Over the past two months, the Guardian’s senior reporter Amelia Hill has been exploring the changing nature of retirement in a nine-part weekly series, the New Retirement.
The project has collaboration at its heart: Amelia has been asking if there’s a generation that can’t afford to retire, meeting the people who don’t want to stop work, and telling the stories of those who have replaced paid work with caring. We’ve focused on the experiences of readers throughout – they’ve been in touch through email, an online form, or in the comments below articles – from the joy of discovering wild swimming in retirement, to the worries of making ends meet. In the seventh part of the series, Amelia joined a group of female friends in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, as they discussed what retirement means to them as women.
As a social and community editor who tries to ensure readers’ voices are heard in our journalism, I’ve been working closely with Amelia on this project. Readers trust the Guardian to report accurately and in a way that reflects their experiences. With the New Retirement, we’ve taken a collaborative approach, really listening to what readers across generations have had to say, and trying to direct our journalism accordingly.
From advice on pension schemes to an invitation to a 70th birthday party in a local pub, the scale of response from readers has been unexpected – and extremely welcome.
We rely on people’s concerns, experiences and advice to drive the series and have not been disappointed. In the comment sections below our weekly articles, we’ve seen discussions that have been surprisingly consistent in tone. Not everybody has agreed, but the majority of comments have been insightful and constructive, sometimes heartwarming, and often a poignant reminder of the passing of time.
What Amelia and I have discovered is simple: readers want to know they’re being heard. There’s no secret to hosting a good discussion but listening and replying are good places to start.
What follows is a mixture of comments, emails and form submissions of feedback from readers.
“The Guardian should be commended for taking up this topic, central to the lives of so many people everywhere in the world. As one who turns 65 today, I benefit enormously from the comments from my ‘peers’ and how they cope with this stage of life. We still have a lot to learn from one another even as we get even older.” RuleofLaw21Century
“Your series has given me the impetus to finally do two things: I have become a monthly Guardian supporter and have finally started my PhD … I have had an offer to do a careers-related PhD for a while. I just met my prospective supervisor, and if my proposal gets accepted, I will embark on a part-time PhD on the individual and organisational challenges of extending working lives.” Ruth (by email)
“I’m so glad that someone is finally writing about this topic and not brushing it under the carpet. I’m in my early 50s, and have worked on and off for 25 years as a part-time scientist, raising two children. My husband and I hope that our combined pensions plus government pensions will be enough but it’s a topic that we always review. I look forward to your remaining articles.” Anonymous (by email)
“@AmeliaHill I would just like to say that it is so damn rare for authors to come BTL and participate in the discussion. I wished more would do so for it adds to the quality and expands the discussion.” Fishgirl23
“My brief, possibly atypical, point is that it is technically possible to reinvent yourself late on. I am writing this from a rather smart designer hostel in the delightful town of Chanthaburi, Thailand, en route for two weeks of creative bumming round Cambodia. I fully appreciate that there has been nothing scientific about all this, that we have been absurdly fortunate, but I just wanted to record the fact that a) nothing is set in stone, career-wise, and b) cash-strapped pensioners are not necessarily denied miracles.”
Erlend (via our online form)
“I am absolutely terrified of retirement. I’m 30, married with three children. I paid in to a final salary scheme for several years before leaving the job and moving elsewhere. Beyond that I have nothing stashed away. My wife is disabled and we rent our home. Savings are out of the question. I only just earn enough that, with housing benefit, DLA and tax credits, I manage to keep our heads above water. I honestly don’t know what I should do for the future. There’s no way I could keep this up aged 70+ just so that my partner and I can live a basic life. As for my children … God knows. Adam (by email)
“I find myself increasingly interested in the effects this series is aiming to shed some light on. I’m 33, reasonably financially organised and have been diligently paying into a pension since starting work. I’ve managed well and have made good progress against my first mortgage. With a young family, I am now looking with some consternation upon the next rung of the property ladder and its costs.
“I worry about tough choices in the future between supporting myself and kids, and having to step up and financially help my parents … I’ve taken it as read that I’ll be working a lot longer than my parents. I look forward to following the series and hope it will go some way to assuaging my worries!” umfanageo
“At least one of the newspapers is trying to offer more than just simple headlines and soundbites. I’m nearly 72 and since I retired I have taken up long-distance backpacking and camping. In 2015 I walked the Pennine Way (19 days) south to north and the GR10 across the whole length of the Pyrenees (50 days). Fantastic, I’m having a great time! apples365pears
“Thank you to every contributor, whether they bring good news, bad news or simply business as usual. I’m a 46-year-old man with a young family who is trying to plan for the future as best I can, so any helpful tips, advice or pertinent anecdotes I read here are very interesting!” ID2894027
Catch up with our reporting on the New Retirement and read new chapters in the series at theguardian.com/new-retirement
