What is your after retirement plan?

Our plan was to travel as much as we could before we were not able to. In the 10 years after we retired, we took 50 trips.
After that we slowed down, and our last couple were round trip cruises from our home port, NO airports.
But as the saying goes,"man plans, God laughs". After retiring to a +55 MHP for 15 years, we moved to an apartment overlooking the ocean. There is so much more activity here, and a wider range of ages.
 
bowmore said:
Our plan was to travel as much as we could before we were not able to. In the 10 years after we retired, we took 50 trips.
After that we slowed down, and our last couple were round trip cruises from our home port, NO airports.
But as the saying goes,"man plans, God laughs". After retiring to a +55 MHP for 15 years, we moved to an apartment overlooking the ocean. There is so much more activity here, and a wider range of ages.
Click to expand...
Wow that’s an average of 5 trips a year. I would be too tired to do anything else if I traveled that much:)). Once a year is enough for me.
 
Unfortunately, I didn't have a plan. I couldn't picture myself not working. That's why I bought a liquor/convenience store with my cousin. I guess I thought I'd work there until I died. Instead, I sold him my half after about 3 years. My back just couldn't take all the lifting and stocking and standing anymore.

We actually hired a guy to do some of that but we saw him stealing cash on our security video, and that ended hiring any help.
 
Travel is just over-rated for seniors. When you travel you will find that most of the countries in this world are noisy, dirty, polluted and the locals hate the tourists. Sure, you can take tours and be "protected" from the locals but you are not seeing the real thing. You are seeing some phony, make believe tourist crap sold to you by the country's tourist bureau. Maybe the "folk dancing" at your plush resort is your thing but if you see the real country you will see a lot of poverty, dirt, unemployment, heat, noise and broken pavement.

Folks will hate me for posting this but hey, I have seen 67 countries over the year so I should have learned something. Travel is a huge business and the propaganda is out there for you to spend your money and "see the world." However, the world is not what you think it is. Here are a couple of facts:
1. By this July, Indian will surpass China as the largest populated country in the world.
2. The population of Melbourne, Australia is surpass Sydney as the largest city is Australia. How large are these cities? They are almost 5 million each. Larger than Toronto or Vancouver, Canada. You wanta find, Crocodile Dundee?" Good luck! Chances are pretty good you'll find an urbanite carrying a brief case and shouting into his smartphone. For this you spent thousands of dollars? I can see this for free where I live!
 

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I didn't really make a plan for what to do after retirement. Like the saying goes "Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans." Two of the reasons I retired 25 years ago were because my health wasn't good and my mother was aging and needed more of my time. She and my husband used to tease me about being busier in retirement than when I was working. I also was baby sitter, "chauffeur" for Mama and my grandchildren, who had to get to daycare and school and sometimes even for my step children and step grandchildren.

When those responsibilities started to lessen, my husband and I began traveling...nothing fancy, just trips to visit relatives down south and our newly purchased timeshares in the Poconos (PA) and later on...Atlantic City, N.J, neither of which were in our plans. :) We did timeshare exchanges a few times to go to Virginia Beach and Ocean City, MD. We also went to Baltimore, MD to visit his sons and Washington, DC . I couldn't get my husband to take a cruise but finally got to go on a 7 day cruise to Bermuda in 2019, a few months after he passed. Earlier that year I visited my honorary son in Tampa, FLA. I also spent several weeks at the AC timeshare that year, something I planned to do every year but COVID halted that plan for a couple of years. Another example of plans being altered: I had planned to do more traveling after the pandemic slowed down but now with our "new" kitten, who definitely has separation anxiety, I don't want to be gone for too many consecutive days.

Shortly after retirement in 1998, I purchased a used digital piano from my alma mater's piano sale and started composing songs, some of which wound up on my debut CD, released in 2003. I never dreamed I'd be releasing an album! After a long hiatus I released 3 songs in 2020. 1998 is also the year I met my half siblings, "new" nieces, nephews and cousins. This opened up more opportunities for family time and socialization. My current plans are to continue working on songs for my next release, hopefully by the end of summer, start spending time at the timeshare again and just enjoy all the beauty that nature has to offer that will uplift me and give me a sense of peace.
 
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I had no "grand plan" for retirement because I didn't plan to retire when I did. I was let go at 63, along with 50% of my co-workers, due to the pandemic. My only plan had been to sock away as much money as I could into my 401k for many years prior. I had also started to realize during the pandemic that my personal life was just as important as my corporate life. I think it changed many of our perspectives.

