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Working in retirement

by Wendy Kay | 24 Jul 2013

Among the many challenges of retiring, one is difficult to find a solution to: what now? Many retirees are returning to the workforce casually and part-time to fill the gap left by work, and doing so in ways that satisfy lifelong passions.

Although he’s been retired for more than a decade, Col Pask recently had to take time off work to enjoy a two-month holiday around Europe with his wife Ginny.

Apart from designing and building websites, the 65-year-old is employed as a handyman for a luxury residence in Melbourne. The multi-million dollar property boasts a range of technology that would make most normal people’s heads spin, but it’s sheer gadget heaven for techy Col.

“Everything, from the lighting to the curtains, to the security and watering system, is all computer controlled,’’ said Col. “Inevitably something always needs fixing; I have more work than I can handle over there.”

Col is a member of Melbourne’s Ringwood Clock Tower Probus, where Ginny, 63, is secretary. She also works in her spare time marking exam papers, a perfect transition from her years as a teacher.

There’s no doubt this couple is a well-oiled, functional team, using their retirement to pursue their passions, and both lucky enough to pocket some money for them along the way. Their enthusiasm and zest for life is infectious, and their daily schedules are full, split between enjoying time together and pursuing separate interests.

For the last two decades of his 37-year career with Telstra, Col worked at the “pointy end” of technology and development before retiring in 2002. After a year renovating the family home, he launched a business developing and fixing websites and spreadsheets, and offering computer training.

Judy Cole, a retirement transition coach and self-funded retiree, thought her future was sorted in December 2000 as she sailed out through Sydney Heads for a trip around the world with her partner. However, “somewhere in the Caribbean” she realised she wasn’t ready to simply cruise through the rest of her life.

“So we finished the circumnavigation in three years and I reinvented my life combining work, contribution and play.” Her contribution is her volunteer work with Sailability, an organisation enabling people with disabilities to sail, while her play includes heading to the UK in July to hire a campervan and take her cousin’s young grandchildren down the west coast of England to ride Exmoor ponies. “I used to have one when I was young,” she explains.

Her work, meanwhile, is helping older workers identify what they want to do when they retire.

The pension can be affected by paid work though. If you are single and your income exceeds $152 per fortnight, the pension will drop by 50c for every $1 earned over $152. For a couple, both on the age pension, that limit is $268.

Bob, 68, spent nearly 40 years planning what he was going to do when he finished work. “I always said 40 years would do me working for bosses, and I had two of them, Elders and NSW Farmers,’’ he said.

Today he and Sue run Property Solutions Pty Ltd NSW, where he acts as an advocate for landlords and tenants negotiating leases and rent reviews.

A slower pace

A sign on a gate lured former Qantas captain Peter Howell into part-time work as a handyman at Sydney’s Woolwich Marina.

“I keep an eye on the boats, check the mooring lines and do general maintenance around the site three days a week,’’ he says.

“When I saw the sign and enquired I was initially told the work would probably be too menial for me. But it was exactly what I wanted after the stress of flying planes.

“I leave early to avoid the traffic and I’m finished early too. Then I can sit on the harbour enjoying the company of the other blokes and watch the boats. There’s no jetlag, no uniform and I wake up the next morning in the same bed.”

Bob, Peter and Col agree that having a part-time job has helped keep their sanity and that of their wives.

“It was quite an adjustment for my wife Mel when I retired, having me sitting there asking her why she was doing things,” says Peter.

Bob, a self-confessed workaholic who became the youngest member of Gordon Probus when he joined in 2000 at the age of 56, says it is vital to plan not only your finances but what you are actually going to do.

“Whether you want to travel, consult, or get involved in community activities, make a plan to do it. Because I had been planning for retirement throughout my working life, it was quite refreshing when I was confronted with it, not a shock at all.’’ he says.

Although Col may only run his business for another five years, he’ll never be thinking about doing ‘nothing’.

“There are plenty of other lives outside your former working world,” he says.

Ginny agrees: “You either get on and enjoy this party of life and make the most of it, or end up disappointed.”