The Retirement Survival Rulebook

The first time I saw Raj after he retired from the Indian Air Force, he looked the same. Strong handshake. Same clipped hair. Same easy smile.

We sat down for tea. Within ten minutes, he was telling me about his latest knee scan, the price of medicines, and his sons house abroad. Till a few years back, he had been flying sorties and running fitness drills with men half his age. Now his days were filled with health checkups, talking politics and waiting for calls from his kids.

He was still in his prime, but without the uniform, the schedule, and the purpose, he was aging twice as fast. I started seeing it with more of my batchmates and seniors. Talk of missions and plans replaced by talk of cholesterol and property prices. Many had moved near their children in other countries, but there, they were dependent. Guests in someone else’s life.

It shook me.

I had always dreamed of retirement as a reward. I had saved for it. I pictured a home in the hills, mornings with mist outside the window, coffee in hand. Once, I even came close to buying that house, but pulled out at the last minute. Back then, I thought the dream was about a place. Now I know it is about a way of living.

I didn’t want to fade into the background of my own story. So I designed my own rulebook for retirement. To protect myself.

Phase One – Burn the Script

Purpose: Destroy the story you have been fed about what retirement ‘should’ be.

Rule 1: Practice freedom now. Don’t wait for the last pay check to figure out free time. Take a week off in the next two months with no work, no email. Watch what happens to your mind.

Rule 2: Stop saving everything for later. Your best years are now. Spend on experiences while your body and curiosity are intact. Make a ‘before I am 70’ list and tick one off now.

Rule 3: Know your picture before you know your number. Savings targets are empty without a vision. Write your perfect Tuesday in retirement. Price it out. Adjust your number to match reality.

Phase Two – Get Your Money Mind Right

Purpose: Kill the money stress and self-sabotage that can wreck your freedom.

Rule 4: Trade money for life, not the other way around. Track every rupee you spend for a month. Note how many hours of your life it cost. Ask if you would make that trade again.

Rule 5: Stop letting emotions run your money. Think of one bad financial move you have made. Name the emotion that caused it – fear, ego, envy. Learn to see it before it strikes again.

Rule 6: Build a side identity before you lose the main one. If your whole self is your job, losing it will feel like losing a limb. Start a hobby, a project, or a volunteer role now.

Phase Three – Build the Life You Will Wake Up For

Purpose: Create a life after work that is richer than the one you are leaving.

Rule 7: Don’t wing it. Unstructured decades can crush you. Pick three new activities for the next year. Bonus if they scare you.

Rule 8: Learn to enjoy doing nothing. Take one day this month to do nothing ‘productive.’ No guilt. If you can’t do this, retirement will be a shock.

Rule 9: Steal the habits of long-lived people. Walk daily. Eat more plants. Lift weights at the gym. Share meals with friends. Longevity is how you live.

Rule 10: Keep taking risks. Retirement is not the end of risk. It is a great time for it. Pick something you have always wanted to try but feared. Start making it real.

I have seen what happens when retirement is just the end of work. People shrink. They stop exploring. They start counting aches instead of memories.

I don’t want that life.
I want my last decades to feel like my best ones.

This rulebook is my insurance policy for staying alive while I am still here.