A good retirement is an active retirement, say seniors who volunteer.

Howard Gay, 61, was bored after he retired 鈥� following more than 30 years with the City of Surrey 鈥� and moved to 91原创.

鈥淚 was sitting on the couch with nothing to do,鈥� Gay recalled.

He made the move to 91原创 two years ago, on a Friday the 13th, just in time for the arrival of COVID-19 and lockdowns that limited social opportunities.

鈥淭hey closed B.C.鈥� is how he summarized it.

So when the seniors centre reopened after shutting down during the early days of the pandemic, he was first in line.

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Learning they needed volunteers, Gay, who has a Class 1 driver鈥檚 licence, took the centre鈥檚 volunteering course, underwent a criminal record check, and registered his car.

As a volunteer driver, he takes other seniors to medical appointments and picks up their grocery orders.

He gets mileage, and ICBC tops up his insurance, but he is responsible for maintenance and repair.

Gay has taken people as far west as North Vancouver, for cancer treatments, and as far east as Abbotsford.

He enjoys the contact with clients and hearing their stories.

鈥淪ome people need an ear,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t works for me, too, because I鈥檓 not a prisoner in my place.鈥�

It also avoids idleness. 鈥淚 miss working,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 miss that structure of going to work, sitting with the guys, having coffee. This helps.鈥�

Volunteering helps, he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 all good. It gives me something to look forward to.鈥�

Back when Aldergrove resident Ron Vauthrin was working as a millwright, he and his wife, Sue, would move to a new community every few years to work on projects.

Usually, they were smaller towns without too much in the way of recreation.

鈥淭he choice was go to the bar, or study,鈥� Vauthrin recalled.

So he started studying, which eventually led him to his current passion, silversmithing.

Sue, 74, and Ron, 82, both say the key to life after retirement is to know what you will be doing beforehand, rather than try to find an interest after stopping work.

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鈥淲e both knew what we wanted do, and it wasn鈥檛 yard work,鈥� is how Sue put it.

鈥淲e did this while we worked,鈥� Sue recalled.

鈥淲e took our kids on field trips.鈥�

They also invested in equipment while they were both working and better able to afford it.

As members of the Aldergrove-based b, Sue, who retired as an administrator in real estate, has volunteered as treasurer, while Ron has served as a volunteer instructor 鈥� guiding novices.

Their advice to people near retirement is to prepare for it 鈥� 鈥渇ind something that they enjoy doing,鈥� Sue commented.

鈥淎nd pursue that,鈥� Ron added.

鈥淎nd have something to look forward to,鈥� Sue concluded.

Researchers agree.

The Sloan Center on Aging and Work at Boston College has found that only individuals who are truly engaged in their post-retirement volunteering enjoy the psychological benefits of such pursuits.