A Happy Niche: Where Retirement is Working

There is an interesting little pocket of retirement satisfaction tucked away in a corner of South Africa. Several of the workers in a little resort in Rustenburg are looking forward to their retirement and report parents who are happy in theirs. The folks that I talked to were maids, bartenders, and receptionists who happened to be black. In each case, these are the variables:

• They are did or are expecting to retire ("go on pension") at age 60. In South Africa, it is not uncommon for government jobs to require going on pension at age 60.
• They are not particularly worried about money, it will be similar enough, they say.
• They are not planning on working part-time at all.
• They are very committed to their families and see going on pension as a time to spend with family, not friends particularly.
• They are not planning on traveling or leaving the area.

While Americans are making extreme changes in lifestyle early in the life of a family, dedicating great time and resources to children's activities, in this culture, employment is demanding in mid-life and family time is a focus of retirement. The clear notion of the importance of the extended family is palpable.

The impact and purpose that people in many cultures usually talk about as necessary for retirement are here focused on family and not diversion, enrichment, or even community in the broader sense. It is possible that this is a product of the strangeness and upheaval of South African culture, but many countries have histories of racism and classism. Notably, the folks reporting satisfaction here are in the smallish (compared to other countries) middle class. However we parse it, it is hard to argue with the satisfying nature of these last chapters for these folks.