|
| What were you most concerned with when you
first started to teach? Retirement? I doubt it as you’d be hard pressed to
find anybody planning for retirement at the beginning of their career!
Similarly, when you first retire your needs in thirty years rarely figure in
your immediate plans. For many, what’s important is to have enough money and
a good health insurance. For example, for some, to travel and to profit from
a well deserved retirement is far more important. We all know that as we
grow older changes will have to be made. Thanks to the pre-retirement workshops offered by RTO-ERO over the past few years, future retires have become well versed in planning for retirement. Pension, financial considerations, health benefits & insurance as well as personal retirement factors are all important topics dealt with in these workshops. After having experienced a plane crash and cancer, I soon realized that I would not live eternally. I had to start thinking about my future. I firmly believe that there’s a gradual and sometime unconscious evolution happening in retirement. Passing from one stage to the other must be done smoothly. When I first retired, I didn’t feel quite ready to give-up teaching entirely. I continued to teach as an extended occasional teacher for three years. I even taught English to young Japanese students for many years. I had to go through that stage of my retired life. The time came one day to go on to other hobbies. Soon after I retired, I got involved in RTO-ERO as newsletter editor at the district level. It was a period of my life when I started to like writing. Even though I’m not a writer, I take pleasure in informing colleagues on a variety of subjects. I live in a condo with a very small piece of land which is really not too difficult to take care. Even though, I’m in excellent health, I’m already contemplating a move into an apartment. In a few years after that, the logical step would be a move into a retirement home. It’s always best to choose the residence of your choice. Someone else’s choice may not suit you! It is a topic of a personal research that I will certainly share with my colleagues. Traveling all over the world is a passion for me. For many years during my teaching career, I chaperoned groups of students on exchanges abroad. It was natural to continue doing this after I retired. Perhaps one day I’ll have the opportunity to share my experiences with retired colleagues. In spite of best laid plans, things change because of illnesses or accidents. However, it doesn’t appear too logical not to have any plans. One must organize his retirement. Take the initiative to organize your life in order to have a smooth transition between the different stages of your retired life. You have choices to make. |