire for improved living standards and the greed with it has contributed to the economic crisis we have today. Common sense says that this caused by people not wanting to live according to their means.

For the record, I semi-retired when I was 39 and my net worth was actually minus $30,000. The reason that I have been successful in remaining semi-retired for over 20 years is that I don't live beyond my means.

So quite frankly, I don't have any sympathy for baby boomers who at 55 or 60 are broke today and are blaming the government or the economy. Come on, you big babies, grow up. Take responsibility for your lives.

You must force yourself to set retirement goals if you want to have an interesting retirement life. Regardless of how long you have to live, you want to make your life as interesting as possible. In other words, GET A LIFE or life will get the best of you.

Retirement Income Should Be Adequate for Most Canadian Retirees

"A life spent making mistakes," stated George Bernard Shaw, "is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

On that note, perhaps you are doing nothing at your job aside from putting in time.

Then it's time to retire.

But you are afraid to make a mistake because you may not have enough retirement income.

This information comes from Statistics Canada:

About two-thirds of "near-retirees" anticipate that their retirement income will be adequate or more than adequate to maintain their standard of living once they have left the workforce.

Individuals who receive advice are more likely than others to express confidence in the adequacy of their retirement savings to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

While most Canadians approaching retirement receive financial advice, including advice about retirement planning and programs, almost 3 in 10 do not.

Individuals who do not receive financial advice are less likely to expect their retirement income to be adequate than those who do receive advice. This relationship remains even when other characteristics such as income, pension coverage and registered retirement savings plan assets are taken into account.

Of the 7.2 million Canadians aged 45 to 59 in 2007, about 80% or 5.7 million were actively or recently employed and had not previously retired.

Of these 5.7 million near-retirees, 71% received financial advice from at least one source, and 50% received advice from at least one source in the financial industry. Almost 3 in 10 (29%) did not receive financial advice from any source.

While most individuals approaching retirement said they understood Canada's public retirement income programs, such as the Canada Pension Plan, Quebec Pension Plan and Old Age Security, one-quarter said they did not understand these programs at all.

A number of factors are associated with the likelihood of receiving financial advice and understanding public programs related to retirement preparations. These factors include an individual's proximity to retirement, financial resources, and demographic characteristics.

Retirement Living Requires Experiencing The Joy of Not Working

I received this letter about The Joy of Not Working from Wayne M. (he did not give his last name like most letter writers) of Williamsport, PA, in August 2008.

Dear Ernie:

I just finished reading the revised edition of The Joy of Not Working and it has really helped me to "slow down" and appreciate the simpler things in life.

The Get-a-Life Tree has also helped me out a lot because I now always have ideas of what to do with all of my spare time. I have been unemployed for awhile. I used to get bored and depressed because that's the way that society wants unemployed people to be, but I now have a renewed purpose — to enjoy life!

I just wanted to thank you for this wonderful book before I return it to the library. Maybe sometime I will buy The Joy of Not Working so I can have it handy all the time.

Thanks again for being there for all of us.

Sincerely,

Wayne M.

The Joy of Not Working is all about learning to live every part of your life - employment, unemployment, retirement, and leisure time alike - to the fullest. You too can join the thousands of converts and learn to thrive at both work and play. Illustrated by eye-opening exercises, thought-provoking diagrams, and lively cartoons and quotations, The Joy of Not Working will guide you to enjoy life like never before.


Purchase The Joy of Not Working on BarnesandNoble.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on BarnesandNoble.com

Purchase The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com with this direct link:

The Joy of Not Working on Amazon.com

See More Letters from Readers at:

Letters and Reviews about The Joy of Not Working

Real Life Success Stories from Readers about The Joy of Not Working

Retirement Living Made Easy - Live Gloriously, Live Happily, and Live Dangerously!

After I wrote a magazine article on how people can be creatively alive in their later years, I received several calls from readers. One caller was June Robertson, who was six months away from her ninetieth birthday. The enthusiasm and energy that she expressed on the telephone was overwhelming. I know people in their twenties and thirties who probably haven't shown that much enthusiasm and energy for more than one minute in their lives.

I learned some very interesting things about June. After her husband passed away many years ago, she never married again. Her income has been below the poverty line on occasion, yet she has managed to travel to Russia, Africa, Europe, and India, as well as several other countries. Unfortunately, she had to cancel a visit to China when she became ill, but she still intended to go at a later date.

June became a public speaker in her seventies. She didn't know she could do it until she appeared as a guest on a radio talk show. The people at the radio station liked her so much that they asked her to take over the show for a week. She was paid twenty dollars a day and enjoyed it immensely. She would have done it for nothing. Showing her love for adventure, June went up in a hot air balloon when she was seventy-eight.

All you television junkies, take heed! When I mentioned television to June, she told me that she watches very little TV and called it the "dumb box." Incidentally, she does have an addiction: books. I would say that if anyone is going to have an addiction, this is a rather good one to have.

When I asked June what advice she would give to us on how to live life to the fullest as we get older, she said that first we must not let our spirits down. Then she added, "We also must live gloriously, live happily, and live dangerously."

Note: This article is adapted from the book 1001 Ways to Enjoy Your Retirement (Published in Spanish, Korean, and French but not in English).