These are the Most Common Words TCDRS Retirees Use to Describe Retirement

Find out what words TCDRS retirees use to describe their retirement in this latest installment of our "We Asked, You Answered" series.

By Rebecca L. Bennett

 

As part of our ongoing “We asked, you answered” Facebook series, we recently asked you to share things you didn’t expect to experience in TCDRS retired life.

Looking at the results, we realized that many of you were saying similar things, so we created the image below to show how often each of the words was used.

The bigger the word or phrase, the more often y’all said it! 

Busy and Loving It

26% of you described your retirement “awesome” or “wonderful,” or stated that you’re “loving it.” But the most-used word of all was something we hear from our retirees time and time again. TCDRS retirees are “Busy”! A solid 20% of respondents used that word to describe their retired life.

We also saw words like “Relaxing,” “Freeing” or “Liberating,” “Fun,” “Great” and “Happy” consistently. And for 6% of commenters, retirement can’t come early enough!

Not Without Its Challenges

Now, this isn’t to say that retirement feels breezy for everyone. Some of you shared that you didn’t expect retirement to feel as “Hard” and “Boring” as it has. Losing loved ones, maintaining social connections and finding a sense of fulfillment can be tough for some.

If that’s you, you might consider working part-time, firing up a new hobby or joining a new social or volunteering group in your area.

We love hearing about everything you’ve been up to during retirement. So if you aren’t already, give us a follow @TCDRS on Facebook or Instagram to connect with other retirees and share your story!

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