Psychological Phases of Retirement

a. Honeymoon Phase - I'm Free!

Honeymoons follow more than just weddings. Once the retirement celebrations are over, a period often follows where retirees get to do all the things that they wanted to do once they stopped working, such as travel, indulge in hobbies, visit relatives and friends far and wide, sleep all day long and so forth.

This phase has no set time frame and will vary depending on how many honeymoon activities the retiree has planned.

b. Disenchantment - So this is it?

This phase parallels the stage in marriage when the emotional high of the wedding has worn off and the couple now has to get down to the business of building a working relationship together.

After looking forward to this stage for so long, many retirees must deal with a feeling of being let-down, similar to that of newlyweds who must get down the business of living once the honeymoon is over.

Retirement isn't a permanent vacation after all; it also can bring loneliness, boredom, feelings of uselessness and disillusionment.

c. Reorientation - Building a New Identity

Fortunately, the let-down phase of retirement doesn't last forever. Just as married couples eventually learn how to live together, retirees begin to familiarize themselves with the landscape of their new circumstances and navigate their lives accordingly.

This is easily the most difficult stage in the emotional retirement process and will take both time and conscious effort to accomplish.

Perhaps the most difficult aspects of this stage to manage are the inevitable self-examination questions that must be answered once again, such as "Who am I, now?", "What is my purpose at this point?" and "Am I still useful in some capacity?”

New - and satisfying - answers to these questions must be found if the retiree is to feel a sense of closure from his or her working days.

Retirees cannot achieve this and never truly escape this stage.

We are going to make sure that you are not one of such retirees.

d. Routine - Moving On

A new daily schedule should be created, new marital ground rules for time together versus time alone are established, and a new identity has been at least partially created.

Eventually, the new landscape becomes familiar territory, and retirees can enjoy the last phase of their lives with a new sense of purpose.