Socio-Economic and Psychological Problems of Retirees: A Case Study of Wah Cantt

Abstract

The obj ect ives of the study were to find out the post-retirement problems among retirees . Researcher explored retirees' expectations from the Government about the welfare scheme. The target population of the research was comprised of ret irees of Wah Cantt. Researcher used the stratified sampling due to the ava il ability of multiple categories of retired peopl e. The retirees were divid ed into 4 strata by using stratified sampling, 1 5t comprised of retired male and fema le workers, 2nd of retired male and female government or private school teachers, 3rd of retired nurses and 4th of Army retired males. Researcher participated as observer in their day to day activities in order to co llect in-depth information about the problems and issues. An interview guide was developed for data co ll ection. Over all it was good and informat ive experience. The term " retirement" refers to the process of aging or growing older. This term is harder to define because everyone has his or her experiences and problems regarding retirement. Thu s, term "retirement" varies from person to person. Some respondents were quite satisfied with their retired life whi le some considered it as a bore life and wanted to continue their job. Variolls aspects of retirees' life were explored like stress level, anxieties of the elderly li fe, dependency, restriction in mobility, mental or physical ill health, being handicapped as a res ult of an acc ident. Hence, researcher concluded that although the retirees in Wah Cantt were fac ing certain financia l or other problems but still they were leading a sati sfi ed life and prayed to Allah for their children and grand children's better future. Religion a lso played a vita l role in the life of retirees. They constantly prayed to Allah to solve their problems. For retirees, mosq ues also served as a socializing place, where uSllally they met to their fr iends and discussed the matters pertaining outside the religion circle. The fabr ic of Pakistani society is still very strong and the retirees got a ll the moral and emotional SUppOlt from the society, whi ch they needed over the time. Retirees of low pension groups kept themselves busy in doing odd jobs so that they could meet the requirements of their house hold . The male retirees usually he lped in the financial stability of fami ly by pension and through odd job income, they also purchased groceries from the market. Whi le the retired women helped in the kitchen, took care of their grandchi ldren, taught in vocat ional centre or gave tuition at home and brought grocery from market. Many retirees were suffering from illness directly related to the old age like weak hearing ability, diabetes, impaired vision due to cataract, physical weakness, insomnia, dental problems, pain in joints and bones due to arthritis etc. These compla ints were common among retired men and women both. The att itude of yo un gsters towards retirees was usually very positive. Most of the retirees proudly admitted that their chi ldren and yo un gsters were respectful towards them. Yet some retirees sa id that the respect they received was only on the surface level and not suffi cient or s incere. According to retirees, they got free treatment and med icines at the POF hosp ital yet its quality was not satisfactory, sti ll most of the population considered it a blessing. The places that mostly visited by respondents were; senior citizen foundation, local markets, mosques and friend's home etc.