It’s the question half of us turn over at the kitchen table: do I have to keep working — and, quite separately, do I want to? They’re two different questions, and it helps to pull them apart.
‘Retirement’ suggests a clean finish line — last day Friday, gold watch, never work again. For plenty of people, real life turns out more interesting than that. Some keep a hand in because the sums work better that way; many more do it for reasons that have nothing to do with money at all — the structure, the people, the simple satisfaction of being good at something.
So it helps to separate two questions that often get tangled together. Do you need to work, and do you want to? The answers can be quite different, and both are completely valid. Here are some of the shapes a bit of work can take in retirement — and a gentle word about knowing when to stop.
- A few days at what you already know. Consulting, a couple of shifts, the odd project in the field you spent a career mastering. On your terms, with the stress dialled right down, it can be the best of the old job without the parts you were glad to leave behind.
- Turning the hobby into a little something. The market stall, the craft you sell at the gate, the photography people start to ask you to do. When the thing you’d happily do anyway brings in a bit besides, work stops feeling much like work at all.
- Seasonal and casual. The cellar door in vintage, the nursery in spring, a hand at the footy over summer. Work that comes and goes with the calendar leaves long stretches free and gives the year a pleasant rhythm.
- The job that’s really about people. For a lot of retirees the wage is almost beside the point. It’s the banter, the routine, a reason to get dressed and out the door, and a circle of workmates that home life doesn’t always replace. That’s a perfectly good reason to keep going — plenty of people miss the company long before they’d ever miss the pay.
- Mentoring and passing it on. Forty years of know-how doesn’t expire the day you finish. Whether it’s paid advising, a board seat, or simply taking a younger colleague under your wing, handing on what you know is some of the most satisfying work there is. There’s a particular pleasure in watching someone else sidestep the mistakes you once made the hard way.
- The ‘just enough’ arrangement. A shift or two a week that tops up the fun money and gives the week a backbone. Many people find a small, light commitment suits retirement far better than the cliff-edge of stopping all at once.
- Mind the moving parts. One practical note: paid work in retirement can interact with your Age Pension and your tax in ways that aren’t always obvious, and the rules tend to reward a little planning. Before you take something on, it’s worth a quick word with your adviser so there are no surprises down the track.
- Know when to actually stop. There’s a flip side. Some people can’t switch off, and keep saying yes until they’ve worked clean through the very retirement they spent forty years earning. If the job is crowding out the trips, the grandkids and the rest, that’s worth noticing too.
- Nothing has to be forever. The beauty of working at this stage is that nothing need be permanent. You can take a role for a season and set it down again, work through winter and keep your summers free, or simply change your mind after a month. You’re no longer signing up for a career — only for as long as it genuinely suits you.
- Or don’t work at all. And if you neither need to work nor want to — well, that’s rather the whole point of getting here. This is your time for self-care at last: to pour your energy into the people, places and pursuits that feed your soul rather than your bank balance. There’s a deep serenity in days shaped entirely around what matters to you — the garden, the grandchildren, the long-postponed projects taken up purely for love. A retirement given over to those non-earning pleasures isn’t empty in the slightest; it’s full to the brim.
There’s no right answer here, only yours. Some people are happiest with a few good days of work a month; others close the laptop for the last time and never look back — and both are exactly right. What matters is that the choice is yours, made on purpose: weeks shaped around the life you want, the people you love and the things that light you up. Whether you keep a hand in or set work down for good, make it a life you’ve chosen with open eyes — and then enjoy every minute of it.
About the Author
Mary Benton is a seasoned retirement advisor with a wealth of experience and qualifications to guide you towards financial security and peace of mind.
Mary Benton brings decades of experience in retirement planning and financial management to the table. As a qualified financial planner and retirement specialist, Mary has helped countless individuals and couples navigate the complexities of retirement planning with confidence and clarity.
