As I argued previously, (Rick Atkinson: Retirement: The Ultimate Life Journey 2025), at retirement, one relationship that often changes is with your spouse or partner. In the early and middle years of marriage, couples normally don’t spend a lot of time together. As partners, they are busy making a living, raising a family and fixing…

In Part 1 of Spousal/Partner Relations in Retirement, I wrote about the importance of you and your spouse to identify to each other what retirement means in terms of roles and responsibilities.  In addition, due to different interests, hobbies, tasks or just ‘chill out time’, I mentioned one train of thought and that is, if…

In a previous blog, I wrote about the importance of being proactive in seeking new people into your changing social circle after you retired. As part of your relationship planning, think how you can reward those people important enough to be in your social circle.  In addition to your spouse, family members and close friends,…

More and more 45+ people are losing their jobs due to downsizing, restructuring, artificial intelligence, and ageism. In 2019, I wrote the book entitled, Why Me? And No Gold Watch! based on research and interviews of people who were recently unemployed. One of my interviewees, Doug, lost his senior IT manager position at the age…

I’m often asked by clients, “What can I do to build a new social life when I retire?” When you think about it, the relationships we have with people from work will change drastically or become a distant memory.  In the beginning, many stay in touch but as months pass, meetings and correspondence dwindle. Eventually,…

Research shows: So why this lack of attention to the non-monetary areas of retirement? One reason is we are new at experiencing retirement. It was only in the 1940s, when the middle class grew, that the notion of living comfortably after one stopped working became prevalent. When the concept of retirement planning emerged, the general…

A common question pre-retirees ask is “Who will I be when I stop working?”  Since work often provides structure, identity, and social status, individuals ask themselves if they will feel lost once their routine changes. When I retired, a forced retirement due to a corporate take-over, I asked myself the same question.  Now who am…

Many people contemplating retirement believe it is a time to throw your cares away, just relax and smell the roses. However, keeping healthy should be part of every person’s journey into retirement. Being healthy means having good physical, mental and spiritual well-being. Building a strong sense of wellness means spending time assessing your current state of health…

So, you’re thinking about retirement!  When most people think about life after work, they imagine turning their back on the pressures of employment. They often see retirement as a welcome change or an escape to something more peaceful and serene. But retiring is not only about giving up your job and relaxing, it’s about entering…

Many HR leaders tell me their employees aged 45+ are facing severe retirement anxiety, which directly impacts productivity and healthcare costs. This pre-retirement anxiety is caused by questions such as: RA Retirement Advisors offers a Strategies for Retiring Right! Retirement Workshop. The workshop helps participants transition smoothly, boosts current engagement by alleviating stress, tools to…