JEDDAH — Retirement may be viewed by some as the end of a rewarding career, a shift to a more latent lifestyle, or even a period in life when one's services and knowledge is no longer needed. This misconception could not be further from the truth. This is one stereotype that the National Retirees Association (NRA) is seeking to dispel and to ensure that the retired are not marginalized to the sidelines of society. Those who have retired after decades of hard work are the ones who helped build this country in the past and should be active participants in the nation's growth and development in the present and future. Society owes it to them to show the respect and appreciation that they deserve. “Contrary to common stereotypes, the role of the retiree in society is not over, as he/she continues to contribute to the community. The extent of their knowledge and experience cannot be downplayed as some of these retirees have been experts and have worked in highly specialized fields for 30 years, and these educated individuals have so much to offer to the rest of us. We help by dispatching highly qualified retirees to institutes and companies in both the private and public sector to train employees or to work as consultants. “Both parties benefit from such arrangements because the organization can learn much from the retiree's education and experience and also the retiree enjoys financial revenues. In essence we help market the retiree's exceptional skills,” said Dr. Abdulrahman Mohammed Shakir Alshareef, general director of the association, to Saudi Gazette. At the International Exhibition and Forum of Education held in Riyadh last week, an agreement was signed between the National Retirees Association and Education Experts to better cater to the needs of retirees in the Kingdom, both male and female. There are currently 1 million Saudi retirees, with 30,000 enrolled as registered members of the NRA. “This new agreement will serve retirees from two different approaches with the cooperation of Education Experts and the NRA. First, retirees will receive training courses, workshops, and awareness lectures in a wide range of areas that are relevant to this stage of their life. They will attend seminars that will help them meet their health, nutritional, continuing education, economics, and social needs. We have also designed a program called Starting Right that educates the member on how to approach retirement correctly, smart investment options, financial planning, and more. This program prepares individuals for retirement and dissipates much of the financial and emotional stress that this phase in life is commonly associated with. Retirees can acquire the skills they need to continue to be active and productive members in society,” said Samer Al-Zeyadi, public relations representative of Education Experts.
The second approach involves locating private companies or government organizations that have the greatest need for the retirees' expertise; where they can work as consultants or lecturers and train others and share their knowledge and experience, and which also secures an income for them. “Retirees are valuable members of society because they often have a treasure of in-depth knowledge that they have gained over 20 or 30 years of working in highly specialized fields. We must make the best use of these individuals who have excellent background knowledge in architecture, medicine, education, economics and other fields and we can invest in their skills to help train the future generations,” added Al-Zeyadi.
