Preparing for retirement - A pensioner's tale

Written by Tony McGreal - Published 09-Aug-2022, last updated 01-Aug-2023

Tony McGreal tells us about his preparations for retirement...

Don't be afraid of retirement. It can be the beginning of the best years of your life. It all depends on how you approach it.

I'll try to explain this using my own experience as a guide.

The early years

In my younger years, like most of my contemporaries, I went to university. Studying Law was my first major decision and set the direction of my working life.

I was lucky to secure a training contract with a law firm in Manchester and there I qualified as a solicitor.

Having married just after I qualified, I settled down in the firm and progressed to the position of Associate. After a couple of years I picked up a copy of the Financial Times in the office and there saw an advertisement for an in-house lawyer in a venture capital company based in Yorkshire. This was my second big decision as moving in-house from private practice was rarer in those days. I decided to apply and got the job. I never rejoined private practice and stayed in-house in various roles for the rest of my working life.

Progressing through the ranks

I progressed mainly due to luck and good timing through various companies, some of which I left voluntarily and two of which went bust along the way. I finally reached a safe harbour when I joined a major commercial motor manufacturer where I stayed until my retirement at the age of 56, my third and final life changing decision.

As the UK Company Secretary and sole in-house lawyer on the commercial vehicle side of the business I had a great deal of responsibility but also a good deal of flexibility in how I discharged my duties.

Being in a senior position within any company bolsters one's self esteem and confidence and validates everything you have done to get there. However, I've always been a great believer that this should never reach the stage where you are defined only by the position you hold. A lot of people are terrified by the idea of giving this up and really worry about how they will fill their time. The key to a happy retirement is to realise that there are many other opportunities to reach the same level of fulfillment.

Planning ahead

Everybody has to retire sometime but the smart thing to do is to give that proper consideration and preferably to start your preparations well before your planned date. In my case, that planning started when I was aged 50.

There was much talk in HR circles at the time, and since, about the importance of personal development. This often involved attending training courses etc. I was lucky to have a very forward thinking HR Manager in the company and she accepted my proposal to carry out my personal development in a rather more unique way than was the accepted norm in such departments at the time. My plan was to establish a portfolio of three charitable activities across various age ranges starting with the mentoring of schoolchildren. I was allowed to take time out of my working day to do this.

Filling the extra time retirement presents

Having decided to retire six years later, I then expanded my voluntary work. This coupled with the opportunity to travel and certain other activities provided a seamless and very rewarding next phase to my life. I lost nothing of the self esteem I had gained in my pre retirement years and, in fact, found that giving my time for free was an obvious progression in my own personal development and well being.

YouTube

Then I took up an old hobby that I'd neglected for most of my working life, namely playing the guitar. I set up a YouTube channel and started composing my own music, learning the basics of recording, producing and distributing music. I've now completed 15 albums of original guitar music and over 340 original tracks across all the major digital platforms.

I would never have had the time or inclination to have done this when I was working.

Many of the music tracks have been inspired by walks in the Cotswolds including this one called 'Cotswold Gentle'

Take control of your own destiny

Don't fear retirement. Take control of your own destiny. Don't wait until someone shows you the door albeit with a big cheque. Plan for the big event. Think about what you really want to achieve in your post working life and implement this as soon as you are able.

Take up old interests and new challenges. Never look back and, most importantly, never let yourself be defined by your job (however seemingly important) as that will inevitably end at some point.

Tony McGreal