Retirement, What Does it Mean?

I retired on January 1, 2011. Oh my God! Retired? "What are you going to do?" The most common question that points to  only part of the fear of this life changing event. I had worked since age 13, because my vigilant mother "kept me off the streets of Chicago" when I was growing up. Probably a prudent idea. I was a creative energetic young man and probably would have thought of many pranks to land me in the dog house.  Pranks like joining the Crandon gang-- we lived on Oglesby--and getting into rock fights with others in the neighborhood.  Even better, throwing a mud ball into the window of a neighbor during a quiet summer night. But I'm all "growed up" now, and have found it in me to retire.

Two specific thoughts encouraged me.  Two good reasons that compelled me to draw that inevitable line in the sand, and cross over. Retirement generates a lot of fears as it approaches, but my reasons pushed me into it. They are good reasons. When I was younger, I used to joke that I will retire after my first heart attack. Fortunately, that didn't happen.

Carrying on with that theme, however, my first reason was that IT DOESN'T GO ON FOREVER. I have seen too many of my close friends "leave" during my 68 years on this earth. Paul died of pancreatic cancer at about 42, and Wilson died in Viet Nam shortly after we graduated from college. Along the road ( I was a physician) I saw many folks who met their maker too early. I think my previous profession planted the idea of eventual demise firmly in my thoughtful psyche. It's going to happen to all of us and, even if we don't believe it, the end will come. I wanted some time to enjoy life while I still had the blessing of reasonable health. I also observed that I began to resemble the patients I was operating on as I vaulted into my 60s. I found that this observation was--along with the increased Motrin I was taking-- a helpful warning that I was getting older and the time for leaving had arrived.

My second reason for retiring was that I had practiced medicine long enough. That might sound strange because most elderly workers say they "like their job," and I did too. It's just that I wanted to give myself the gift of doing something else. I have always had multiple interests, but while working, I didn't have the time to develop any of them. I viewed this idea of the "gift" as a form of self-respect. It was these two sound ideas that forced me to take the big leap.

Will I have enough money put away to retire? (Most of us believe we will never have enough.) What will I do? How much will I miss all the people at work? Am I really getting that old? Don't you fall apart as soon as you stop working? Keep active, and use your brain. How's your memory?  As I invade my wife's space at home, will we have to adjust to each other? There are just too many pertinent questions to answer, and they kept me so busy, I didn't have time to worry about retirement. My two reasons carried me forward.

I understand that there are 78 million Baby Boomers-- those born between Jan. 1,1946 and December 31, 1964--and they are reaching the age of 65 at the rate of 10,000 every day for the next 19 years. That's a lot of old people. and many of the statistics don't look promising.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, it will pay out more in Social Security benefits in 2010 than it receives. The Illinois Teachers Retirement System is 61% underfunded at this time. Finally, by 2025, there will be two workers for each retiree; in 1950 there were 16 workers for each retiree. Financially, the system doesn't look too healthy. Keeping all those retirees comfortable will be an augean task.

Under the best of circumstances, retirement can be looked at as a "rebirth": new challenges, new possibilities, and if one is fortunate in health, a few years to do and see things that were previously beyond the reach of time and work obligations.

As a physician, I was  fortunate to have a career that gave me the privilege and the opportunity to help people in need. I am hoping that I can find other activities and continue to contribute in different ways.

As I work my way along this new road, using my time well is one of my biggest challenges. Time becomes more precious as I grow older, and the benefit of retirement gives me the opportunity to choose how I spend it and inevitably to shape my future.