Now that  we are all above the age of 60 years: What Next?

All of a sudden, I reached that Diamond Jubilee ripe old age of sixty. At sixty, civil and public servants retire, those in the corporate industries too, are expected to retire. How can one suddenly reach the age of 60 years unawares?  Again, just like a jiffy, all my friends and former classmates are all retired.

This news of achieving this diamond jubilee is so shocking and unbelievable that I am still in a state of shudder as I write this article on aging and retirement.

Despite the fact that diamond Jubilee should be expected and celebrated, I am not celebrating for many reasons. Although ageing is not a sickness, it is a natural process; how come many are not prepared for that natural process? Anyway, these are my thoughts on retirement.

The first reason is that retired people do not earn about ten percent of what they were earning before retirement; therefore retired guys are permanently cash-strapped. For this reason, they may not even have enough money to buy medications to manage the chronic illnesses associated with the diamond jubilee.

Secondly, if you are lucky or unlucky, the children may have or have not left your house. If they are in your house, you are probably still feeding them and taking care of their needs. If they have left the house, they may or may not visit you as you really want. They will not visit you because they have to work hard to sustain their family too. Will they remember to give you money in your retirement? That is a doubtful question with debatable answer.

Thirdly, for those that have not built their comfortable country retirement houses, paying rent in retirement can become expensive, and to avoid such big expenditure, the retired fellow may need to move from the comfortable centre of the city to one remote area of the city. In such conurbations, neighbours may not be as friendly as those from his previous abode. The water and power supplies may equally not as friendly.

Fourthly, the social and sports clubs that the retired used to frequently attend become a journey too stressful from the new residence. I have seen cases where the spouses of the retired gentlemen claimed categorically that they were not moving with the retired husbands to any remote village.  I have equally seen cases whereby the spouses abandon the retired men to spend endless months and years with their children abroad with the excuse that they had gone to assist the daughter who delivered a baby.

Fifthly, paying the annual levies and dues of societies such as the spiritual, social, cultural, charity and sports clubs that baba belongs become too financially burdensome for him to cope with. In most cases, he stops attending such beautiful and exciting gatherings which may further isolate him socially and spiritually. Similarly, the dwindling finances may even prevent the retired daddy from charging his GSM handset.

Consequent upon all this, either surreptitiously or obviously, consciously or unconsciously, the chronic physical ailments such as prostate enlargement, diabetes and hypertension of the retired man may gradually get worse and may now bring along comorbid emotional symptoms of mental health disorders such as generalised anxieties, depression, and senile dementia which may manifest as confusion, loss of memory, attention and concentration. The news and observation of colleagues dying may also put the fear of death into the poor retired formerly bubbling and happy man.

Furthermore, the tales and woes of the unprepared retirees are endless and pitiable. What is the way out of the forever repeating human adversity? Even the prepared ones are not left out of the physical and mental health issues of the elderly. Below are some healthy tips to help the retirees from developing unnecessary physical and mental health issues that may further compound their frustrations.

Retirees should endeavour not to stay alone in their houses, where the spouses are not with them, they should get somebody to stay with them. Loneliness is a precursor of mental illness such as depression.

Even if they cannot afford to go to their various societies, and clubs, they cannot afford to miss out the fun at their Old School meetings. For example, monthly meetings of my alma mater, Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, Ogun State Old School Associations Set Meetings are always a delight to attend. That is one venue where old men regress to the level of small boys temporarily. This is one pertinent reason why retirees must keep on respecting old school friendships.

Regarding their health status, the retired people should take their medications religiously. They should find the money to do their annual medical check-ups and laboratory tests. It is also imperative that they take, at least, thirty minutes’ walk every day to renew their ageing body. To maintain very good physical health status, they should avoid eating solid food after 7. 00 pm; and when they feel hungry, they should eat fruits, vegetables and drink herbal tea or water.

Because they have plenty of time, they should also be creative with their time, they can learn to play any musical instrument, learn a new language, and crosswords puzzles. They should read books and if possible, write books such as their memoirs.

Since the retirees are getting closer to their Creator, they should become more relevant in their churches or mosques. If they have not personally connected with God, this is the time to make that connection to further listen to His still voice.

Even after pouring my mind on this very important topic, I am still in a state of shock. I believe that my psychological and mental shock will go away when I start to make the amount of salary that I am earning now when I retire. How can that be possible?

Retirement should be preconceived immediately after being employed. If the average working years for civil and public servants is 30 years, why should one be caught off guard for this long period of time? If the organisations we work for refuse to remind us every five years that we need to work hard to prepare for our retirement, we must remind ourselves.

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that every employed person should take retirement seriously and also spend good amount of money to attend pre-retirement seminars and workshops annually ten years before the expected retirement date. That is one sure way one cannot be caught hands down after thirty or thirty-five years of active service.

In conclusion, I know one very good organisation called STETONIC that organises in-house pre retirement seminars and workshops for various types of organisations at an affordable cost. If your establishment needs one, kindly reach me on my email address: cokerrotimi@gmail.com.