by Ajay Mehra
This is a stage in the progressive life of a large many of us when the dawn of ‘Retirement Day’ appears on the horizon post a chequered life of sweat and toil. From being an important somebody to suddenly being transformed into a Nobody, is a tough character change for most of us. Some take it positively, for others it’s a tough scenario from having an eventful daily routine with a paucity of time to having ‘all the time in the world. On the positive side, retirement does give you time to ‘slow down, take care of your health, and attend to family commitments which otherwise were being neglected or were relegated to the ‘back burner’ stage.
There is also a squeeze on the inflow of money during such stage, which creates irritability and difficulty in maintaining comparable life standards as hitherto. The living cost inflation rise only compounds the issue as the monthly cheque disappears. The cost of Health Care in advancing age, Health Policies claims and renewals is by itself a Herculean task in itself.
There may be some advocating PF, gratuity, pension and retirement benefits for such rainy days. Still, on the ground level, the ‘grass is in actuality not so green but merely illusive.
The question of concern primarily arises and disturbs is: Why does a businessman not have to retire or a politician in comparison to a humble serviceman? Why does ‘all things being equal the axe only falls on one class of the population, an honest taxpayer? If age is the deciding yardstick why it becomes a limiting qualification for some and not others?
Would the newly-elected government, with an impressive mandate, dwell on this aspect? More so, in view of the fact that no Social Security System is currently in existence for such a large section of the Indian population.
