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ENGAGED RETIREMENT

People retiring today, whether voluntarily or through layoffs, can expect to live as long as 30-40 years in retirement. They are the most educated and healthiest group of retirees in history. This is also the first cohort to have large numbers of women retiring, especially managerial and professional women. Earlier generations of women were mostly homemakers.

Retirement is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage of life, and also may be the beginning of a whole new career, such as an encore job that give back to the community, or starting one’s own business. Some people may “retire” many times before they cease to work for income permanently.

However, retirement is a major life change.  Many people experience significant stress and even depression as a reaction to this change.  For women, it often means returning to the role of homemaker and (grand) child care.  Some welcome this role, while for many of the managerial and professional women, this is a role they previously rejected.

ENCORE CAREERS

The transition is easier if some thought and planning is done before hand. Work provides certain benefits beyond remuneration: structure, status and identity, a sense of usefulness, social interaction. A satisfying retirement lifestyle will include activities that replace these work-related benefits. The following programs are available from the Princeton Senior Resource Center to help people make the transition to this new stage of their lives.