When considering the inevitable end of my working career and retirement, I thought I would do things a little differently. I decided to have a transitional period—what I call semi-retirement—before the onset of full-time retirement. I am now 18 months into my semi-retirement and thought it might be useful to share my experience with others who may be considering retirement but still have much to offer the profession.

When first deciding what semi-retirement would look like, I considered my family, who have supported me throughout my career and often moved with me across the state. I wanted to spend more time with them, which would be possible if we relocated to where they live. I was 63, still young enough to spend time with the kids and grandkids and do a bit of travel. My home country of Australia is a big place and there is so much of it that I haven’t seen with my bride (my wife of 41 years).

Local government has been so good to me, and I didn’t want to just ride off into the sunset. I wanted to be available to assist local governments, and over the past 18 months, I’ve provided consulting and locum services to councils (filling short-term roles while the recruitment process is undertaken to find the permanent replacement).

The Pre-Retirement Phase

My last role in local government was as chief executive officer (CEO) at Carpentaria Shire Council in Queensland. I initially signed on for a 15-month engagement to see the council through the last year of their councillor term and assist with recruitment for a more permanent replacement. However, I was fitting into the organization and community and was offered a four-year contract to remain. That’s when the idea of semi-retirement first began to take shape. It was at that time that my bride and I made a plan to begin our semi-retirement at the completion of those four years.

As the end date approached, so too did the requests to consider staying on for another contract term, even offers to sign on at other councils. However, my bride and I remained committed to the plan. (We always considered our options together. It’s a team effort, right?)

In preparing for the end of my role, I composed a strategic intent document for the last 300 days, which was made available to the community in the council agenda and on the council website. As part of my monthly report to council, I provided progress update on each of the items in that document and asked the staff and community to hold me accountable in my last days. There was much to be proud of and powering through to the end was important to me.

Farewells are hard. They always will be when you grow connections to people in smaller rural communities. One of the gifts I received at my send-off had a strong emotional connection to some of the work I was doing with the council, and it nearly floored me—something I wasn’t expecting.

Advice for Planning for Semi-Retirement

The New You

Letting go of my professional identity was made a little easier by being well prepared emotionally and financially. Sure, you’re not the person with the job title you had for many years, but you prepared for that. I realized I no longer had responsibility for all the residents in my council area, but I had the more enviable role of being a more present son, brother, hubby, dad, and poppy. (I really enjoy that last one—my grandkids keep me grounded and are one of life’s treasures.)

Staying Busy

Having the consulting business as part of my semi-retirement plans to provide services to local government was a great way to continue to engage with local government. Although I didn’t start any consulting work until six months in, once I started it became more regular. The first six months after the end of my CEO contract was mostly spent unpacking boxes and setting up the house as our new full-time home.

One of the things that was a bit of a challenge was filling the day with meaningful activity, but this soon passed. I had to agree with other retirees that I had spoken to who told me that they were so busy in their retirement that they don’t remember how they had once had time to actually go to work.

The daily routine changed almost immediately. I had more time to do work around the house and the yard and gardens. It was also rewarding to be able to sleep in occasionally. I spend more time with my immediate family, even having the opportunity to provide “poppy pick-up” for the grandkids after school and to visit my Mum more regularly. And I know when it’s time to remove myself from being under the feet of my bride.

Staying Involved with the Profession 

I continue to be a member of the ICMA Global Engagement Committee, which provides an opportunity to experience local government from an international perspective, which is very rewarding. The more I travel to other countries and learn about the impacts facing their local governments, the more I realize the impacts are the same. I encourage you to stay involved with ICMA and other local government organizations in any way you can, be it volunteering on a committee, serving as a mentor or career coach, writing an article, etc.

Maintaining Social Connections

I found that after having built strong connections over my local government career there was a sense of comradery that needed to be maintained. I had strong professional connections through LinkedIn and continue to grow them in semi-retirement. Through my consulting work at various locations, I’m always meeting new people, and through the Global Engagement Committee, I’m making connections internationally as well.

Physical and Mental Health

Managing your physical and mental health and well-being are very important. Without caring for both, your ability to enjoy semi- or full retirement will be a difficult task. During my time as CEO, I undertook mental health first aid training and will soon take the refresher course to remain accredited. This is something I didn’t want to let lapse as mental health has become an important aspect of well-being for me and one I wish to continue. At Carpentaria Shire Council, all staff would undergo annual wellness exams, blood tests, and skin cancer checks—something I plan to continue for the rest of my life.

Financial Preparedness

Obtain good advice in relation to your finances and investments to ensure you have sufficient funds for a healthy pre-retirement and subsequent retirement. You will need to consider the tax impacts and benefits of your decisions. There will be moments when you look at your bank account and notice it’s starting to reduce without the regular pay check coming in, but all the added time spent with family certainly compensates and is a rewarding distraction.

Conclusion

I can honestly say that after preparing for this new stage of life, I have found it very rewarding and satisfying. If I can offer one final piece of advice, it would be to take the time to properly plan your retirement (or semi-retirement). I understand this is not always possible with the volatility and current turnover in senior executive positions; sometimes unchosen change is thrust upon us. If you find yourself in this position, I hope that this insight into my journey helps in some small way to start a plan for the balance of your career and beyond.

My bride and I have made our plan for what comes next and have set a date for the closure of the consulting business in a few years. This will allow time to continue with the interim work and begin a slow transition—another downshift—to full-time retirement.

MARK CRAWLEY is a seasoned local government executive with more than 45 years of public service experience, including more than two decades as a CEO across various councils in Queensland, Australia.