As a young man in his late twenties, a friend of ours developed a master plan he wishes he had followed more rigorously now that he’s well into his Third Age and no more prepared for retirement now than he was then.

It was based at the time on the premise that people needed to Plan Ahead and prepare for their retirement. That being the case, he surmised, the earlier one started, the better.

So with that in mind, he decided to retire by his 40^th birthday at the very latest. His thinking being that with the official retirement age being 65, he would have 25 years to get used to it. Twenty five years to Plan Ahead and prepare for his retirement so that when it officially came around, he wouldn’t find it such a shock. He would be used to it and so could take the whole sorry process in his stride.

Contributing to this somewhat naïve conclusion was he believes the death of his grandfather who retired from the Civil Service at the age of 65 one mid-December, only to drop dead just 3 weeks later on the 1^st of January the following year. ‘Some reward for 50 years of service,’ he thought to himself. ‘That is never going to happen to me. I’ll make sure I’m ready for my retirement when it comes so the shock doesn’t kill me of a heart attack after less than three weeks of freedom.’

Now of course his grandfather would almost certainly have died that day whether he had retired or not. But it is a fact that many of his generation did suffer premature deaths within a short time of their retirement for that very reason. At that time – as is the case still for many people today – work was their life. It was the be all and end all of their very existence. For people like our friend’s grandfather work was the sole provider not only of their means of making a living, but of their social lives and entertainment as well. Take away the work, take away the social life and what do you have left? Not a lot!

Of course his grandfather’s generation did not have the benefits as do we of shorter working hours, more disposable income and greater access to all means of things to keep us entertained when we’re not at work. In the case of his grandfather, when he was not at work – which in those days was 6 days a week – he was mowing someone’s lawn to earn a few extra shillings or whittling away at a piece of wood in his workshop making toys and playthings for his grandchildren. That or chopping up wood to make kindling and logs for that evening’s fire. And when it got dark he’d sit in his armchair and in between bouts of dozing, listen to the radio until it was time to go to bed. Is it any wonder that he and people like him felt lost and useless without work!

So, whether solely because of the death of his grandfather or not, he developed his theory. That we all need to plan for our retirement, not only by saving as much as we can afford, but by developing as many interests and relationships as possible outside of work so that when work comes to an end, we are not left bereft of a purpose in life as was he and many of his generation. Okay, our friend may have missed his own personal target by 20 years but, as the saying goes, it’s never too late to start!

In the second part of this 2-part article, we’ll be exploring some of the things you can do to Plan Ahead for your own retirement.

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