Retirement is a major transition. How to prepare for that big life change. Nancy K SchlossbergSeptember 20, 2025 at 3:03 AM 0 In the movie "About Schmidt,'' star Jack Nicholson sneaks off to the bar alone while accolades are being expressed at his retirement party.
- - Retirement is a major transition. How to prepare for that big life change.
Nancy K SchlossbergSeptember 20, 2025 at 3:03 AM
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In the movie "About Schmidt,'' star Jack Nicholson sneaks off to the bar alone while accolades are being expressed at his retirement party. We see a man going from a meaningful job to a life with no purpose that results in trouble for himself and others. He's lost.
Life often reflects fiction. According to MIT's Age Lab, retirement evokes conflicting feelings, including excitement about freedom from work and anxiety about having enough money or purpose.
Of course, money is important, and many go through what I call "income withdrawal syndrome," when the shock of losing your paycheck pervades your thinking. What we need, however, is discussion about the psychological impact of retirement as well.
Are people prepared for how they will feel the first, second and 100th day of retirement? Do people have a retirement coach, counselor or therapist with whom to process the many conflicting, ambiguous feelings they will have?
I learned from hundreds of interviews with retirees some ways to ease the retirement transition. Here are some key takeaways.
Expect surprises
On a personal note, I thought retirement would be a piece of cake. After all, I had studied and written about transitions, I had met with my financial adviser, and I had gotten a lovely retirement party.
But when I found myself unfocused, when I no longer knew what to put on my business card or why I would even need one, I knew I had more to learn.
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One man I spoke to experienced two retirements − one when he left television and off-Broadway theater, where he worked in many backstage areas, and another after he left a state school for the hearing-impaired and those who were hearing-impaired with multiple disabilities in which his roles as teacher, principal and assistant superintendent were very rewarding.
Although both retirements changed his life − his work role, his daily routines, his relationships – leaving the theater, which was his true love, made him feel that "part of myself was erased."
U.S. Social Security card designs over the past several decades are shown in this photo illustration taken in Toronto, Canada on January 7, 2017. REUTERS/Hyungwon Kang
Two transitions sparked different reactions. One was easy; the other forced him to face his loss of identity and purpose.
Your reactions will constantly be in flux
How you feel the day you retire is just one piece of the story. That was made clear when I studied the men whose jobs were eliminated at NASA Space Flight Center's Goddard Plant. With my former colleague, Zandy Leibowitz, we interviewed all those whose jobs were eliminated the day of the "reduction in force'' and followed up with them six months later.
One artist initially expressed what many felt: "This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me."
However, we were surprised to find that when we did our follow-up round of interviews, many of the men's attitudes had turned more upbeat. A key reason? NASA connected each man with someone in the HR department. The connection was intended to last until the former employee found another job. Our research highlighted the importance of institutional support, a wonderful addition to support from family and friends with whom you can step back and reflect on your change in job and life while processing your emotions.
It is important to remember that your reactions to any transition will change over time. How you feel at the beginning is not how you will feel six months, a year or a decade later.
Pay attention to your psychological portfolio
We receive monthly statements indicating how our financial portfolio performed. Similarly, many of us go to our doctors for a yearly physical. As we get older, we have regular blood tests in addition to our yearly physical to check our cholesterol.
So, wouldn't it make sense to have regular checkups on what I call your psychological portfolio? Few of us realize we even have one, let alone have an adviser for it. Yet we all have a set of resources that can help us negotiate any major transition, and retirement is certainly significant.
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These potential resources include pinpointing your identity, leaning on your relationships and focusing on your purpose. In other words, as you think about retirement, it is important to consider your emerging identity − who you will become now that you are not who you were − ways to maximize your personal connections to friends and family, and your new purpose.
Become an investigative reporter
Just as you research which doctor to use, which play to attend, which travel agent to hire, you can take control of your post-retirement.
Read books on the topic. Interview your retired friends as well as retirement coaches or gurus. Become an investigative reporter on your own behalf. Ask yourself: What regrets do you have? What career dreams did you abandon? What retirement fantasies have you had? Then pick a piece of the dream.
For example, it is unrealistic at age 65 to become a pilot, but you can grab a piece of the dream by contacting the Federal Aviation Administration about volunteer possibilities in assisting and supporting pilots.
It is never too late to start dreaming. My daughter Karen, a retired art teacher, fantasized about living on a farm, but she had no clue about how to begin. She started her research with a real estate agent, which eventually led her to sell her condo and move to a small farm and purchase one goat.
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One goat led to 25, and she now attends the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, selling her beautiful yarn.
Remember, today is not forever. The path you take can last forever, or you can change it.
Nancy K. Schlossberg is Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland and author of "Revitalizing Retirement."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Retirement is a major transition. Here's how to ease into it.
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