Now, I will revert to the subject allotted to me,
“Living Happily After Retirement”.
In the times of our fathers and grandfathers, retirement was not much of a problem.
There are three reasons for this.
First, Life Expectancy.
Fifty years ago, the life expectancy at the age of retirement fixed at 55--was 60.
A study of Government records revealed that very few people enjoyed pension for more than five years at that time. Most people died before sixty and consequently spending five years after retirement did not pose any major problem.
Today Life Expectancy at retirement at 58 or 60-- is 75 years which means half of your working life is still left after retirement. To give you an example two Senior Officers of RBI died at 93 years—35 years after retirement.
The second reason is the change in the family structure.
Half a century ago most people were in a joint family. The day you laid down office, you still had a large family around you. Surely, in a large family there was always something you could do that was meaningful and made you feel you were contributing to the family.
Today the family has become nuclear—husband, wife, children. By the time one retires, the children have gone away. In good old times, daughters used to get married and promptly go away. Nowadays sons get married and shift on and for First Night itself !
What is left is the old couple—You for Me and Me for you. This is not particularly easy to accept and adjust to after retirement.
The third reason is the problem of “Roots.”
In halcyon days, people used to have a “native place” and an “ancestral home”.
They looked forward to going there and settling down after retirement. Today except for Leave Fare Concession purposes, there is nothing left in terms of native place. People often are confused as to where to settle.
These three problems make retirement planning a crucial item. If you have planned for retirement you can anticipate and tackle these problems. People are not accustomed to the idea of staying by themselves. If one asks an audience of prospective retirees and their wives “How many of you expect to stay after retirement with your children, hardly one hand goes up. If some husband raises his hand, his wife immediately slaps it down saying, “I’ll be damned if I am going to stay with my daughter-in-law!”
So it is a tough problem to think about old people staying—just the two of them. This makes planning all the more significant.
The most difficult problem that we face after retirement is the psychological one.
When an executive retires, he is at the peak of his career—his status, prestige and financial acumen. The moment he lays down office, all these desert him. He discovers that “Everything becomes Less and Less”.
The first thing he notices is the way his status and prestige are affected. Even at home, the retired person is no longer the important person. If he demands of his wife an early breakfast, she will promptly admonish him, “You are retired now. So take it easy. Let those employed go first !”. He is no longer “Numero Uno”.
We all have twenty four hours at our disposal, whether we like it or not. When you are a Senior Executive you work for ten, twelve or even fifteen hours and you feel “Suppose I had two hours more how nice it would be!. Life would be easier.”
After retirement we have twenty four hours and nothing to do! is one thing. Result – misery and this one he likes to spread! No man wants to be miserable alone. He will make as many people miserable as he can. A man who has nothing to do will harass people around him. Turning on head the Benthamite principle of maximization of welfare—maximisation of ill-fare!.
There are two solutions to this problem.
One is to continue to do the same work one was doing at the time of retirement.
The first option is very convenient but where is such an opportunity for the majority? There is the temptation to wangle out an extension but this does lead to compromising principles which many succumb to regrettably. I have seen Senior Officers accepting jobs as liaison officers and standing outside the cabin of their subordinates and seek favours from them. But how long-lasting is the solution. Extension merely postpones the problem. It crops up again quite swiftly.
The second option is to do something different, i.e., option to get another job.
An executive can get another job provided he is willing to sacrifice self-respect. Generally jobs are given by the previous employer’s suppliers. Cases are legion where army, navy, air force officers are caught for espionage in such employment. In commercial organizations Officers are employed to get orders and collect bills speedily from their erstwhile Employers. So you will agree that this is no solution.
All of you are aware that the Bard of Avon-- William Shakespeare wrote of the “Seven Stages of Man”.
Modern psychologists have abridged it to four and these are thus.
Before finding a girl—Spiderman
After engagement------Superman
10 years after marriage-Watchman
20 years after marriage - Doberman
(to be continued)