We all have an image in our heads about retirement and all that it entails. We are picturing sunny days and lots of cold beer with our friends and family. Every day is going to be a new adventure, and with the right planning, you can do something different every day. You can take in 18 holes of golf and still have time to have lunch and a few beers with your mates. This is the picture that we have, but in reality retirement can be very difficult for some particular segments of society. I am, of course, talking about people who work as first responders, and for them retirement always comes too soon.
Statistics tell us that people who are involved in jobs such as being a police officer, a fireman or an EMT, find it a lot more difficult to step back from their jobs, and so it is fair to say that there are concerns for EMT retirement well-being. These are people who’ve been on the front line for over 40 years and now there are being put out to pasture. This can be a difficult time because they feel that they have so much more to offer, but retirement is mandatory and there is nothing they can do about it. There are many downsides to retirement and we will try to cover just a couple of them here today.
- Far too much time – When you are working, you are always complaining that you don’t have enough time to yourself so that you can spend it with family and friends. However, when retirement comes along you have all the time in the world, and in fact, you probably have too much of it. Each day tends to run into the next and after a time, you just can’t come up with anything new that you want to do. You’re going to get bored and this will lead to depression, and your physical and mental well-being will begin to suffer.
- Not enough money – Before when you’re working, there were always opportunities to do overtime and to make more money. Now that you are retired, you will be on a fixed retirement income and you might not be able to live the life that you have grown accustomed to. This can be a very difficult transition and one that many people find the most difficult. Not being able to buy something that you want is massively demotivating, and once you start cutting corners, you might make poor decisions with regard to your welfare.
These are only two of the downsides of retirement and there are many more. It is important that we go into retirement understanding what lies ahead, and realizing that it’s not a bed of roses.
