In the series Happy with Retirement, we talk to pensioners. How have they arranged their pensions? And, most importantly, how do they enjoy their retirement now? In this story, we speak to Chris Biesbroeck (64). She worked for Dow for 43 years and is now enjoying her retirement.
“I worked at Dow for 43 years as a paralegal. I am not a lawyer, but I did study for this while in university. When I got pregnant, I stopped studying. As a paralegal, I did the legal work, but under the watchful eye of a lawyer.”
I have been working since I was 17
“The decision to retire earlier had been on my mind for some time. I had been working since I was 17, and I thought that I had had enough. Of course, it is not a decision you can make overnight. I talked about it with family and friends. However, there was no one who said that I should not do it. In fact, people were asking why I was still working at all.”
An eye on the horizon
“Two years before I retired, I requested a meeting with someone from the pension fund. In one of these conversations, I had everything calculated for what the financial consequences would be of retiring earlier. It was enough for me to seal the deal and set a retirement date. It was like having an eye on the horizon.
I did not stop working right away. At first, I started working one day less per week. Then another day less. In this way, I worked towards retirement step by step. I would recommend this to anyone. Otherwise, suddenly retiring can be quite a shock.”
Enjoying being out and about
“When the time finally came, I first traveled around Canada with my husband for a month. In this way, the transition from working to retirement was a little less harsh. Once back home, we bought a little dog. I now get a lot of joy from this. You have something to take care of, and it is easy to spend a couple of hours walking the dog every day.”
All the time
“Of course, there are things that go away when you retire. For example, I sometimes miss having contact with colleagues. But, I find that this feeling goes away quickly. You just get busy with other things. The freedom to divide my own time is wonderful. If I want to read the newspaper for an hour, I just do it. You fill your day naturally.
When I brush my teeth in the evening, I can reminisce about my day. And, whether it was a busy day or not: money comes every month anyway. It is wonderful.”