What did you take home when you retired?

What did you take home when you retired?

When you retired from your employment - be it government, business, private employer, army and the rest – you might have taken home certain things. Your personal belongings will definitely be there, for sure.  Perhaps, some stationary including letterheads, visiting cards, notebooks and the like - could be. I took voluntary retirement from IDL in Feb 1992. While clearing my table there was: nearly half a pack of cigarettes that I had kept as a reminder to myself-- the last unfinished pack when I gave up smoking in 1987.

I worked in that explosives industry as a librarian for a very long time. Some people took away (stole) very valuable manufacturing documentation [ containing foreign technical know-how] when they left the company for various reasons – ousted, dismissed, resigned under VRS, normal retirement – went seeking greener pastures with competitors etc. Some took enough stationary for grandkids’ schooling. A few borrowed “not-easy- to-buy” books from the library with an idea of never returning them. When the time of separation came, they would simply declare the book to be lost and pay up whatever were dues! Many took fond memories of the canteen food.  

Recently I read a piece on retirement planning. People normally advise you to have a proper financial plan – where and how to invest retirement benefits for long term gain. How would you cope with loss of income after retirement? Financial planning activity and why it is a must is easy to understand. What I read also spoke about planning to improve social capital. Details about your friends, official contacts continue to be useful.  Are you taking goodwill among your friends as well? Will they help you if you ask, irrespective of the fact you are not in the seat of power anymore?

In the place of my longest employment (IDL), a few did take with them goodwill they had developed. When such persons retired and joined competitors, they always had enough ‘insiders’ to help them!  At one point of time IDL used to send employees for foreign trips on flimsy reasons but the sole objective was to bind the employee not to leave the company for certain number of years.  I signed a bond for five years after I was sent on (an unwilling) trip to European countries for five weeks. That was in 1979. I am told many retirees start consultancy activity mainly based on goodwill they can capitalize. My father-in-law was one!

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