Assginment due 1 aug - Assignment Example

Retirement means a different thing to almost every person who chooses to retire. The reasons for retirement, the age of retirement, and the financial health of the individual are all relevant to the decision. What one choses to do after retirement will have an effect on the health of the individual as they choose to be more sedentary or choose to pursue activities (Miller, 2010). Comparing two people who have gone into retirement at different times of life and for different number of years since retirement shows that the experience has some commonalities to general statistics, but is unique for how the individuals feel about their experience and how they have approached the event.

In looking at the retirement of Cathy and Kim, the event reveals some conclusions about how to approach retirement while also expressing how the experience is individual. Cathy is a retired teacher who entered into retirement four years ago. She entered teaching because of the incentives that were being given at the time and was happy to retire early, her pension and saving providing for enough of a nest egg that she could afford to retire at the age of 52. She felt that she had given her best to teaching and had come to a place where she no longer had the same kind of enthusiasm for the profession that had once been a source of energy for her as she had enlightened students.

One of her favorite moments with a student had been to see that light go on in their eyes as they came to an understanding that they had not previously had before she had given them that knowledge. That moment had not been bringing her the same kind of fulfillment and she felt it was time to move on to other pursuits. She did not really feel retired, but more that she had entered a new phase in her life. She did not really miss teaching as she had continued to teach as a volunteer, providing art instruction at a school district where budget cuts had eliminated the art education. Cathy