While many books focus on the importance of financial planning for retirement, a local couple's new book looks at the emotional and psychological effects facing recent retirees.
West Vancouver residents Lois and Ron Richaradson's book Creating a Happy Retirement: A Workbook for an Action Plan is scheduled to be released in November.
Rather than a brief epilogue, retirement is a new stage of life, says Ron, who is a retired family therapist and marriage counsellor. His wife is a retired writer and book editor.
"More and more, people say, 'Hey, I'm going to be living for another 20 maybe 30 years, and how am I going to spend that time?'"
That new freedom can be frightening, particularly if who they are has become intertwined with what they do.
Ron recalls counselling a recent retiree who remained completely tied up in his job, even though it wasn't one he liked.
"He said: 'You know, I really did just feel like my life was over at 65. That was it.' He was discovering that he was alive and he wasn't doing much with it."
But while some seniors should embrace retirement, others need to keep their nose to the grindstone.
"There are people who definitely would just have no idea what to do with themselves if they couldn't go to their office every day," he says.
The Richardsons' book is partially intended to help couples talk through their ideas for retirement.
Some people can get quite invested in their grandchildren, and that becomes the focus for them in their life.
"But sometimes one partner isn't interested in that," says Ron.
For the Richardsons, travelling together before retirement was a great benefit in seeing how they each wanted to spend their time.
"One partner often expects the other partner to always be available for neutral activities," says Ron. "Some couples are fine with that but in many couples one person wants to continue with their independent activities."
Generally, a retiree should not have an abundance of free time on their hands, says Ron.
"As retired people we just say to each other all the time: I don't know how I ever had time for work," he says.
