WITH reference to last Saturday's report ('Seven ways to retire
retirement'), to me, retirement means retiring from work, not from
life.
It is not just about playing more golf, or reading more books or
passionately taking up other similar pursuits. It is a personal
thing. People retire for different reasons.
Having had their fair run of a working life, a life which may
have become tiresome, they now prefer a less-regimented and
less-structured routine, doing what they like to do, at their own
time and pace.
It is about a better quality of life, one within their control,
without the need to pander to corporate demands or toe undesirable
lines.
They may also feel a responsibility to graciously and
unselfishly make way for their younger colleagues and help the
company in its renewal process.
Similarly, people who do not wish to retire have their reasons
too.
If there are still big bucks to be made, and the craving for
wealth has not been satiated, why retire?
Then there are those for whom power, recognition and status are
their nourishment. Retirement means deprivation of such
nourishment, and they will wither and die without it. So, to each
his own.
Lawrence Loh
