The Biggest Surprises in Retirement

Like surprises? Retirement—for better and worse—will change your life more than you anticipate. That’s the consensus of those who should know best: retirees themselves. Recently, as part of a discussion in these pages about changes in later life, we asked readers for help: Tell us what has surprised you in retirement. What did the experts neglect to mention? What would you tell would-be retirees to watch for? The answer, in short: almost everything.