Some people look forward to retirement as an extended holiday where they can finally slow down and ‘smell the roses’. Other people expect to have a busier, more active life than when they were working. Our vocation forms part of our identity. A person who has retirement forced on them because of redundancy may find it harder to adjust.
Retirement brings substantial changes to our lives and with that change may comes stress. Changes such as the following can be a source of stress in retirement:
Retirement stress is not inevitable. Planning and thinking can play major roles in reducing the sense of stress that often accompanies significant life changes
FOR MEN |
FOR WOMEN |
- Whether you have other savings and assets
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- Women now outlive men by an average of seven years. They will have to save more because they'll have more years of retirement to fund.
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- Whether you have any dependants
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- Savings are less financial instability
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- Do you need to continue working part-time or not
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- Women start saving later in life than men, so they have fewer years to accumulate enough to tide over
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- Your eligibility for pensions or part-pensions
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- Women avoid making investment decisions hence they do not have assets and investments to fall back on
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- Financial options if you or your partner fall ill
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- Generally, women are more conservative investors hence Women's investment returns are lower
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- The kind of retirement lifestyle you’re anticipating.
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- Unsupplemented burden of child and household support if the woman is a single parent
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- You can feel a loss of self-worth
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- Whether you have any dependants – old parents, children
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- Since women live longer – greater chances of financial instability due to illness
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- Spending time on hobbies and interests, for example, may not turn out to be as rewarding and meaningful as anticipated.
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- Expected to baby sit all the time.
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- expected to baby sit all the time.
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- One partner has retired or plans to retire, while the other wants to continue
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- It can be difficult at first to work out how much time to spend together.
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- Lack of personal space can cause stress and relationship conflicts.
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