Will we ever retire?

One thing most people look forward to is retirement. However in many cases such a feeling can be exaggerated. So please be careful not to seek retirement when all you need is a 3 week break. One option which many people like to consider and hope for is some kind of semi-retirement.

Semi-retirement is seeking a job which allows you to slow down while continuing to find something to do. A very good example is like Sachin Tendulkar choosing not to play in T-20 matches, then deciding to give up One-day cricket (say in 2010) so that his body is in good shape to play Test cricket till 2013.

In a corporate environment it is like a Sales head deciding to give up a sales job at age 52 and taking up training, mentoring, and coaching for the sales force. This job is something which he may be able to do till the age of say 65 years. Even at that age (health permitting) he may be able to do some consultancy and hand holding for the sales force. However if he had continued to be in sales he may have been burnt out by the age of say 55 years.

The advantage of slowing down is multi-fold – the organization gets to keep the employee for a longer period, the positions are non-competitive, the employee is not looking for a new job every day,