I recently had to sign a statutory declaration. The document asked for my name, address, etc. and my occupation or qualifications. As I’m no longer working, I wrote down my qualifications. I was later advised that the other party to the stat dec had put down my occupation as ‘retired’. This stopped me in my tracks, asking is retired an ‘occupation’? |
In that moment I realised how identified I was with being an active contributing member of society, part of the community, the economy, in fact, a valued member of life as we know it due to being in paid employment.
Interestingly, writing down my qualifications gave me that sense of identity, of still having some value, even importance, after all I had worked for those qualifications. ‘Retired’ had the connotation of being swept aside, out of sight, no longer useful, without purpose, someone you can call on when needed but who is otherwise in the shadows, kept in the background and no longer contributing in a purposeful way to life and the wider community.
Was this my reality?
Many people celebrate retirement. It’s something they’ve looked forward to, often for years, and they’re pleased and proud to be finally retired. “This is a time for me”, they will declare. It’s a well-earned rest and reward for their hard work. However, how to fill your time can also be challenging for many after they stop work. They no longer have the identification that work offers and no longer the structure, occupation and income that work offers either.
I’ve been telling people “I’ve stopped work”. I haven’t been saying, “I’m retired now”. There’s a difference.
What is that difference? When I check the thesaurus there is a long list of alternative words for retirement and they all have unappealing connotations. For example, there’s pensioned off, superannuated, put out to pasture, calling it a day, retreated, withdrawn and in seclusion. I can laugh at some of these terms, but I don’t want to be labelled this way! Retirement by these descriptors seems less of an ‘occupation’ and more of a vacant space!
Retiring is a word that applies to a whole range of activities, such as ‘retiring to the living room’ or ‘retiring to bed’, ‘withdrawing for the night’ and all these meanings stay in our consciousness when we think of retiring from work. The predominant connotation is withdrawing from life and activity.
The fact that I still move about in society, meeting and greeting people, shopping, etc. means I’m still in the world. I haven’t retired into the next room or withdrawn from life. I may not be contributing to business or production but I am contributing to trade and the economy. I spend money! I haven’t disappeared down a hole or into a back corner out of sight. I’m still out and about. I’m just not in paid employment.
I hadn’t fully realised how much identification I had in my role as a paid employee and how that gave me kudos or value. It was a wake-up moment. The other sense I had about this moment was that the others who were party to the statutory declaration felt that ‘retired’ was the right place for me to be at this stage of life, after all, I’m well into my seventies. I could feel there was a gentle kindness in that, with just a hint of patronising consideration.
I’m glad to not be working. It was an easy decision to make, and to say no when I was offered another contract. At the same time, I could feel the pull of the relationships – the next cohort of people I would have been working with. However, it was time to stop. I could feel that.
I’m enjoying this period of grace, a time for taking stock and preparing for the next phase of life, whatever that will be. It will be impossible to not be contributing to the world and life in some way, even if I’m not in paid employment.
I’m not retired from life!
Judy F., Australia
If you enjoyed this article for further reading you may also like:
Being Retired – A New Beginning
Interestingly, writing down my qualifications gave me that sense of identity, of still having some value, even importance, after all I had worked for those qualifications. ‘Retired’ had the connotation of being swept aside, out of sight, no longer useful, without purpose, someone you can call on when needed but who is otherwise in the shadows, kept in the background and no longer contributing in a purposeful way to life and the wider community.
Was this my reality?
Many people celebrate retirement. It’s something they’ve looked forward to, often for years, and they’re pleased and proud to be finally retired. “This is a time for me”, they will declare. It’s a well-earned rest and reward for their hard work. However, how to fill your time can also be challenging for many after they stop work. They no longer have the identification that work offers and no longer the structure, occupation and income that work offers either.
I’ve been telling people “I’ve stopped work”. I haven’t been saying, “I’m retired now”. There’s a difference.
What is that difference? When I check the thesaurus there is a long list of alternative words for retirement and they all have unappealing connotations. For example, there’s pensioned off, superannuated, put out to pasture, calling it a day, retreated, withdrawn and in seclusion. I can laugh at some of these terms, but I don’t want to be labelled this way! Retirement by these descriptors seems less of an ‘occupation’ and more of a vacant space!
Retiring is a word that applies to a whole range of activities, such as ‘retiring to the living room’ or ‘retiring to bed’, ‘withdrawing for the night’ and all these meanings stay in our consciousness when we think of retiring from work. The predominant connotation is withdrawing from life and activity.
The fact that I still move about in society, meeting and greeting people, shopping, etc. means I’m still in the world. I haven’t retired into the next room or withdrawn from life. I may not be contributing to business or production but I am contributing to trade and the economy. I spend money! I haven’t disappeared down a hole or into a back corner out of sight. I’m still out and about. I’m just not in paid employment.
I hadn’t fully realised how much identification I had in my role as a paid employee and how that gave me kudos or value. It was a wake-up moment. The other sense I had about this moment was that the others who were party to the statutory declaration felt that ‘retired’ was the right place for me to be at this stage of life, after all, I’m well into my seventies. I could feel there was a gentle kindness in that, with just a hint of patronising consideration.
I’m glad to not be working. It was an easy decision to make, and to say no when I was offered another contract. At the same time, I could feel the pull of the relationships – the next cohort of people I would have been working with. However, it was time to stop. I could feel that.
I’m enjoying this period of grace, a time for taking stock and preparing for the next phase of life, whatever that will be. It will be impossible to not be contributing to the world and life in some way, even if I’m not in paid employment.
I’m not retired from life!
Judy F., Australia
If you enjoyed this article for further reading you may also like:
Being Retired – A New Beginning