After Retirement, I Still Want to Work. Here’s Why.

After Retirement, Will I Still Work for Money?

Old Zhou guards the gate at my community. He is sixty-three. Before retirement, he watched machines in a textile factory. Every day at six thirty, he changes into his uniform. The collar is frayed. In his pocket he keeps a bottle of blood pressure pills and a ballpoint pen. Someone asks, “Not enough pension?” He shakes his head. It is enough for rice and oil. Then the person asks, “So why keep working?” He says the TV at home is on from morning to night. No one talks to him. Here, someone offers him a cigarette. Someone says good morning. His pay is two thousand eight hundred. After utilities, he can still buy his grandson fried chicken twice. As he says this, he straightens an electric bike.

I stand nearby and think about my own retirement. When that day comes, I will probably sleep for three days. By the fourth day, I may not be able to sit still. If my body is still okay, I am willing to find something to do. Not for anything else. I need some noise in the day.

The body decides first. People in their sixties may look young, but the parts are old. Staying up late is out. Carrying heavy things is out. Standing all day makes your back ache. So when you work again, you cannot compare yourself with young people. If you can do half a day, do not do a full day. If you can sit, do not stand. If you can take it easy, do not push hard. I know a retired doctor who was rehired at a community clinic, three mornings a week. White coat on, stethoscope around his neck. He takes blood pressure, reads scans, tells old men and women how to take their medicine. He says it is better than watching health shows at home. In the afternoon, he goes home and sleeps. In the evening, he can still take a walk. He can do the work. He sleeps well after.

Money is not shameful. Pensions vary. Some are comfortable. Some are just enough. At the vegetable market, ribs cost over thirty yuan a jin. Eggs go up a few cents. Utility and gas bills arrive one text after another. If the body allows, earning another income loosens things up. You do not have to stare at price tags when you want to buy something. When your grandson comes, you can stuff a red envelope in his hand. If you get sick, you do not have to calculate your savings first. Some people think that if a retired person still works, the children are unfilial. I do not see it that way. Money you earn yourself is easy to spend. Lightening the family burden is also helping your kids.

People with skills find it even harder to sit still after retirement. My old Chinese teacher went to teach at a private school after he retired. His hair was half white. When he lectured, he still liked to put his hands behind his back. When he read a good sentence, he would knock on the blackboard. Our class did not get him until graduation. At the time, I felt it was a pity. Later I heard he took another class. Morning reading, he still arrived at six thirty. He did not lack the hourly pay. He lacked the podium. Standing on it, he was still himself. Doctors, accountants, engineers, repairmen, same thing. Experience sits in your belly. If you do not use it, it goes cold. If someone invites you, and you can still do it, do it.

Working and not working make a person look different. When you work, you set an alarm. You wash your face. You change clothes. You go out and see people. When you do not work, pajamas can last until noon. Your phone can run until the battery dies. I have seen old people who retired from companies and then became security guards. Once the uniform is on, their backs straighten and their voices carry. People coming and going greet them. They have good memories. They remind you when your package arrives. They do not talk about value. They say, “Someone says good morning to me.” That sentence is more useful than anything.

Of course, working again does not mean doing anything at all. You have to look at your body. You have to look at your family. If your spouse is in poor health, you take care of home first. If your kids need a hand, you discuss it. The job cannot be too far. It cannot be too tiring. It cannot withhold wages. It cannot have no insurance. There are many recruitment scams now. If they ask for a deposit, tell you to buy equipment, or try to recruit people into a pyramid scheme, turn around and leave. Sign a simple agreement. Write down the hours, the pay, and what happens if there is an accident. At this age, safety weighs more than money.

I have also thought about what exactly to do after retirement. On the community bulletin board, there was a notice: librarian, three days a week, computer skills preferred. I stood there and looked at it for two minutes. The pay was not high. The work was not heavy. I could read books. I could sit in the sun. I took a photo of the notice and put my phone back in my pocket. Tomorrow I will go ask. Whether it works out or not, I will deal with it then.

So, ask me whether I am willing to work for money again after retirement. The answer is: conditionally willing. If my body is okay, the work is suitable, my rights are protected, and my family does not object, I will go. Earn more or less, that is secondary. Mainly, there is a place to go, something to do, and someone to talk to. I see retirement as a change of work, not the end of it. If I can still walk, I will walk and see.