Problems In Retirement

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31333, 1 April 1967, Page 17

Problems In Retirement

Retirement was a way of life and beginning it was as important as starting school, beginning a job or getting married, Dr. W. R. Holmes told more than 85 people attending the opening lecture of a course in preparation for retirement being conducted by the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church.

The course, based on a similar one run by the London Retirement Association, is open to men and women within 15 years of retirement, or those who have been retired for not more than two years.

Among the 60 who had enrolled before the start of the course, there were 25 men, 19 of their wives, and 16 men still working. The occupations covered by the group varied widely and included an engineer, a teacher, a typist, a fitter and a fire brigade officer. Retirement marked a broken routine which had lasted 30 or 40 years, and no matter how fit or active a person was, it marked the edge of old age, Dr. Holmes said. The wife is at the centre of any adjustment She found herself doing more work and

having more emotional demands made on her, and marriages which had “been staggering along for years on mutual disagreement" were thrown into sharp relief. Apart from the honeymoon, retirement was the one time when husband and wife had to face each other alone. Other related problems were associated with finance, change of home, and the need to readjust gradually to new tempos of life, especially if one had been doing hard physical labour. It was no use for a man who had been so engaged to stop all exerise, and continue to eat at the same rate as when he was working, Dr. Holmes said. At 65, most people could look for a life expectancy of 13 years, so retirement was going to be a lengthy process. A man had to learn to fill in the eight to 10 hours he spent working and to learn to go without the many things, including contacts, that he had gained from his job. The task set for modern man was to learn the art of leisure, Dr. Holmes said. “Work was not intrinsically more satisfying than play as a source of meaningful experier.ee.”

“In a work-centred society, such as ours has been in the past, work is certainly more effective than play in providing self respect and gaining the respect of others.” There was need for the retired to realise they could gain as

much for themselves from fishing and other activities. “The promise of leisure is to combine freedom from compulsion with the satisfactions formerly found in work. If this secret is discovered by people, the problem of retirement will be solved, provided economic security is also generally achieved,” Dr. Holmes said. After Dr. Holmes’s address, a panel discussed points raised. Those taking part were Miss J. Moreland, a visiting teacher, Dr. F. S. Airey, a medical practitioner, Mr A. A. Anderson, an engineer, and the chairman, Mr R. H. French, an accountant