In a recent post, I talked about pensions and retirement, so today I’d like to share some vocabulary for talking about retirement in English.

When people reach a certain age, often around 65, and decide to end their working career, they retire (verb) and enter retirement (noun), at which point they are retired (adj.) and are called a retiree (noun). This time in someone’s life may be called their golden years. 

After retiring, some people begin to collect money called a pension (noun) from their company or from the government. Such a person may be called a pensioner (noun), a word that is sometimes used as a synonym for retiree (along with senior and senior citizen).

If people have a pension or personal savings, they may begin to draw down (verb: withdraw/take from) these savings to fund (verb: pay for) their retirement. They may work with a financial/retirement planner (a person who provides financial advice to retirees) to create a financial plan or budget (noun).

These planners often call the early phase/stage of retirement the go-go stage. Retirees are often still healthy and enjoy traveling and other leisure activities. Around 75, they enter the slow-go stage. They may have more health problems and less energy, so they are less active and spend more time at home. After 85, they may enter the no-gostage, during which they mostly stay at home. Of course, these ages may be different for different people. One of my grandmothers is 93 and only recently stopped driving and entered the no-go stage of her retirement! 

As retirees get older, they may downsize (verb) their homes (sell their home and move into a smaller one to cut costs) or move into retirement homes or retirement communities, which have convenient services to assist seniors. Sometimes a retirement home can be called an old age home, but some people may not consider this polite. 

When couples get older and one of them passes away, the remaining person is called a widow (noun: a woman who has lost her partner) or a widower (noun: a man who has lost his partner), at which point they are widowed (adj.). 

Eventually, when people pass away, their will (noun: a legal document) determines who will inherit (verb: get/receive) their estate (noun: their wealth and possessions).