Ready to Retire

By Richard Quinn of QuinnsCommentary and guest author of HumbleDollar

IF THERE WAS ANYONE who should have been emotionally unprepared to retire, it was me. In the years immediately before, I was at the top of my career. I’d been promoted to vice president. I had virtual total control over my job. I was recognized by nearly every employee because of my extensive employee benefits communications and the fact that I’d negotiated benefits for decades. I was among the few who routinely met with the company’s chairman. In short, I enjoyed my job, typically working from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

But when the chairman retired, the overall corporate environment changed. I knew it was time to go. A good pension, 401(k) and Social Security took care of financial security.

The thing is, I never gave a moment’s thought to what I’d do with my time after I retired. That was a bit ironic, given that I conducted retirement planning sessions for employees and admonished them to think about their life after work.

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