The retirement age in Ireland used to be 65. Recently, they pushed it up to 68 and thankfully brought it back down to 66 after much protest. I don’t know why Paul McCartney chose 64. The funny thing is, he’s now nearly 20 years older and he still hasn’t retired😀.
I went to a Paul Weller concert in King John’s castle, Limerick, last year. He was promoting his album, 66, which was his age in 2024. I last saw him live at Live Aid in 1985. I could never have imagined that he’d still be performing
Behind me, I heard some girls singing along to one of his old songs. I turned around and they looked like grannies. They probably thought I looked like a grandad😀. Time does accelerate as you grow older. I should have known that from Pink Floyd’s Time, one of my favourites as a teenager:
Every year is getting shorter,
Never seem to find the time,
Plans that either come to naught,
Or half a page of scribbled lines
So how would I want to retire? The main reason for retiring is that you reach a stage where work becomes more difficult because you don’t have the same physical or mental energy levels. You do get exceptional people that carry on working for many years after 66. I’m not sure that I’ll be that type. I suppose, like most people, I would at least like to be in reasonably good health for as long as possible.
Then, I would like to catch up on so much that I put on the long finger throughout my life, such as reading all the unread books, re-reading some of my favourite books and also taking advantage of all the wonderful resources available for us today on the web.
I don’t know whether I would have much energy for physical travel, but I do like virtual travel. For example, with Google Earth and Virtual Reality (VR) applications, such as Wander, you can wander around the world. With YouTube, you can watch professional documentaries or amateur productions and get a real feel for a city or region or someone else’s holiday. For example, I regularly watch Joolz Guide to London.
Church-wise, I suppose I would model myself on elderly people I’ve met in church over the years. So many were lovely to chat to. I’m a bit uneasy that nowadays , there’s so much emphasis on trying to increase the retirement age or pushing people into volunteering, which can end up being as stressful as the world of work. But I would like to quietly be helpful to others. It’s true that people live longer, but we don’t really know how many quality years we have left. And if you’ve been paying taxes all your life, then I don’t see why you should feel guilty about retirement.
So, to summarize, I don’t envisage doing anything particularly special. I do enjoy reflecting on my life. I can look back on my past and thank God for all the joyful times. I can think of the stressful times and thank God that I got through them. And I can remember people I’ve known throughout my life and pray for God’s blessing on them.
When we retire, we inevitably think of what might be ahead. It would be nice not to have to experience illness and death. The Bible mentions two people who went directly to heaven without dying:
- Enoch – In Genesis 5:24, it says, “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him.” This has long been interpreted by Jewish and Christian tradition to mean that Enoch was taken directly to heaven.
- Elijah – In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah is famously taken up to heaven in a whirlwind with a chariot and horses of fire. It’s one of the most dramatic exits in all of Scripture.
The song, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is based on Elijah’s experience. But how we get to heaven is only a matter of detail. And, you do get people who live reasonably healthy lives and simply become weak and pass away. But who knows what lies ahead. I think of the hymn, Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah, which, like many hymns has a closing verse about facing death:
When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of death, and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
And if Jesus returns before I die, I won’t need to face death:
1 Thess 4:16-18
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
However, most of us do go through the dying process. But ultimately Heaven is our true home. The apostle Paul anticipated dying, but still made the most of his remaining time on earth.
Philippians 1:22-24
22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
So, it’ll just be a matter of completing our term of service down here. And it could be many years yet 😀. I could think of heaven as retiring for eternity, but I think I’ll be full of energy there and I’ll find plenty to do. Except in that case, all my duty will be a joy.
Many hymns relate to growing old, such as Abide with Me, and many also focus on heaven, such as There’s a Sound on The Wind:
Hibernia Gospel 