Thoughts on Retirement

There are many views about retirement. Here are some of them.
Edited by Peter J. O’Connell, Editorial & Research Associate

The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off. –Abe Lemons

When a man retires and time is no longer a matter of urgent importance, his colleagues generally present him with a watch. –R.C. Sherriff

O, blest retirement! friend to life’s decline—
How blest is he who crowns, in shades like these.
A youth of labor with a life of ease!
--Oliver Goldsmith

The challenge of retirement is how to spend time without spending money. –Anonymous

Retirement is wonderful. It’s doing nothing without getting caught at it. –Gene Perret

Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to. –Harry Emerson Fosdick

There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want.—Bill Watterson

Retirement without the love of letters is a living burial. —Seneca

Retire from work, but not from life. –M.K. Soni

Retirement is like a long vacation in Las Vegas. The goal is to enjoy it to the fullest, but not so full that you run out of money. –Jonathan Clements

Retirement at 65 is ridiculous. When I was 65, I still had pimples. –George Burns
Retirement is the ugliest word in the language. –Ernest Hemingway

The best time to start thinking about your retirement is before the boss does. –Anonymous

The key to retirement is to find joy in the little things. –Susan Miller

Enjoy every retirement day as if it were your last, and one day you will be right about it. –Anonymous

Retirement, when every day is Saturday! –Anonymous

I’m not retiring from life, just a job. –Anonymous

Retirement: World’s longest coffee break. –Anonymous

Retirement is wonderful if you have two essentials—much to live on and much to live for. –Anonymous

Retirement: When you stop lying about your age and start lying about the house. –Anonymous

The worst thing about retirement is having to drink coffee on your own time. –Anonymous

When some people retire, it’s going to be mighty hard to tell the difference. --Anonymous

The question isn’t at what age I want to retire; it’s at what income. –George Foreman

One of the problems of retirement is that it gives more time to read about the problems of retirement. --Anonymous

There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen. Some call it “retirement.” I call it “bliss.” –Betty Sullivan

An elegant sufficiency, content,
Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books,
Ease and alternate labour, useful life,
Progressive virtue and approving heaven!
--James Thomson

There’s one thing I always wanted to do before I quit—retire! –Groucho Marx

Retirement is a time to make the inner journey and come face to face with your flaws, failures, prejudices, and all the factors that generate thoughts of unhappiness. Retirement is not a time to sleep, but a time to awaken to the beauty of the world around you and the joy that comes when you cast out all the negative elements that cause confusion and turmoil in your mind and allow serenity to prevail. –Howard Salzman

As in all successful ventures, the foundation of a good retirement is planning. –Earl Nightingale

These are some views of retirement. What are yours?