Studies by the National Institute of Mental Health suggested that the mere transition to retirement was so stressful that the average life expectancy of a white collar male at age 65 was only 36-40 months. Sounds exciting, eh? Even the American Medical Association called any type of “forced idlement”, like retirement, a health hazard!

Be sure that your future or current retirement years are defined by experiences and a lifestyle you look forward to, not just dollars. Unfortunately, too many people work for 40 years to accumulate their retirement nest egg, but then spend only 40 minutes planning their retirement lifestyle. Ever heard this phrase? “Those who don’t long to live, don’t live too long.” Read that again and answer this question: Do you have retirement goals, other than accomplishing the affordability of quitting your job? If not, then your retirement years might feel like the person who, while watching a terrible movie, is thinking “It looked a lot better in the previews.”

Your retirement should be on your own terms, no one else’s. The reward of retirement can be defined by going back to school, starting a small business, or tending to that vegetable garden. If finances aren’t quite making ends meet, there are many employers who could use some part-time help from someone dependable, trustworthy, with the savvy and experience you could bring to the table. And maybe this time, you could work in the industry you’ve always had a passion for – photography, the arts, or maybe working with animals at a pet store! Don’t convince yourself that continuing to work means that you have failed at retirement. Ever wonder why entrepreneurs almost never really retire? They discovered early the passion of their efforts, not the drudgery of work.

On the other hand, as a person still in the workforce, I was recently wondering why I was so tired at the end of the day. My first thought was that I needed to take a vitamin supplement. But I did some research, and I found out the real reason. I am being overworked! Just follow my research:

The adult population of this country is 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leave 48 million to do the work. Of this, there are 29 million employed by the federal government. This leaves 19 million to do the work. Four million are in the Armed Forces, which leaves 15 million to do the work. Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for State and City Government and that leaves 200,000 to do the work. There are 188,000 in hospitals, so that leaves 12,000 to do the work. Now, there are 11,998 people in prisons. That leaves just two people to do the work. You and me. And you're sitting there reading this. No wonder I'm tired, I'm the only one still working!

Mr. Gary Crooms is President and founder of Senior Information Services of America®, a long term care financial planning firm that specializes in assisting seniors and their families with late life planning issues. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Crooms at gary@seniorinformation.com