Jacob Kaimenyi book review: You should take retirement plans seriously early enough

Retirement. Why does this word sometimes sound like a death sentence to employed people? Maybe the clue is in the fact that retirement means stopping to work; the end of a routine of physical and mental engagement in a given task; stepping away from what one has done regularly for a long period; or leaving an assignment, an office and departing from colleagues that one could have known for most of their adult life.

Retirement is a loss. Workmates, friends, companions, familiar spaces, income, things one owns in the workplace, authority, benefits, control over process and persons etc are lost.

Which is why many working people are afraid to retire. In tough economic times such as we live in today, when social security is scant, retirement means a definite loss of regular earnings (unless one had saved and invested quite well).

But retiring could also easily throw someone who just recently had a predictably comfortable quality of life into impending penury.

It is not that working people, whether employed and paid regular wages or owning a business don’t plan for retirement. It is just that evidence suggests that most people just don’t earn enough to save and, therefore, plan for a comfortable postretirement life.

Saving for social security is mandatory in many countries in the world. However, saving for retirement and the benefits that accrue – pension – when one leaves gainful employment or retires from business is in most cases way below the average cost of living. Most retirees, research shows, can barely pay their bills.

Which is why the world is awash with books advising employees on how to prepare for retirement. Jacob T. Kaimenyi has just added to that collection. His book is called What They Haven’t Told You About Retirement: The Pleasures and Pitfalls (Virtue Book Publishers, 2022).

So, what is it that Kaimenyi says about retirement in his book that others haven’t already said, one may ask? Maybe not much. Yet, maybe there is some novel advice in this book, after all, it is a personal testimonial.

Kaimenyi retired not long ago as ‘Kenya’s ambassador to the Kingdom Belgium and the European Union.’ He had previously been a deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Nairobi and a Cabinet Secretary in the ministries of Education and Lands. Before that he was a practising dentist. This is a man who has spent most of his adult life working.

Now that he is retired, what wisdom does he have for those still working? There is enough advice in this book for every facet of life in retirement. But I found section quite worth reflecting on here, mainly because of its clarity and applicability.

In a section titled ‘Adjusting to Retirement’, Kaimenyi suggests six steps to undertake soon after retirement. First, ‘build a sense of purpose beyond your job.’ The expectation here is that employed individuals should begin to think beyond the job, the office and the organization.

The soon-to-be-retiree should invest in an alternative activity that would give them purpose in life beyond the fulfilment of work and the rewards one receives. What would substitute for everyday work engagement and bring one a sense of achievement? This is a key question to ask oneself as retirement nears, Kaimenyi suggests.

Second, ‘invest in personal relationships.’ This counsel is probably the most important of the wisdom in this section. Employed people, especially if they work away from home tend to abandon their families, which makes reintegration difficult when they finally have to stay at home with their spouses, children, relatives and neighbors. As Kaimenyi advises, one should always strive to renew and guard personal relationships in relation to professional life.

Third, ‘create networks beyond the workplace.’ Simply said, invest in personal relationships. Whereas individual relationships will largely involve one’s kin, networks are the sets of relationships one builds with friends, colleagues and even professional peers. These relationships could lead to new communities with a common purpose or opportunities for engagement in retirement.

Fourth, ‘nurture hobbies or leisure pursuits and interests.’ Today’s competitive work environment and routine leaves very little time for employees to have hobbies or even leisure time. But hobbies can really be anything from writing (poetry or travelogues or letters) to gardening – planting vegetables and fruits for own consumption.

Leisure activities help one to exercise mentally and physically but also have a ‘sense of purpose’ suggested above.

Fifth, ‘properly manage stress, worry, anxiety and depression’ (sic).

Worry about the uncertainty of retirement and the attendant problems of illness, death, children leaving home, potential divorce etc can make retirement a lonely time, Kaimenyi advises. Investing early in family, friends, and activities to distract one from boredom, the retiree may be able to effectively manage moments of stress in their life.

Finally, ‘accept the change and transition into retirement.’ This is the cliché of preretirement talk workshops. But how does one simply come to terms with the fact that they will no longer be waking up in the morning to go to work; that they won’t be the boss anymore; that they can’t receive a regular income at the end of the month; that they have grown old and probably not as dexterous as they were before? Yet, every retiree probably knows that this is the ultimate truth for all employees. To use another cliché, ‘accept and move on.’

Considering that in many organisations seminars on retirement happen towards the end of one’s career, there is much to learn from self-help books such as What They Haven’t Told You about Retirement. Indeed, as the title of the book suggests, whoever it is that should be telling soon-to-be-retirees about what the outside world and the future holds for them might just not tell as much as Kaimenyi offers in this book.

Maybe they don’t find it necessary to ‘scare’ prospective retirees about the unpredictability of life beyond work. Or they just don’t have time to tell them so much about life away from work.

The second part of the book that I found pithy in its advice is the one with the title ‘Important Virtues to Practice in Retirement.’

These include, love, forgiveness, contentment, courage, and self-control. If a retiree needs love and forgiveness, they have to be ready to love and forgive first. Contentment, Kaimenyi advises, allows one to live within their means by prioritizing needs over wants.

Courage and self-control will help one to face risks and manage one’s desires and impulses, respectively.

What They Haven’t Told You About Retirement: The Pleasures and Pitfalls is the kind of book that should be tucked in that end of the year gift pack to colleagues, friends and relatives as they head towards the office exit door at the end of the year.

The writer teaches literature, performing arts and media at the University of Nairobi. [email protected]