Should you work after retirement? If you are fit and in full use of all your faculties there is no reason why not. Although the money you will receive for such endeavours is a bonus, the more important issue is to retain your self confidence and be of use to the community, although the money does, of course, put the icing on the cake.
Too many people want to retire with thoughts of not having to get up early, making that awful commute into work with all the stress it entails but all too often once the initial honeymoon has worn off retirees can become very bored unless they have very full and active hobbies that keep them interested. The new retiree can feel inadequate and useless especially if their partner and friends are still working having interesting conversations where the retiree is unable to contribute.
There are many and varied part-time jobs available which people of non-retirement age would not contemplate. Some employers only require someone to work one or two days a week or even just a few hours a day. In the UK the benefit system is such that if a non-retiree obtained one of these vacancies and they were receiving benefits, the reduction of the benefit on obtaining such employment would outweigh the amount of wage obtained meaning they would be worse off financially. Therefore the retiree is in a strong position to obtain this type of employment. Although retirees receive a State Pension they are given a very good personal allowance where they can work a number of hours a week tax free. This makes it a viable proposition for the retiree but not for the employee under pensionable age.
Retirement can start a whole new life of difference experiences. For instance the Company Director before retirement can become, say, a part-time taxi driver learning new skills completely alien to his past life, meeting and chatting to many people from all walks of life. This in itself can stimulate the retiree and give him/her a whole new lease of life. This in turn keeps the retired person fit and active – not sitting at home thinking old, acting old and feeling old.
If paid employment is not available there are always many organisations who need volunteers either to work in charity shops, driving elderly people to and from hospitals, doctors etc or working within an administration role in volunteer centres. Again this can be completely different from anything the retiree has done before but can be rewarding as well as interesting. Nearly every town has a volunteer centre who are always looking for people to assist.
Therefore “should you work after retirement?” – Definitely – for as long as you possibly can.