Transitioning to Retirement or Other Professions

Very few of us like admitting that we’re getting older. That seems kind of ironic to me since the only other option is dying. But aging comes as a surprise; or more accurately, the changes of our capabilities due to aging can surprise us. Those changes in capability aren’t necessarily mandatory and they occur for people of different ages. I knew a man (about 15 years ago) who was in his late sixties and was still an active-duty SWAT officer. He worked hard and invested the time to maintain his physical capabilities. By comparison, I’m in my late fifties (as I write this) and while I am far from being a couch potato, I’m nowhere near the physical shape I would need to be in if I wanted to go back to active SWAT work. On the other hand, I’m in great shape to live through day-to-day life and some folks are quite impressed with what I can “given my age.” That always feels like a left-handed compliment.

All that said, there comes a time in every law enforcement officer’s career when they have to realize it’s time for change. Sometimes that change is simply away from special operations and into another section, like patrol, administration or training. Sometimes that move is from patrol and into another area. At some point, either physically, mentally or emotionally… sometimes spiritually, it’s time to change your work circumstance. Heck, many of us got into law enforcement looking forward to the day we’d transition into retirement. Interestingly, as we get closer to that retirement day, some of us embrace it while others find multiple excuses to extend it. Some of us are legitimately afraid of it, and maybe with good reason.

Transitioning from active duty law enforcement to retirement is a radical change whether you want it or not; whether you’re looking forward to it with joy or trepidation. It’s easiest, in my experience, if you go from the most physically demanding to the least physically demanding, from the fewest overall responsibilities to greater responsibilities. That may seem counterintuitive.

Patrol isn’t regularly physically demanding; it’s physically demanding… well, on demand. It’s demanding when it’s completely unexpected, usually with no warning. Things go from slow and almost boring to high speed with your hair on fire in a blink. Your heart rate spikes and your breathing accelerates; your vision narrows and your hearing might not work as well as you think. As you promote through the ranks, those times of unexpected physical exertion come farther and fewer in between.

If you move to special operations, the high-threat exertions are more scheduled, but your ability to tolerate them increases as your fitness demands are increased in parallel. If you move to investigations, community relations, School Resource, training or other sections, then the demands become more mental and judgmental. Too often, and I’m certainly guilty of this, physical fitness and preparedness suffers. That progression can move on as you grow through the ranks, steadily getting closer to retirement.

For all of that, your outlook and lifestyle may not change very much. I’m retired and I still have certain behaviors that I don’t think I want to give up. Ignoring them increases my stress levels. Things like identifying entrances and exits when I go into a new place; sitting where no one can get behind me and I can see all or most of the room; eyeballing everyone who walks into an establishment, looking for signs of weapons, analyzing body language, etc. The awareness we exercise throughout our career tends to stay with us even after we retire.

Some people understand that. My wife would be surprised if I changed any of that. A friend expects that I should and will, as he sees it as necessary for my mental and emotional health. He thinks those behaviors create too much stress and can harm my overall health.

What’s really dangerous for my health is when I refuse to accept that my near-60-year-old body isn’t what it was at 19. Not only can I no longer do what I could back then, trying to can cause legitimate long-term injury. What’s truly dangerous is when one of us refuses to accept aging, and the accompanying changes in capability, and try to continue doing a job we’re no longer fit for. It’s damned hard to accept… but it’s reality. That moment in time is different for all of us, but if we refuse to accept it when it arrives, we can put ourselves, and others, at higher risk.

So, at the end of all of this, the biggest piece of wisdom (if that isn’t too arrogant) is to recognize that the day will come. Retirement is a goal to be worked toward. It’s not something to be feared or avoided. The time to start planning for it isn’t a couple weeks before it happens. It’s a couple YEARS before it happens. Pick your date and start planning for it. Remember that you don’t have to abide by that date; it can always be adjusted, but once you’re within five years of retiring then the date shouldn’t be “some day.” It should be a specific date, shared between you and those close to you. You don’t even have to share it with your chain of command, and it’s probably best if you don’t – at least not until YOU have set it in stone.

Don’t let it sneak up on you. Don’t let it be a surprise when it arrives. Figure it out well in advance and let your transition into it be a gradual sliding change that results in a full expected, fully planned for transition into retirement. Waking up the next day, after it happens, shouldn’t be culture shock. It should be comfortable and welcome. If you can’t imagine that, you have some work to do.