MHM Magazine

Issue 2 | 2025 | MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS | 15 MHM Word cloud – expectations of retirement Awareness of some of the risks and rewards associated with retirement, in combination with fostering sufficient retirement resilience well in advance, can facilitate an optimal and meaningful retirement life phase. But what does this mean? Prof Robert Ashley, a renowned sociologist and gerontologist, has proposed a comprehensive framework for understanding, planning for, and coping with retirement. This framework, encompassing both financial and non-financial aspects, can help aspiring retirees identify potential risks and rewards in their retirement plans. It also highlights the aspects that need to be fostered to bolster retirement resilience, making it a valuable tool for anyone planning their retirement (View image – Atchley’s Retirement Framework). Atchley says… While financial security traditionally enjoys the most, if not all, attention during retirement planning, other factors, such as psychological and mental readiness to retire, significantly influence the impact of retirement. It’s important to consider that retirement usually requires huge adjustments characterised by changes in identity, daily activities and routine, as well as changes in social connections. If not managed optimally, these adjustments can contribute to negative outcomes, including depression, with research indicating that 28% of retirees struggle with clinical depression and anxiety. Compared to pre-retirement, many retirees lack involvement in cognitively demanding activities, increasing the risk of cognitive decline. Some individuals struggle significantly to settle into their new retiree role and life, feeling disillusioned and lost. For many, their career almost exclusively defines their identity, and they become arrested in Atchley’s framework as they return to work again. Importantly, compromised psychological and cognitive health can spill over into poorer financial decisions, further impacting retirees negatively. A 'transition phase' between the pre-and actual retirement event is not specifically described in Atchley’s framework but is crucial for an optimal and meaningful retirement. Perceiving retirement more as a process, a transition, or perhaps a journey that occurs gradually may further bolster retirement resilience significantly. This transition phase can include, amongst others, a life review. Psychological readiness for retirement - The importance of a life review Building on this, we now continue to focus on the psychological readiness for retirement, using a life review approach. Søren Kierkegaard, philosopher and father of existentialism, remarked that ‘Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards’ encapsulates the purpose of a life review. So, why is it important to engage in a life review, and how do we go about it? As a psychologist, Erik Erikson was interested in how social interaction and relationships shape the development of our identity as human beings. His interest and a major part of his life’s work and legacy is the eight stages of psychosocial development. These stages can broadly be divided into infancy, adolescence, middle age, and old age, which represent typical developmental phases and their associated stages (View Image – Erikson’s stage of psychosocial development). Erikson postulated that each developmental stage is associated with a specific psychological struggle or conflict that provides the opportunity to develop (or not develop) major aspects of our egos (or identities or sense of self), such as trust, autonomy, and initiative. Furthermore, Erikson also viewed this development as fluid, with stages that overlap or can be revisited. MHM | 2025 | Volume 12 | Issue 2 | Embarking on the retirement journey – navigating risks, reaping awards, and fostering resilience MHM