Retirement

So sorry to hear this. Hindsight is always hard but I think you’d have felt happier if Covid hadn’t hit. I retired on 31st December 2019. I had reached state pension age a year earlier and had been working part time. Mr. B and I had lots of plans but Covid put paid to them. When lockdown eases perhaps you could look for a part time job or some voluntary work.

I agree- Covid has taken its toll on all of us. You can't undo what's been done. Believe happy days are ahead for you-we seem to have forgotten how to do this but we will relearn.

Oh the curse of hindsight Joan. It's impossible for you to be able to experience the benefits that taking that severance package and so retiring, may be while we're in lock down.

It sounds as if you have some voluntary work to look forward too when 'things get back to normal' which is positive and there'll be plenty of other positives to, just around the corner.

I took voluntary redundancy into retirement some years ago, despite loving my job, because, firstly the money and terms on offer were highly advantageous and also I knew that if I took the risk of staying, my employer could have made me redundant, the day after the good deal ended and I would have been out of the door on very poor terms.

Joan22 it is easy to use hindsight to deceive yourself as well as learn things. If you had stayed how secure would your job actually have been? Severance schemes usually pay better than standard redundancy. How much worse off would you have been if you had been made compulsorily redundant after the severance scheme ended.

Sometimes it is wisest to do, not what you would want to do, but what is in your best interest.

The thing to keep on your mind Joan22 is that the job you left isn’t the job you would be doing now, if lots of long-standing members of staff have left, and the company and role have been affected by the impact of the pandemic.

I retired last year too, and there have been times when I’ve missed the cut and thrust (and discipline in terms of working hours, looking smart etc. etc.) of working - but really, it was actually the interaction with other people not the work itself. If you hang on in there for just a few more weeks things will start to improve, the colour will return to all our lives I think, then you’ll be glad you took the plunge.

I retired about 8 years ago. I enjoyed my freedom and this will return in some way once we have all been vaccinated.

Retirement now isn't the way it was or the way it will be. I don't think anyone is enjoying retirement just now as the freedom we gained has gone due to covid.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies it helps a lot to know other people's views. I would have been working from home if I'd still been there and the job wouldn't have been the same. I love being around people and I think I miss this most. I am grateful I was one of the lucky ones to have a proper retirement "do" and lots of gifts and to say goodbye, I keep reminding myself what retiring in lockdown would have felt like. Hopefully when things open up again and I can socialise more I will feel more positive.

Retirement is great - but not so great in lockdown, so you have had a bit of a baptism by fire really. Hopefully new opportunities will open up when lockdown ends and you can start to reap the benefits.

I'm sure once things are moving again, you will start to enjoy things again, volunteering and going out etc.