Instructor:

Instructor: Elizabeth Richardson

Course Name: Family Resource Management

Graduate Level: Adults Student ages 55 and up

Length of Class: 50 minutes

Unit: Life Education

Lesson Name: Emotional Changes of Retirement

Lesson Goal: Prepare adults for transitioning

Learning Domain: The cognitive domain is the focus by bringing awareness to the emotional/psychological side of retirement and how to plan for it.

Objective: Adult learners will be able to:

1. Become cognizant of what to expect in retirement

2. Learn how to emotionally and psychological adjust to retirement

3. Change their perspective about retirement

I. Review:

Materials for REVIEW: Laptop computer plugged into the AV Projector; overhead projector

A. The main goal of this class is to bring an awareness of possible emotional affects of retirement and how to prevent them.

B. We will do that by first assessing how much you already know about retirement.

1. Welcome all students to the class

2. Warm-up exercise, i.e. Retirement Bingo

3. Ask questions or use brief questionnaire to find out student’s level of knowledge on the subject matter of what to expect in retirement

· What does retirement entail?

· Can you gradually transition into retirement?

· Do we have to retire?

· Will retirement affect me emotionally?

II. Overview

Materials for OVERVIEW: Laptop computer plugged into AV Projector to watch short clip on factors to consider in retirement and available professional

resources for those who need the help of a financial planner.

A. The course will introspect some of the emotional realities that accompany retirement and how we can deal more effectively by planning early and visualizing what we want those golden years to look like.

B. Today, you will learn some of the emotional pitfalls of retirement and how to avoid them.

We have an exciting and creative exercise that we will be doing later in the class.

C. Changing your mindset and discovering your passion after 30 years of hard labor are all part of the plan for happiness and soundness of mind in retirement.

III. Presentation

A. Emotional Challenges:

When we talk about retirement, we often focus on the “nest egg,” how much money will we have, will there be enough to maintain our present standard of living, when is the right time to leave work?

· How many of you feel that you are set financially?

Once the financial aspect of retirement is settled, we are then faced with the reality of dealing with the emotional or psychological part of the picture of retirement.

Often overlooked in that transition are the emotional challenges like

· Change in identity,

· Questions regarding self-worth

· Purpose.

Because many people see themselves by what they do in the work force, when that is taken away, there is a sense of lose.

· Jot down an incident where you have experienced a sense of lose not necessarily related to retirement. What was your emotional response? How did it make you feel?

B. Transitional Stages of Retirement

There are several transitional stages associated with retirement from

· “Looking forward” to retirement

· “Now here I am”

· “What next?”

Initially, the freedom is great, and the excitement lasts for about a year—traveling, downsizing one’s home, sleeping in, shopping, etc. Then the novelty wears off, and retirees are faced with the question, “What do I do now?”

At first, there is a sense of emotional loss, loss of identity, emptiness, then a sense of

fear, “How am I going to replace the kind of affirmation I got from my career?” And, many are left searching for a sense of self-worth.

Without that sense of purpose, you lose who you are; you lose your work identity and your work context.

C. What can retirees do to avoid the emotional pitfalls of retirement?

· First, change the way you think about retirement and yourself: Retirees who adjust the best don’t think of themselves as retirees because the word carries a passive and negative connotation.

· Change how you see retirement: Look at it as the next chapter in your life.

· Many people start new careers based on a rediscovered passion. It is important to do things that match your interest, not just finding things to do, but finding things that are satisfying.

· Apply the skills learned in the work world to other newly found activities,

· Get out of the house, volunteer, join a church community, take a

· Reduce the stress of retirement by planning ahead.

· Discuss life changes with your friends and family

IV. Exercise

Materials for EXERCISE: Distribute articles on personal stories of retirees, distribute “Plans for Retirement”

· Have class divide in groups of 4 or 5 students - read article and discuss articles on alternative plans to retirement.

· Pass out worksheet, “Plans for Retirement.” Have each student consider their passion, dream deferred, skills they desired to learn, but could not because of career, etc.

· Share, feedback on exercise

· Wrap-up

V. Summarize

A. In a nutshell:

Finding support is key

Get out of the house

Turn you passions into business

B. For information on financial planning, visit following sites:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2007/07/18/gw.top.tips.weds.cnn

C. Any questions or comments about handling the emotional aspects of retirement?