"Retirement is for those who prepare for it" was and continues to be a good adage. The welfare state has taken care of the financial aspects for many, but more than a monthly check is necessary to make the majority of retired persons happy. They must prepare to enjoy their leisure time.
Some industries are taking a positive approach to this aspect of retirement by conducting lectures on how to prepare for those years after 64. Employees of 50 to 55 are invited to attend and in some instances, the wife also is asked. The teachers are said to be experts along this line and discuss personal adjustments, health, work and leisure, living arrangements, and finances. These different facets of retirement are mentioned because more than a hobby is needed to be happy in the leisure years.
Retirement should not be a roleless period. On several occasions we have said the individual is happiest when he retires to something. This applies to most of us, including men and women who welcome retirement as a release from an uninteresting job.
It is important to indulge in some advance thinking on the subject to prevent it from becoming a useless period. This may mean a new but less exasperating job or moving to more pleasant surroundings near relatives or friends. Others will enjoy the freedom to stroll, read, observe, or do whatever they want to. Constructive, self-satisfying activities make the retiree feel useful and needed.
The saddest group are those who retire to nothing. These individuals come from the top as well as the bottom of the industrial ladder and spend their time dwelling on what they retired from—position, wages, and companionship. They could have used a little advance guidance.
Preparation for retirement ought to be started years beforehand because many of the wonderful things in life take time to appreciate. A man who never has read a book, made a garden, or gone to a concert cannot bank on enjoying these things the week after his 65th birthday. The seed of interest must be cultivated through training and education, starting well ahead of the change. The need for good health also must be appreciated.
