Working beyond retirement like my Dad
By: Elliott, redwigwam
My Dad enjoyed a new lease of working life after he retired from the police, and it is becoming a popular choice.
My Dad was a policeman for 32 years. In fact, for all of my childhood, I remember him either in uniform coming home for lunch or dinner or going out to a night shift in plain clothes at 11 pm. So when, and still a relatively young man in his mid-50s, it became his time to retire, I was quite shocked.
As it turned out it was really the start of his second career. He put his experience of the ‘force’ to good use and became a court officer, delivering summons and verdicts to people all over Scotland. He and his partner would pick up the days activities and then be off around the country. I swear he must have eaten lunch in more cafes than I knew Scotland even had.
As an addition to his pension, it was a really nice little bonus and one that allowed him and my mum to enjoy holidays almost every month, either in the UK or somewhere hot when the weather was rubbish. So when it came time to finally retire for good, around 10 years later, it didn’t feel too soon and there was still plenty of time for my mum and him to visit every National Trust property in Scotland and England and go and visit my sister every few months in Eire.
I would go as far as to say that the extra working time has added years to their lives.
There are now over one and a half million people over the age of 55 who are officially retirees but who continue to work part-time. They are just part of the 7 million people in the UK for whom part-time work is a choice.
At redwigwam, we hope to be able to help more of these people find temp work that suits them and allows them to work when and where they want.
