How this former professor is getting over the loss of her work identity in retirement – The Globe and Mail

In Tales from the Golden Age, retirees talk about their spending, savings and whether life after work is what they expected.

Nancy Holmes, 65, Kelowna, B.C.

I retired in June, 2024, at 65 years old, after a 32-year career as an educator. My last job, for almost 20 years, was as a creative studies professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. My husband retired about eight years before me and has been enjoying life, so I wanted to spend more time with him.

I loved my job. I felt productive and like I was doing something reasonably important, which is probably why I didn’t retire sooner. However, I was starting to feel a bit old. Post-secondary institutions are hard places to be right now, especially with the impact of artificial intelligence on students’ work. I just didn’t want to deal with it.

I withdrew from work slowly, reducing my workload over the past two years. Still, I was surprised by how cut off I felt once September rolled around this year. It was the first time since I was 5 years old that I had not attended school in the fall – as a student or a teacher. I sometimes feel a loss of identity, but then I remind myself that I have many different roles beyond being a professor that are just as meaningful, including being a writer and a mother.

While I’ve been quite busy in retirement, I’ve also become weirdly disorganized. I can’t seem to arrange my day to fit everything in, especially my writing. I thought once I ditched my day job, I’d have all the time in the world to write novels, poetry and essays. Apart from a blog about my retirement anxieties, I haven’t yet figured out how to make writing a regular part of my life. It’s strange because I taught students the importance of regular writing practice as a writing professor. It’s been hard for me to follow my own advice.

As for money, I have a defined-contribution pension plan, so I don’t worry too much about my financial risk (although it’s tied to the movements of the stock market, which can be unnerving). I tend to worry more about climate change and its effects on our economy and society, including the threats of floods and fires. If my house burned down (which isn’t improbable in Kelowna), I don’t know if I’d have the energy to rebuild. So, I worry about what the future holds for my family, my kids and my grandkids.

I haven’t yet signed up for my Canada Pension Plan or Old Age Security benefits and plan to wait until I’m 70. I’m hoping that waiting and getting more money will provide me with extra financial stability.

The best advice I received for retirement is to ‘get your house in order.’ That means sitting down and figuring out what you have and what you need, and arranging everything you neglected when you were too busy working, including your estate. I’ve found doing this extremely satisfying. It has made me feel like I’ve done all I can to set a foundation for a new phase of my life. I’m free now to figure out what to do with what’s left of my time. I suspect the future will be full of interesting times.

– As told to Brenda Bouw

This interview has been edited and condensed.

Are you a Canadian retiree interested in discussing what life is like now that you’ve stopped working? The Globe is looking for people to participate in its Tales from the Golden Age feature, which examines the personal and financial realities of retirement. If you’re interested in being interviewed for this feature and agree to use your full name and have a photo taken, please e-mail us at: goldenageglobe@gmail.com. Please include a few details about how you saved and invested for retirement and what your life is like now.