Joni Magil retired last year after working more than 40 years in health care. "I had a great feeling of accomplishment to leave work the way I had envisioned," she says.In Tales from the Golden Age, retirees talk about their spending, savings and whether life after work is what they expected.
Retirement wasn’t quite what I had planned at first. Unexpectedly, my husband had knee replacement surgery the week I retired, so I was very involved in his care and recovery for the first month. I was grateful to be able to focus on him. It took about six months to settle into my retirement lifestyle. I’m now a member of two walking groups, taking regular fitness and yoga classes and playing Mahjongg. I’ve also expanded my social circle while still maintaining contact with previous colleagues. I’m also volunteering as a patient partner, which means I help represent the patient community with health care organizations making policy, service delivery or operational plans and decisions.
My husband once asked our financial advisor if any of his clients had ever run out of money in retirement. The advisor was taken aback by the question – which I thought was a good one – and said that no one ever had. We both found that reassuring.