Retiring minds want to know

Soon-to-be retirees should consider whether or not to continue to work in some capacity, say psychologists. Many people take on new jobs after retiring from their primary careers with part-time work, a temporary job or self-employment — a trend known as "bridge employment" or "encore" work. According to a 2013 Careerbuilder.com survey, 60 percent of workers age 60 and older said they would look for a new job after retiring, up from 57 percent last year. In its 2010 "Working in Retirement: A 21st Century Phenomenon" report, the Sloan Center on Aging and Work and the Families and Work Institute reported that 1 in 5 workers has a post-retirement job and 75 percent of workers expect to work or transition to a second career at some point after they retire. While working has obvious financial perks, it may also offer health and mental health benefits. A 2009 study led by Mo Wang, PhD, of the University of Florida, found that people who pursued post-retirement bridge employment in their previous fields reported better mental and physical health than those who retired fully (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology). The Working in Retirement report found that employed retirees report levels of health, well-being and life satisfaction on par with those who have not yet retired — despite age differences. The report also found that working retirees tend to rate their workplaces more positively than those not yet retired. Feeling obligated in one's post-retirement relationships can have the same deleterious effect, says Nancy K. Schlossberg, EdD, author of the 2009 book "Revitalizing Retirement." Schlossberg says many retirees feel pressured by family to plan a retirement based on the extended family's needs — such as babysitting grandchildren — rather than their own. Investing in your friendships well before you retire and talking openly with family about your goals can help you avoid an unsatisfying retirement, she says. She encourages retirees to form support groups and to use their social and former work connections to help each other create internships or volunteer opportunities in areas they have always wanted to explore. In the end, the years leading up to retirement should be a time to increase your self-awareness, adds Delamontagne. He was surprised to find he felt bored and aimless almost immediately after he retired at 63 from a highly competitive job as a software company executive. In talking to other retirees for his book, he found that people with certain personality characteristics — such as being competitive and assertive — had more difficulty adjusting to retirement and were more likely to make impulsive decisions with their time and money, compared with more mild-mannered people coming from low-pressure jobs. "The very attributes that make people successful in their work life often work against them in retirement," he says