<<Pixy I would like to suggest a topic I will call transitioning into retirement. For many people this may be a fairly short process.>>

Indeed, Gordon! Some people get NO chance at transition at all! I got hurt on the job just before age 40 and was forcibly "retired" a year and a half later, with NO PREPARATIONS for a transition to such a state.
Now in my mid 50s, I had to do a fair amount of struggling, including a bankruptcy, to make ends meet while only receiving a VA disability check. Of course, I still had to worry about my kids too! Most retirees don't have kids still in grade school! Well, my youngest son is 13 this year, while my eldest grandson is 9. We're hanging in there.
Hindsight is 20/20 and though it's a little late to benefit from same, it would still be interesting to have this topic to see what I could have done, had there been the opportunity.

Regards,

Grumpy
SSG, US Army (Retired)
http://www.geocities.com/highwaypoet/index.html