It's Not All Bad Getting Older

Shortly after I turned 65, I received a letter from the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (Australia) congratulating me on my birthday and advising me of all the discounts the Northern Territory Government would provide for me now that I had become of age.

I hadn't previously known about these benefits and as I read the letter I thought they'd probably be so miniscule, it wouldn't really make much difference to my finances. How wrong I was. The Territory Government is hell bent on encouraging retirees to remain in the Territory, not follow the traditional path of packing up and moving to the Eastern States where there are beaches, better options for day trips, more shops, and usually cheaper cost of living.

At the time, I was still working full time at the local correctional centre earning a comfortable senior management salary, so I was surprised to find that despite my income, I could still take advantage of the discounts and benefits being offered.

Now, I could get an airfare refund for a trip interstate every two years. My power and water and other utilities, driver's licence and motor vehicle registration would be heavily discounted for as long as I remained a resident. The value of the discounts amount to several thousand dollars per year. I was delighted.

At the end of June, 2012, I retired from the correctional centre and became a "retiree". In fact, I still do some part-time work, so I'm probably more aptly pigeon-holed as a "semi-retired person". I hate being called a "pensioner" because I'm not reliant on welfare, I studied, worked hard, saved, invested and now fund my own costs of living. I prefer to be called a "self-funded retiree" thank you very much.

It's not all about money, although one has to make sure one has sufficient to survive with after the fornightly or monthly salary stops. No, it's also about freedom and the ability to spend more time with loved ones.

Now, while my daughter is working to refund her retirement, I can spend time with my grandson after school, play tennis with him and "chill out" when he drops in after school on the way home. I don't get up every day and have somewhere to be between 8 am and 4:30 pm... I'm free after 51 years of work! The little bit of part-time work I do is at my desktop computer.

When my wife suggested we take a 40 day cruise from Sydney (Australia) to Tokyo, we packed up and went. On board were people from seven years to 90 plus with the median age being 68. A small number of the older people used walking frames, walking sticks or electric wheelchairs, but everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and participated in a large range of on-board activities.

When people ask me if I am retired, I say that I am "refocused". Life doesn't necessarily end when we finish work and decide to take it easy. Provided our health is okay, it's an opportunity to do new things without the burden of work. Rather than look at aging and retirement as a time when you sit in God's Waiting Room, look at it as a new opportunity to do those things you never had time to do.

It's definitely not all bad getting older. If I had known how good it was, I would have done it much sooner.