Accumulating enough money to retire is an achievement that deserves to be celebrated. You can finally take a long-awaited trip around the world, or invite your colleagues and family members to join you for a retirement party. Or maybe you want to retreat from the working world in a little cabin by a lake where no one will bother you. Here’s how to commemorate your retirement. Emily Brandon, author and writer for US News, suggests some ideas for celebrating your retirement.
Plan a party
Break out the champagne and invite all your colleagues, clients and customers to join you for a party. The party theme might center around your retirement plans, such as a luau for a retiree about to take off for Hawaii or a nautical-themed party for someone who is planning to set sail on her boat. Sometimes the type of work the retiree performed also plays a role in the party, with references to things you bought or sold on the job. “This is not a time for an airing of the grievances,” cautions Jeffrey Seglin, director of the Harvard Kennedy School Communications Program and author of “The Simple Art of Business Etiquette: How to Rise to the Top by Playing Nice.” “Celebrating how much you have liked working with the people could be the focus.” Introverts might prefer a smaller gathering with the colleagues they worked closely with or a dinner with family and friends.
Take a trip
You’re no longer limited by your vacation days. You can take off on a world tour, drive across the country in a recreational vehicle and linger in a given place as long as it holds your interest. Retirees can also use travel deals for flying midweek or on short notice. “You can actually take advantage of those last-minute airfares online that you could not do while you were working because you had to go to a meeting,” Seglin says. “You could leave on a Tuesday to go to Iceland.” Traveling at off-peak times might also mean smaller crowds and more personal attention. Many hotels, buses, trains, tourist attractions, museums and entertainment venues provide seniors card holder discounts
You can turn off your alarm clock. There’s no reason to hurry in the morning. Pour yourself a second cup of coffee and read the paper. Now that you don’t have a job with deadlines, you don’t need to rush to get everything done. Having no set schedule can take some adjustment, but also gives you the freedom to do what you want to do. Go ahead and enjoy a two-hour lunch with a friend. You no longer have a pressing meeting to rush back to work for. “A lot of people do want to plan a trip right when they retire, but then they relax and kick back for a little bit,” says Keith Deane, a certified financial planner for Deane Retirement Strategies in New Orleans, Louisiana. “Some people will relax for two or three months or two or three years.”
Reflect
You probably accomplished a lot during your career. “If you had a career where you were constantly building it and thinking about your next opportunity, stopping work may be a big deal,” says Barbara Pachter, a career coach specializing in business etiquette and author of “The Communication Clinic: 99 Proven Cures for the Most Common Business Mistakes.” “If you were a senior vice president someplace and all of a sudden you are retired, you have no positional power.” Retirement can be a time to reflect on what you have done in your life. You could collect and caption pictures in a photo album, or write down your thoughts in a memoir. Perhaps you would like to pass on your skills to a young person through a tutoring or mentoring program. You might want to share your own childhood memories with your grandchildren. Think about how you would like to be remembered and start telling your story.
Plan your next chapter
Many retirees need to relax after several decades of work, but a time will come when sitting around the house starts to get a little boring and you are ready for your next project. This might mean accepting a volunteer position with a local charity or taking a college class in a subject that interests you. “You could take a course at a local community college with people who are younger and see the world in a different way,” Seglin says. “Most people retiring now can do an online course. If MIT is offering something and you live in Kansas, you don’t need to travel to Cambridge to take the course.” Maybe you will want to take on a part-time job to bring in some extra income and to have a place to go to be among people every day. “You could take care of the grandchildren. Working parents are very grateful for that,” Pachter says. “The flip side of that is your daughter might expect you to be available every time she calls.” Some retirees spend their days engaged in hobbies, such as working in the garden or playing regular rounds of golf. Taking on a new project will bring a sense of purpose to your retirement years.
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