Set your alarm. Go to bed. Wake up. Shower. Drink your coffee. Get dressed. Go to work. Go to work. Go to work. Every day, for five days, at least.
This scheduled rhythmic life is known to everyone who has a full-time job. The loop of often stressful fast-paced daily chores do not end until retirement. Many adults look forward to the new chapter of relief, relaxation and reflection. Yet it is not a life free of problems or concerns. Living a happy and healthy life post retirement involves planning and thinking about health, family, purpose and finances.
Myrna Cooper, 64, recently retired in January 2021 from nursing and public health care work at the Northwestern Health Unit. She said everyday to her is a Saturday and she enjoys having the morning to herself.
Cooper said she had been thinking about retirement before COVID-19, but chose to continue working for 11 months when the healthcare sector was facing staff shortages.
“This was thought out for a while,” Cooper said. “It’s a time when the healthcare people are burnt out and tired. It’s hard to leave; it’s hard to stay, especially when you’re older. I lived through the work of the H1N1 in 2009 and it’s very demanding of your time and energy. This is a much larger magnitude of effort, work and energy.”
According to a report released by investment dealer Edward Jones in partnership with research company Age Wave, eight million Canadians said that COVID-19 has caused them to reconsider their retirement timing.
The report said one in three of those planning to retire are thinking about retiring later, predominantly for financial reasons: need for more income, reduction in savings, loss of investment value and increased uncertainty about how much money will be needed in retirement. Close to one in ten, however, are thinking about retiring earlier, often because they realized that they were looking forward to retirement, or they want to spend time doing other things that are more important to them than work.
Brenda Marr, 66, worked at the Fort Frances Clinic for 43 years and retired in December 2020. She said the retirement decision was difficult.
“It was a really, really difficult decision for me,” Marr said. “I love my job. I love the people I worked with. I enjoyed being in the public. I knew when I retired that that was going to be a thing of the past. I wouldn’t be going anywhere or doing very much.”
Marr said while she had retirement thoughts before COVID-19, the pandemic catalyzed her decision.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to retire, but now is a good time to retire because of COVID-19 and because I have a husband at home who is on oxygen,” Marr said. “Although I felt very safe at work as a receptionist, we were seeing more cases closer to home and I thought my odds are running out. I thought the one day I would be exposed to COVID-19 it would not be healthy or good for anybody.”
Besides COVID-19 being a reason for retirement, Marr also said she worked with two women at the clinic who retired before her and she missed them a lot.
“I was the older person there and I missed them a lot,” Marr chuckled. “COVID-19 could have my final reason for retiring but life is too short. I’d lost a lot of family members in the last five years. It’s time to enjoy the new part of life.”
While the good thing about retirement is not having to adhere to strict schedules, experts say retirees have to find purpose in their life.
The research report said contributing to the community, trying new things, developing new abilities, meeting personal goals and spending time with family are all vital to post retirement life.
“The important thing is for retirees to have a strong sense of purpose— activities to anticipate and energizing reasons to get out of bed in the morning and give meaning to each day,” the report reads.
Cooper said she lives in the country, has two horses, a donkey and other small animals that keep her busy. Cooper said she wants to enjoy nature, go kayaking and spend more time with her grandchildren and friends.
“There’s more work but it’s beautiful land and country around us. And I never had time to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing,” Cooper said. “We have a little snowshoe trail in our backfield. I also do art. I have not done that for years. It is very important for me to get back into my art.”
Marr on the other hand has taken up many projects, one of which is knitting. In the long term, she said she want to spend more time with family.
“I want to travel,” Marr said. “I want to go see my sisters, I have one in Edmonton and one in North Bay. I have grandchildren whom I like to see and do things with.”
Cooper and Marr said they did not fully exit their workplaces. Given both were working in healthcare, a sector currently facing staffing shortages, they said they offered to go back and fill in whenever they are needed.
If Marr has one piece of advice for those who are thinking about retirement it would be to just do it.
