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see how our Users are Reinventing their retirement 

It's always interesting to hear how other people are reacting to an event which affects all of us at  some point in our lives.   My  own view is that  'Retirement' is better seen as a process rather than an event, but I hope that users of the Retirement Reinvented website will share with us some of their experience.      Graham

Robert Parker writes:

I retired from a senior civilian role in the Police looking after the HR function just over a month ago. I had been working part time for 4 days a week on a flexible retirement option since October 2011 when I was 61, so had eased myself into retirement to some extent. However I was in effect doing a full time job in four days per week and therefore had to be pretty well organised and focused to get everything done in the four days.
 
When I approached my 65th birthday I put my notice in to my employers to retire at the end of March 2015. I thought they wouldn't replace me as part of the public sector spending cuts but was pleasantly surprised to discover that they wanted to replace my role since they thought it was adding value. I came to an arrangement with them to carry on working beyond 65 until a suitable replacement was found and commenced. In the end I worked another 5 months pending my replacement starting at the end of July 2015.
 
I must say I did rather enjoy this extra five months in the role which may have been something to do with the knowledge that I was finishing at some point. I had some very nice complements from people during this time about my knowledge and experience, attitude and approach. People, said that my unflappable nature and positivity in difficult times would be missed. I felt that I was leaving on a high when the end of July finally came around. A truly nice feeling.
 
I had attended a pre-retirement course organised by Police Mutual about 3 years ago and was advised to expect a reaction when I did eventually retire. I thought this was going to be a negative reaction, but actually the opposite was the case. On leaving I felt a great release and sense of freedom. I clearly hadn't realised the level of responsibility that I was carrying in the role I had been doing for the last 14 years. Not to have these constant demands and pressures any more is rather nice. The other thing I realised is that I still have plenty of energy, interest, drive and enthusiasm to do things and that I am now master of my own destiny. It's really quite remarkable all the things that I have accomplished in just five weeks since I retired and I feel this bodes well for the future where anything is possible. How amazing!
 
Another tip is not to have a plan for retirement, but just do it. The thought of it may be scary but the reality is wonderful.