When my boss called me to tell me my job had been eliminated, he got emotional. I told him not to worry because I was emotionally and financially ready to move to the next chapter. It will be 3 years in June that I've been retired, and I'm enjoying it.
I've read many articles that say it is important to have a routine after you retire. I worked from home, so my routine was to go into my home office and have my coffee while I checked e-mails and watched the news. I then spent the rest of the day responding to emails or calls.

These days, my routine is to go into my home office and watch the news or pre-recorded late-night shows while I have my coffee. My afternoon is spent at the gym, walking by the lake, seeing a movie or discovering new meals at various markets. I occasionally call friends who are either retired or who are still with my former company just to catch up. That satisfies the social side of things.

I don't miss my work life at all. I'm less stressed and healthier now, and I'm able to manage my own time.
 
I've been retired for 31 years. Luckily my wife and I are still moving along together as we have been for the last 70 years. As we approach 90 we're slowing to a crawl.

We've enjoyed our retirement immensely but I have to guess that our "AFTER RETIREMENT" plan will be the "big sleep" that comes to all of us, some soon than later.

Never made any grandious plans for retirement but it's been wonderful and we're nearing the end surrounded by family. Today there's nothing that special going on although there's 2 daughters, a SIL, and 2 grandkids (in their 20's) going about their day. Makes for happy times.
 
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Part of my retirement plan was to travel which I have. When I was married we took the motor home to national parks and it was great because we could take the dogs. We also took 6 cruises and I have been to Europe 6 times. I am going to France next year and then that’s probably the end of it as I have seen the places I wanted.
 
Get weight down to a healthy level<----- did that. Travel to every where we wanted to go including a cruise <----- did that. Did not like the cruise so eliminated that as a future thing to do. Then it was hiking a lot of national parks <----- did that. Month & a half road trip around the pacific northwest to middle america <----- did that. Now it's regular daily exercize, a couple of trips each week to a casino. Prepping & preparing meals<--- that can take two to 3 hours just to prep & cook but so worth it. Right now were experimenting with oriental cusine.

Occasionally helping a neighbor with repairs that are easy for me but not so much for those that changing a light switch for them would normally involve calling an electrician.

Then there is TV. Really hooked on those 150 plus episodes of Latin telenovelas.
 
I retired at 65 and couldn't stand the thought of doing nothing or "travel" so I found a horse rescue that needed volunteers and after all these years I'm still there. I'm 83 and can clean a stall with the best of them. Our horses come from the race tracks when they are injured and can't run or they simply don't win enough to earn their keep. We rehab them then retrain them and adopt them out to their forever homes. I love it. Horses keep you young and on the move. It's not for the faint hearted because they do keep you on your toes but it's my world and I wouldn't have it any other way.
 
1) Way more hiking! 20+ miles of trails per week is already typical and I am still working 3 days/week. Why not double that??? I bet I'd be less fat!
2) Get better at my volunteering gig. It's a labor of the heart, not because some company says they have strategic goals.
3) The barn needs organizing and I need molding around my office walls and and and and and...
4) I haven't been bored in over 50 years. I think I wouldn't mind terribly if I happened to experience it again, maybe just a little, maybe just enough to feel what it's like.
 
I have health issues and have really never worked since the kids were small. I guess you could say I’ve been retired since then. But everyone who knows me would laugh. I volunteered my time, ended up homeschooling kids and, later, after the kids left home, decided to become an artist.

I hate travel. I mean, I love seeing friends and relatives. It’s the getting there and coming back I hate. I find it boring. I also find it majorly annoying that I’m expected to plan our trips on the fly. “Sorry, no, Cape Breton won’t have an available room two days before our July flight.” Car rental? One week before we leave? Not likely! I’ve put down my foot and refused to plan any more trips. It’s too stressful for me.

I spend my time in my garden and working art stuff, which I love…can hardly call it work.
 
It seems to me that the people that stay busy when retired are happier and live longer. By staying busy, I do not mean work alcoholics that don't know how to stop. I mean busy doing things at a slower pace, more natural pace and especially doing things that you like and enjoy doing. To many growing plants and flowers in gardens is very enjoyable. Others volunteer for good causes. Many find that they finally have the time to catch up on all the reading that they always wanted but never seemed to have the time. Many choose to travel but that eventually tires you out. Keeping fit and eating healthy appeals to many other seniors.

Unfortunately, it is the seniors that do nothing and have no idea of what to do when they retire that end up with the highest disappointments with their retirement years. Also, these are the folks that end up with the most health problems and often the shortest retirement.
 

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