Retirement? How Staying In Work Keeps You Young

Not everyone wants to give up and stop working as soon as they hit retirement age. Many people like to carry on, even if it’s for just a short period. A fear for some elderly people is what will they do next.

Going from full time work to not working at all can be a huge adjustment. Of course others look as this as a luxury and can’t wait for retirement; a period to do whatever they wish and have no more work worries. But for those that want to continue to work, how difficult is it? And what are the benefits?

It’s widely reported that working keeps your brain young. “Our minds need stimulation,” says renowned hypnotherapist and author Georgia Foster.

“They need to be stretched as much as possible. When you stop utilizing parts of your mind, it learns that it’s not needed. I think self-esteem is key to continuing to work as long as you want. Everybody wants to belong and the older generation in particular need to connect as much as possible. Loneliness can be a horrific burden and working can alleviate that.” – Georgia Foster

Working Beyond Your 60’s

There are many faces in the media we all know and love who are examples of those working beyond retirement age. Bruce Forsyth, Gloria Huniford, Angela Rippon, June Brown and so on. How easy is it though to maintain work after retirement age however? For the likes of the BBC it’s expected for certain age groups to be represented, but what’s it like in the real world?

A recent story on the Mail online reported on 86-year-old Fred Sizemore, who stated that working keeps him young.

Mr Sizemore, from the US, said he started work at the age of 14 and has never stopped since: “I don’t mind working hard. There are people who say they can’t find anything, well, those people don’t like to work.”

Fred expressed in the news article how he often mows lawns, however as he’s got older and he’s started applying for other things, he simply gets rejected. Mr Sizemore expressed that it’s boring to sit around and do nothing after retirement.

It seems as we grow older and retire, companies and businesses are a lot more reluctant to give older applicants jobs. Could this be down to health concerns? Concerns about stamina and ability? – Possibly, however we think that nobody should be instantly rejected based on age.

Jobs For The Retired

There’s plenty of roles out there you can do once you’re retired. Whether it’s full-time, part-time, voluntary, seasonal or just the odd job here and there, it might even be a hobby you do as a side job. The best places to look are online, on website such as Indeed or Total Jobs.

These sites list hundreds of new jobs everyday, and you can tailor you searches to find something very specific if you wish to. It’s also a great idea to look in the local adverts and newspapers if you want something local to you.

Looking to volunteer? There’s a huge array of places that take on volunteers, many charities and charity shops, also churches and local events.