Retirement should be something to look forward to with anticipation and excitement, a well-earned reward for decades of hard work.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average age at retirement in Australia is 63 years old, while the average life expectancy for Aussies is 82 years old. That leaves a considerable part of our lives to be lived in retirement.
While retirement is the end of one chapter of life, it is also the beginning of a whole new one. Here are some considerations to help you embrace retirement with anticipation rather than angst:
Start viewing retirement as a blessing, not a burden. The sooner you retire, the more time you will have for all the things you want to and the people you love, free from the pressures and time limitations of work. As the saying goes, ‘The lucky ones retire early’.
Retirement is a chapter in your life unlike any other. It is one of the few times in life where you are completely free to rearrange your lifestyle and its priorities. Picking up old hobbies, pursuing new ones, travelling, or following an intellectual pursuit can define an entirely new way of life. It’s never too late to pursue the life you’ve always wanted.
Retirement can lead to better mental and physical health. Retirement can result in increased sleep duration, elimination of work-induced stress and more time to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. A study published by the Journal of Health Economics revealed that retiring in your 50’s can result in a 20% reduced risk of developing diabetes or heart conditions by the time you reach your late 60’s. But it isn’t simply the act of retirement that makes you healthier, it’s what you do during that time. Retirement provides the ideal opportunity to experiment with cooking healthier meals and taking part in outdoor activities such as walking or kayaking to get the blood flowing.
Whether you’re working, retired or planning to start the next chapter of your life in the not-too-distant future, GemLife makes it easy for you to live the active, vibrant life you deserve in your 50s and beyond. With exceptional, first-class recreational facilities and beautifully designed, low-maintenance homes, GemLife’s secure, friendly communities are created exclusively for the over-50s.