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Chief Editor Pauline Ng shares her experiences
 
It has been nine years since I left LegCo as its Secretary-General in 2012. At the time, friends in the media circle asked me how I was going to do in the days to come. I was then 61 years old, and I considered myself at the start of my golden period. After working in the government for 20 years and then another 20 in LegCo, my next 20 years should be dedicated to what I would want to do for myself. However, almost in the blink of an eye, half of these 20 years have passed, and I now ask myself, what have I done so far?
 
I didn’t seem to have done anything especially in the past two years when I spent most of the time working at home, but all the time I did not have one moment feeling lonely. I’m instead grateful that I learned how to save for my retirement since my early years. Otherwise, I would not have had the confidence today to develop a career that I think is meaningful, including the establishment of we60.com, a web page for retirees.
 
Whether it is starting a business or changing a job, this change brings us inexplicable anxiety and even possibly fear. To top it off, the COVID pandemic has severely affected the economy, causing many families to face unforeseen difficulties. The mental distress can, at times, be much more significant than the physical torture, and if these psychological pressures burst, there can be irretrievable consequences. Therefore, the understanding from family members and encouragement from friends is the biggest support for undertaking any new challenges.
 
If you are over 50 and plan to start a business, it’s best to stick to what you know. Of course, you can partner with someone you trust or who have experience in the industry, but what you can offer is preferably your time and professional services which do not eat into your personal savings. For those who still have a job to generate income, a venture of this nature during your spare time would not give rise to very high risk and you also have a good opportunity to understand how it is like to run a business. In the end, no matter who you were before retirement, you need to start doing everything from scratch and by yourself, so one must learn how to accept these changes.

In addition, we also need to deepen our understanding of the relevant industries. Spend some time in advance to do more research and take note of past experiences of successes as well as failures of others so as to access your own competence in undertaking these challenges. Also, remember to set short, medium, and long-term goals and review them periodically. If you find yourself performing up to the standard, don’t forget to reward yourself!
 
Starting a new business or switching careers after reaching 50+ can lead to unexpected role changes in the society. I am more than ever convinced that the roles of men and women are completely interchangeable. For example, I find some husbands in my circle of old schoolmates turning out to be absolutely outstanding household keepers handling all household affairs like grocery shopping, cooking, washing, ironing, cleaning and more. They actually enjoy doing these tasks. On the same thread, women become much more active in community work and many find themselves highly valuable in working part-time or as a volunteer in social enterprises or charity organizations which usually cannot offer much advancement opportunity to younger employees.

Ultimately, we must accept our strengths and weaknesses, appreciate and love ourselves. We must also know how to appreciate and cherish those around us, with whom we can have a long way to go!