3 rewarding things to do once you retire

June 23rd 2016 | Categories: Retirement |

Toy plane at sunset

There’s a tangible end goal when planning for retirement – probably the most rewarding one you’ll ever come across. Once you hit retirement age and start drawing from both your pension and super plan, you’ll want to put your feet up, relax and start doing the things you’ve never found time for.

But what are they? While you’ll surely have your own list, there are plenty of popular pastimes to consider, too. Whether you’re a few years off retirement or have recently started collecting on your investments and super savings, here are three things you may find it wonderfully rewarding to get into.

Those over the age of 65 are so comfortable with jet-setting, they’re more than happy to do it solo.

1) Travel the world

There’s no surprise this is at the top of our list. The world is not that big anymore, and Australia not that remote. There’s a whole heap of new experiences practically on our doorstep to the north-west, and even Europe and the Americas are only a flight away.

Doing so might have been on your list for a while now, and there’s now no reason not to take the plunge and start seeing what the rest of this planet has to offer. We’re sure you don’t need convincing; Roy Morgan recently found that 5,355,000 Australians aged 50 and over took at least one holiday in the 12 months to June 2015, almost a million more than in June 2007!

In fact, those over the age of 65 are so comfortable with jet-setting, they’re more than happy to do it solo. Australians aged 65 and over are more likely to travel alone than any other age group, with 18.7 per cent heading out solo in 2015 – a great deal higher than the 13.8 per cent average.

What are you waiting for?

Do you yearn to travel? By boat or bike, now could be the time to do it!Do you yearn to travel? By boat or bike, now could be the time to do it!

2) Learn a new language

Perhaps one of the most rewarding things you can do in life is learning a different language. Think of it like brain aerobics – but fun ones. You’re challenging your cognitive abilities and memory, which works wonders for your creativity, and has also been linked to delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to Omniglot.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding things you can do in life is learning a different language.

If you combine this with travelling, you can even converse with people all over the world, which is a sure fire way to open yourself to new avenues of thought and experiences.

The only question is, which language should you learn? The most spoken non-English tongues are Mandarin, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic and Portuguese, so perhaps that’s a little food for thought. With free mobile apps like Duolingo available, and paid adult classes running in most cities for the budding bilinguist, it’s perhaps never been simpler to do, either.

3) Take up a new sport

Do you yearn for the spirit of competition? Sport has never been just for the young, but for the young at heart, combining exercise with teamwork in a social environment.

Australian women have been rather fond of cricket in recent times, with 22 per cent more of them warming up the crease in 2016 than last year, Roy Morgan found. Another great sport for either gender is golf, which is extremely popular at retirement age, because, let’s face it, it takes a lot of time and commitment to actually get good.

“Excluding walking for exercise, golf is the most common sport or activity regularly played by men aged 65 and over, ahead of fishing, gym or weights training, swimming and cycling,” explained Roy Morgan’s industry communications director, Norman Morris.

The researchers found that the number of regular golfers peaks from the age of 65 and up to 10 per cent of all Aussies, while 4 per cent still dabble as occasional Greg Norman wannabes.

We’d love to hear how do you aim to spend your superannuation savings.

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