Enjoying your retirement
Retirement can be a golden opportunity to make changes to
your lifestyle and routine and boost your wellbeing in the process. Find out
more about the benefits of using your extra leisure time to stay active and
connected to your community.
Making the most of a new life stage
If you’ve been working for much of your life, starting
retirement is likely to bring some significant changes to your routine. By
taking the opportunity to make the most of all this extra time on your hands,
you can plan for a retirement that’s as exciting as it is rewarding. Enjoying a
retirement that keeps you active and social is also a great way to invest in
your mental and physical health, now and in the future.
More time for your health and wellbeing
Retirement often
means healthy and positive changes to lifestyle habits. Compared with their
working peers, retired people are likely to sleep more, spend less time sitting
down and more time being physically active.
A major life change like retirement creates a great window
of opportunity to make positive lifestyle changes – it’s a chance to get rid of
bad routines and engineer new, healthier behaviours. When people are working
and commuting, it eats a lot of time out of their day. When they retire, they
have time to be physically active and sleep more.
Whether it’s spending more time planning healthy meals,
getting into the habit of going for a regular walk or bike ride or joining a
local gym, sports club or team, there are plenty of ways you can use your time
in retirement to keep yourself in the best of health.
Stay social to boost your health even further
Some of these activities will also come with the added bonus
of new social and community connections. After stopping work, you could find
that your social circle will change. Opportunities to connect with work friends
may be less frequent, particularly if they haven’t retired yet or you’ve made a
move to a new location as part of your retirement plan.
It seems pretty obvious that keeping up with friends and
family will be good for your mental health, regardless of your age. Seeing more
of friends in your later years has a very positive impact on life satisfaction,
as social isolation can actually be as bad for your health as smoking and
drinking alcohol and has a bigger impact on life expectancy than lack of
exercise or being overweight.
It can take time to build up your social network in
retirement, so start to make a plan for how you’ll connect with your local
community while you’re still at work. Your local council will be a good
resource for information about groups you can join and finding out what’s going
on locally. Searching online is also a great way to discover
activities you’d like to take part in.
Feel good about giving back
Volunteering can also be a great way to meet people and make
a positive contribution to your community. If you find yourself missing the
routine and sense of purpose you experienced with your job, volunteering can be
a good substitute. Keeping active and getting involved in voluntary work
definitely brings retirees a lot of benefits that would have been brought about
by keeping on working.
Speak to local community groups or search online to explore
opportunities that interest you or could benefit from your skills. As well as
organised volunteering programs, you might be interested in sharing your skills
in a mentoring or tutoring arrangement. You can choose to offer your time and
skills as a volunteer or by working part time if you need an income boost.
Spread your wings
Your retirement is also the ideal time to tick off some
destinations on your bucket list. Many companies organise travel programs
specifically suited for people who are travelling in retirement. These trips
can be ideal if you’re looking to meet and travel with like minded people and
have all the hard work and planning taken care of. Remember to arrange
insurance to make sure you’re covered for unforeseen events and any medical
issues on your travels.
Keeping busy on a budget
Staying social and active in retirement doesn’t have to cost
much. While some interests, like golf or crafts, may involve spending on
memberships and materials, there are plenty of recreation activities that are
low cost or even free. Investing in a sturdy pair of shoes is all you need to
join a local walking club and showing your support at a local sports event
likely won’t cost you a cent.
With life expectancy rising, you could have many years
ahead of you to enjoy new interests, friendships and opportunities to support
your community. But it’s also important to plan for a secure retirement income
so you can enjoy all these things with peace of mind about your financial
future.
Source: Challenger