Retirement is a time of opportunity and choice!

And, as we have a good chance of being retired for about 10,000 days, it’s worth spending one day to make the most of the next 10,000!

These days when we retire we are, in general, much healthier, more active and have a longer lifespan ahead of us than our parent’s generation (well that’s the idea anyway).

The idea of holistic ‘pre-retirement ‘workshops is somewhat new in South Africa, however with the baby boomer generation fast approaching this stage in life, we are seeing a need for providing retirement coaching and lifestyle advice.

Laterlife South Africa is doing just that! Established on the back of a seven year successful track record set by Laterlife UK, Laterlife South Africa is providing one day ‘planning for retirement’ workshops uniquely tailored to our country’s demographics that encourage individuals who are moving into retirement to view ‘all’ aspects of life and allow the soil to be churned through thought and discussion for a day.

The change from our working life, to one where there is no structure and nobody telling us what to do, is one of the biggest changes of our lives. And although we are adaptable creatures, it’s often the adaptation to change and not change itself that places great stress on us. Whatever length of time we spent working and travelling to work each day, and whatever aspirations we have for retirement, filling 40-50 hours each week on top of previous leisure time, for the next 25 years, is a huge challenge!

A recent study in the UK shows that there is a 20% increase in the level of life satisfaction in retirement for people who have attended a workshop that is, more specifically, not just about the financial aspects of retirement but covers various aspects of ranging from moving home, connecting with grandchildren abroad, to the absurd, such as jumping out of a plane at 90 years of age (04/12/2009 – Mrs Harwood, Cape Town).

How is Laterlife tackling the challenge?

Tony Clack, MD of Laterlife UK, says “the aim is to make people really think about each aspect of retirement. Exercises and discussions help people to identify what is important to them personally and the actions they need to take to ensure they enjoy and make the most of their retirement. There are also pitfalls to be avoided and a number of fundamentals that need to be achieved in a retirement plan: staying physically and mentally fit, maintaining our social network, and above all enjoying it! We find that attendees are thoroughly engaged by the approach and are effusive in their feedback, often saying it’s the best course they have ever attended”.

Laterlife South Africa offers one-day retirement planning workshops and in addition, the Laterlife website provides  ongoing and constantly updated information relating to, travel, health, home, garden, hobbies, events, working in retirement, lifelong learning and much more.