Broadening horizons: Planning to make the most of retirement
For those planning their retirement, how long should you plan for? Overall life expectancy figures may be misleading. More useful data are those dealing with life expectancy after reaching retirement age, although this has become complicated as there is now no such thing as a retirement age. The age that one can take a state pension also seems to be constantly changing. Even so, survival after reaching the age of 65 seems to have lengthened a little in the last 50 years, from about 12 years to about 18 years. This is a decent length of time and demands some planning, and not just the planning beloved of financial advisers.
I retired from clinical practice aged 64, and two years later from my role as an honorary senior lecturer at the medical school. That was nine years ago.
I remember being told by colleagues to plan nothing for the first six months. In fact, I lasted about four months, after that I got bored. I became involved in an educational charity dealing with 18–24-year-olds who struggled at school and apparently “had more criminal convictions than GCSEs” but wanted to better themselves. My role was to give interview practice for those hoping to achieve gainful employment, but the employment was at a very basic level i.e. stacking shelves in supermarkets. It was fine, but the charity really wanted interviewers who might be able to offer employment as well, and that wasn’t me.
At an RCoA senior fellows' event, I met with one or two of the Association’s heritage volunteers and heard about the Heritage Centre’s group visit offer. This involved school children through to U3A participants, and all sorts of students in between, including nurses, technicians, ODPs, medical students and sometimes junior doctors, many from overseas. I’ve done a lot of lecturing in my time and have always been interested in history, so I thought why not, and volunteered! We usually include a museum visit and a session handling medical equipment. We also do walking tours for those interested in anaesthetic history in central London, weather and old joints permitting. It seems to have worked out well.
I decided to broaden my knowledge and studied for the DHMSA – a history of medicine diploma run by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. This gave me my ‘academic fix’ and was enormously useful, although doing a closed book exam at the end when you are over 70 can be a challenge. In my case the course was all held on Zoom, as it was run during the times of Covid. The course was held on Saturdays during university terms. As a Londoner the timetable didn’t really make a difference to me, but some people on the course came from far afield and for them the online schedule was a boon.
I generally lecture on the history of anaesthesia and some related subjects. I am also doing two lectures this year to U3A groups on the history of pandemics, one in England and the other in Spain where I have had a house for some time. Last year I also lectured on the history of surgery in Spain. The lectures in Spain are mostly to expats and therefore in English, but if you do have an overseas bolt hole, I would strongly recommend learning the language. It’s never too late, and it's one of the most effective ways to keep your brain active.
As anaesthetists we are quite physically active, so when you stop practising you can pile on the pounds. I tried to remedy this with walking and cycling and occasionally going to the gym. I eventually took up golf, aged 73. I absolutely love it and am totally useless! But it's fun and gets me out and about doing 13k steps a day even with a golf buggy.
We all have hobbies, and my advice would be don’t neglect them, and maybe try some new ones. For many people, their hobby is gardening, although my most useful gardening tool seems to be a flame thrower!
We resisted the temptation to move to a ‘little retirement cottage in the country.’ Fine for a holiday, but you might be removing yourself from friends, family the things and places you know and are used to and isolating yourself just when you need a support system. Plan that one carefully.
Retirement is also a good time to see family, perhaps including grandchildren, and reconnect with old friends and colleagues. Plan your travels early on, when you’ve still got some money and stamina. And finally, if your partner is of a similar age, you may be retiring around the same time. Do you both want the same things from your retirement? How easy will it be to compromise? A conversation best had reasonably early rather than at the last minute.
I very much enjoyed my working life. Retirement is good but still a work in progress. For me, the secret has been to continue with the things that I enjoyed and was good at, whilst broadening my horizons. Definitely don’t be afraid of trying new things, some may work and others not. Stay active and don’t neglect your health, as virtually all your enjoyment in retirement will depend on remaining fit and active.
Rob Feneck
Retired Consultant Anaesthetist, St Thomas Hospital, London
Heritage Volunteer, Association of Anaesthetists Heritage Centre