Retirement ready?

New book shares “whole-of-life” retirement plan

It began with a suggestion from a group of literature evangelists—a book for people in the over-50 age group. Avondale College of Higher Education alumnus and author Dr Bruce Manners also wanted a writing project while he considered his plans for retirement. The result? The launch of Retirement Ready? as part of a retirement planning workshop hosted by Lilydale Seventh-day Adventist Church in Victoria.

Manners initially expressed little interest in the project. “When I went home, my wife, Margie, suggested we did have an interest. We were in our early 60s and heading toward retirement. So, it was who, not what, that originally caught my attention. And I don’t regret deciding to research and write the book.”

Retirement Ready? includes elements of Manners’ story and is, according to the author, unique in taking a “whole-of-life” approach to preparing for retirement. “The information about a broad approach to retirement is available,” he says. “But there are few attempts to bring the various strands together. And while this is a largely secular book, this holistic treatment puts Seventh-day Adventist fingerprints all over it. It sits comfortably alongside our health and lifestyle books.”

A retiree, Pr Chester Stanley, launched the book at the church on July 23. He retired as President of the Adventist Church in Australian in September 2015 and described the transition as “one of the biggest of my life.” He commended Manners and Signs Publishing for the project, recognising it as ministering to part of the church and society that the church does not often minister to specifically.

“We rightly invest a lot in our children and young people,” said Stanley, “but I’ve often asked what we’re doing for our mature members. This book is one way we’re meeting their needs. And in a society with an ageing population, a resource like this is also a valuable way for us to share our church’s message of holistic health and wellbeing.”

In conjunction with this new book, Manners’ work has led to the development of the retirenotes.com website, which features updates on retirement issues, research and wellbeing. He has also developed his retirement workshop and has made a series of presentations on these topics at Rotary Club meetings around Melbourne over the past couple of years. “I hadn’t spent a lot of time speaking in clubs and pubs before this,” he says.

Now an experienced retiree, Manners says he recommends retirement but that “planning is important for creating your best retirement. And if you’re married, you need to discuss what retirement will look like for both of you.”