Retirement

It is considered retirement when an individual decides to cease employment and leave the labour force. There are many reasons why an individual retires and social security is one of the major factors. Most people retire when they are eligible for either public or private pensions but there could be other factors that affect their decision. They may have been forced to retire due to ill health or an accident. There may have been a financial incentive to retire like a sudden acquisition of wealth.

Most people are more likely to retire at the early to normal retirement ages of the public pension system 62 – 65. Greater wealth can be an incentive to retire earlier, especially if an individual has spent a large portion of their life specifically increasing their savings with retirement in mind. Many individuals are married when they retire and this may affect the retirement age of their spouse. There have been recent increases in earlier retirement because of the amount of redundancies during the current economic downturn and the difficulty in finding new employment. There are factors that contribute to retiring at a later age because they have depleted resources or are in financial crisis. They may also fear loneliness or a feeling of worthlessness.

A retired individual will generally make major changes in their life style after retirement. This is mainly to properly utilise their free time and adapt to the change of income. Individuals of greater wealth may choose to travel or take up expensive hobbies, however, most retirees begin to go through a period of depression bought on by the sudden increase of free time and their sudden removal from their social context making newly retired one of the most vulnerable social groups. This is often bought on by fears or experiences of loneliness or feelings of uselessness. This is typically more likely in individuals suffering from new or declining health issues. Many individuals take on a more active role in their family’s lives and activities and form new friendships and relationships to lessen these problems.

Individuals suffering from declining or new health problems may seriously struggle financially because of their care needs or they may become too ill to take care of themselves requiring home care or even the need to move into a care home. This can be an extremely difficult period of their lives and causes tremendous stress, especially if they are alone, with no friends or family for support. Thankfully, with the ‘Internet Boom’ of the early 90′s, more and more information to help individuals with these needs can be found on-line. I particularly recommend a new website called Compare Care Homes which has popped up recently because it has a wealth of advice on a range of issues including financing advice as well as the most up to date listing of current care homes. It also is the first care home website I have seen that offers a comparison feature.

www.comparecarehomes.com