Retiring Single – What Should You Know?

Retirement comes with so many outlooks for each of us. Travel, new opportunities, taking on hobbies, maybe a change or career, or just making plans for all that spare time. Some of us (yours truly included) are approaching this chapter of life single with no plans on changing that. How will flying solo look after you retire? We can help with our blog, Retiring Single – What Should you Know?

Understand, we’re not trying to define your single. Whether you’re in a noncommittal relationship, just dating, or enjoy being by yourself, for our purposes it means you have a degree of autonomy in your decision-making and answer pretty much to yourself. However, caring for yourself during retirement doesn’t alleviate any of the challenges, in some circumstances it may compound them, but this can be an inspiring time for you, so make the best out of it!

Understanding the singularity of single

While you’re working, you are most likely surrounded by or are interacting with other people and can usually fulfill societal needs at the office. Sure, it comes with stress, pressure and more often than not a boss you’re not going to miss, but it occupies a significant portion of your life. If you’re single, that change and potential absence can have an impact, whether or not you’re immediately aware of it.

As with practically every retirement blog we have, planning is foremost in every aspect, even dealing with the absence of people. Understandably, retirement planning for couples means considering everything twice: twice the costs, twice the healthcare, twice the efforts. But it also means that there are twice the minds at keeping things on track and sane. When you’re retiring single, it’s just you. That may sound great because you get no pushback, but there’s also no one looking out for you. Retirement could quickly get lonely, or precarious (if you’re adventurous), if you’re not careful.

To a certain extent, you’ll still need people in your life when you retire. A study with the National Institute of Aging shows empirically that isolation can lead to health risks and too much alone time can be detrimental to your well-being if you aren’t careful.

What can you do to avoid the pitfalls of retiring alone?

Set some realistic social goals

A straightforward solution to the people problem? Well, when you think about retiring single, include people in it. You don’t have to do everything by yourself and we’re not saying plan every event as a kumbaya lovefest but make some time to interact with the living once in a while. Plan an abundance of your ‘alone’ time but continue in nurturing your social interactions.

A few simple ways include:

• Join clubs that meet monthly, even weekly if you’re up for that. Anything from Bridge to baseball can fill the need.
• Find groups with similar interests as your own. Beer and wine tasting, single travel, biking or hiking in our national parks, or city sight-seeing are excellent opportunities to see fresh faces.
• Reach out to your family. This may be a time for that overdue trip to see your relatives and a visit to see kids, grandkids, siblings, or a favorite cousin can be a great excuse to get away.
• Join a gym and take part in classes such as spin, kick boxing or Pilates.

Think about working or volunteering

Retiring doesn’t mean you CAN’T work anymore. In our blog Making the Most of Your 50’s we cover the simple fact that older entrepreneurs are twice as successful in start-ups than their younger counterparts. This is the time to embrace who you are and what you want. Is there a job you’ve always wanted and couldn’t swing because it didn’t pay enough? Retirement is a significant time to fulfill passions and to try unfamiliar things, so consider filling your hours with work you appreciate and on your terms.

Even if you don’t work, think about volunteering. Hopefully, it’s more about the connection than the money at this point. Volunteering helps fill your core while keeping you connected to other people that have similar interests. It is a noble way to make sure you get out there and stay connected while still experiencing your retired life.

Define your intimate relationship expectations

As we said earlier, we’re not trying to define your single and whatever expectations you have for a relationship, but the opportunities are yours alone and this area in your life should not be overlooked. It’s not news to anyone that an intimate companionship (whatever that is for you) is beneficial to your health, both physical and mental.

The thing to remember is at this juncture in your life – single is an option, but celibacy shouldn’t be. Let’s face the facts, sex can lead to better health, and intimacy can keep you cheerful and happy, both key ingredients to a satisfying retirement! If you are returning to the dating game, check out our blog on The Top Four Dating Sites.

Start new hobbies

Once I retire, I fully intend to become the prolific reader I was in my younger days. Somehow, that fell by the wayside vis-a-vis academic endeavors and industry certifications and I cannot wait to get that back. Enjoyable pursuits that keep your mind busy are a given in retirement, so make sure you use your time selfishly. As with finding a group or club, hobbies are a superb way to meet people and establish friendships based on common interests.

If you haven’t tried the Amazon Audible program, I highly recommend it! I’ve started the service and listen to my books before I go to sleep. Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks

Final Thoughts

Retiring single doesn’t have to be anything to worry about, in fact in can be a rewarding and self-fulling journey! A little planning to make sure you don’t let yourself get bored or isolated will go a long way and is definitely worthwhile. There are plenty of resources available to make your transition easier, take full advantage of them.

We hope that you’ve found some useful information on Retiring Single – What Should You Know? As always, if you don’t see something here you want us to cover, feel free to reach out to us directly through our Contact page or leave a comment below. All the best ~ Glen.