College Student with
Retirement Question

by Brenda
(PA)

HI! I'm in an adulthood and aging course at Lackawanna College, PA. My Professor's name is Sharon N. A classmate and I are doing a power point presentation on retirement. I was wondering what you felt was the most important thing that we as students need to know about retirement and what retirees go through. I hope that I can get some feed back from you on this issue.

Thank you for your time!

Wendy's Response:

What I really think is this: everyone worries about finances, how do you ever know you have enough? You don't know, as you don't know your life expectancy and how long your money will last.

Personally, I retired this year at 55, mom is doing fine at 84. If I live as long as she does, that's perhaps 30+ years on this fixed retirement income and savings. yikes! It's always a concern and what the media focuses on...

BUT -- finances aside, some people retire, walk out that door for the last time and never look back... luckily this happened to me. I'm happy, content (but I have busy days with my websites for income).

This doesn't happen to everyone... so many get depressed. One day you are Someone at Work, the next day, sitting at home, alone, you are "nobody". You lose your identity. You aren't sure when to get up and what to do all day.. 24/7.. who am I and what do I do Now?

This is even worse in today's economy... folks forced to retire due to layoffs, downsizing, and all that. They weren't ready, finances not ready, and yet they are out of work. They are worried about their income, retirement savings, and the fact that they may never work again.

Many people seem to have a fixed date in mind for retirement -- I'll retire on my 62nd birthday and get Social Security. It's like that for years, that's the plan, but BAM - laid off and what now? They get so focused on that date that they arbitrarily picked, many years ago, that they didn't really plan yet.

Layoffs, finding jobs, being out of work is devastating enough for anyone.. but when you are near retirement, even more so.

Bottom Line: Men and women, professionals and not, this retirement transition depression hurts. I've had many professionals (engineer, federal law enforcement, etc) and many others, I've emailed with and they lose themselves and can't seem to crawl back out of this dark hole. I often wonder what they are like in their real lives -- does family understand the darkness they feel? Do they smile around family, for a few hours at Sunday dinner, and then crawl back into depression? Most of us can fake it...

Is it my website that draws depressed newly retired folks? I think not... I get lots of retirees who try to help them see reality too, but this new retirement depression is something I rarely see in the media, and yet, it happens frequently at my website.

I have quite a few pages to read about the same thing... After Retirement Anxiety and Depression -at the bottom of this page (and many others throughout my site), retirees are expressing themselves. Read their own words, and the comments they got too...

If you have any questions, I'll help you more if I can!

p.s. I really did
retire to the internet! I have very nice monthly income and it's growing steadily... to me, its a win-win for retirees who need to keep busy and need supplemental income too. Then again, its a win-win for anyone... grin! Click on any of the photos for more info!

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