Andrew's retirement story

I had made it a life goal to retire early and planned to have retired by the time I was 60. My parents didn’t get to see a good retirement, as they became ill. My Mum was diagnosed with cancer during the week she was due to retire, and my Dad got Parkinson’s Disease at 48. I also developed bladder cancer at the age of 45. So this gave me a reason to enjoy life, if I could afford to retire early. 

After working in a very busy office, I missed the routine of working life. I also knew that I would need to fill the hours, as I’m not one for sitting around. So, I joined a gym and an over-55s table tennis club, and baked cakes for a charity choir. 

I also tried to go away for short breaks by booking three one-week holidays in the first three months – Boating on the Norfolk broads, walking in the Italian Dolomites, and a week on the Dorset coast. These holidays gave me an opportunity to have something to look forward to.  

I still go to the gym, play table tennis and go for long walks with my dog. I have never been a reader, but now I’ve taken up reading and enjoy a good book, as reading can take you to another place!

I missed the social aspect of work and not seeing my colleagues.  

When I retired six months before lockdown, I knew I wanted to keep busy. So, I decorated the house from top to bottom, overhauled the garden, and painted all the fence panels. I also got into making timber planters, bird tables and bird boxes. I even received some orders to make them for other people. 

It’s extremely important. It would be too easy to just sit at home and not do anything. You could fall into a pattern of doing that and become depressed.  

The most important thing about retirement is to keep busy. There are plenty of clubs, church-led activities and charity work for retirees. None of these things need to be expensive. It’s just a case of plucking up the courage to go out and do them.