Why is retirement psychology so hard for shopkeepers and farmers? Bağ-Kur data in Çorum, loss of identity, handing over the business and new roles.
His pension started years ago, yet every morning, at the same time, he still raises the shutter of his shop. His son says, "Dad, it's time you rested"; he replies, "If I didn't have this place, what would I do?" In the village, meanwhile, a farmer past seventy still wants to climb onto the tractor every spring, even though he no longer has the strength to sow the field. Shopkeeper retirement psychology works differently from the retirement of someone on a payroll; because here work is not just a source of income, but an identity, a family legacy and the centre of daily life. In this article we look at retirement data in Çorum, why shopkeepers and farmers find it hard to let go of their work, and how this transition can be experienced in a healthier way.
What Do the Figures Say from the Perspective of Shopkeeper Retirement Psychology?
The 2025 Statistical Yearbook of the Social Security Institution (SGK) shows how large a part of the population retirement concerns in Çorum. The ratios below have been calculated using SGK's numbers of people together with 2025 population data.
Retired people are a significant part of the city. In 2025, the number of people in Çorum receiving a pension or benefit from SGK was 125,211. This is about 24.1% of the province's population; in Turkey the figure is about 19.8%. Those receiving an old-age pension in their own right, that is, retired people in the proper sense, number 87,770; this is about 16.9% of the population (Turkey: about 14.2%).
The weight of Bağ-Kur. The number of people receiving a pension or benefit under 4B (Bağ-Kur, the social security scheme for the self-employed, including shopkeepers, craftspeople and farmers) is 26,377. This group makes up 21.1% of all pension recipients in Çorum; in Turkey, the share is 17.2%. Within Bağ-Kur, the share of those insured as farmers is also above the Turkish average in Çorum, at 33.2% (Turkey: 28.1%). In short, retirement among shopkeepers and farmers has a more prominent place in Çorum than the Turkish average.
New retirees every year. In 2025, the number of people in Çorum newly granted an old-age pension was 2,712. In other words, every year several thousand people move from working life into retirement, or at least retire officially.
Retirement is largely a male status. Only 13.6% of those receiving an old-age pension in their own right are women (Turkey: 22.4%). This suggests that women's labour, particularly in farming and small trade, often continues uninsured or in the form of unpaid family work.
The general population structure. According to TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) data, the share of people aged 65 and over in Çorum is markedly above the Turkish average; this also explains the weight of retired people in the city's daily life.
The limits of the data
No data or research specific to Çorum could be found on people who continue working after retirement, on whether people can live on their pension, or on the psychological state of shopkeepers and farmers in retirement. The psychological assessments below are based on general studies carried out in Turkey and on knowledge in the field. SGK data count people; they do not show whether someone has actually given up their work after retiring.
Why Is Retirement Different for Shopkeepers and Farmers? A Sociological Reading
For a salaried employee, retirement is usually a clear date: the last working day arrives, goodbyes are said, and life moves into a new routine. For shopkeepers and farmers, however, the boundary is not so sharp. Possible reasons for this include:
Work is the identity itself. "Ahmet the butcher", "Uncle Hasan the greengrocer" or "the owner of the most fruitful garden in the village"... In small cities, shopkeepers and farmers are often known by their trade. Giving up work can mean giving up not only an activity, but also one's recognition in the community and one's identity.
Work is social life. The shop is also a meeting place: somewhere neighbours drop in, tea is brewed and the news of the neighbourhood is discussed. The field and the village coffee house serve a similar function for farmers. When the shop closes, much of this social network is lost too.
Handing over the business is uncertain. In a business passed down from father to son, when and how the handover will happen is often not discussed openly. The children may not want to take over the business or may have moved to another city, and even if they do take over, it is not easy for the father to let go of running it.
Financial worry. A qualitative study of retired people in Turkey (Boduroğlu, Şahin and Çiftçi, 2025) reports physical and psychological problems among those who had to keep working because their pension was not enough. In times of rising living costs, the worry that "if I stop working, I won't be able to get by" can be a real reason for being unable to let go of work.
Attachment to the land. For a farmer, the field is a symbol of labour and belonging that has continued for generations. Not sowing the land can feel like "leaving it orphaned". If most of the children have moved to the city or out of the province, the question of whom to leave the land to becomes a separate source of worry for the farmer; this worry sometimes means carrying on working in the field with an ageing body.
Shopkeeper Retirement Psychology: The Emotional Side of Being Unable to Let Go
Loss of role and an identity gap
Studies on retirement emphasise that leaving working life creates a significant loss of role and that people often do not prepare for new roles. In the study by Boduroğlu and colleagues with 25 retired people, hopelessness, loneliness and loss of identity were found to lead to social isolation, while social support was protective. A review on loneliness in later life (Akbaş, Taşdemir Yiğitoğlu and Çunkuş, 2020) also lists retirement and changes in roles among the risk factors for loneliness. We discuss difficulties of this kind in retirement in detail in our article on retirement syndrome.
The belief that "nothing works without me"
For a shopkeeper who has run everything himself for years, handing the business over to someone else means losing control. Thoughts such as "They can't do it the way I do" or "The customers will ask for me" lead to putting off letting go. On the one hand, this belief is the product of years of effort and a sense of responsibility; on the other, it can stand in the way of the person resting and building a new life.
The limits of the body
Especially in farming and in trades that require physical strength, as people get older the body cannot keep up with the pace the mind wants. The tension between "I can still do it" and "I can't do it any more" can create feelings such as anger, shame and denial. Sometimes this tension is ignored until health problems appear. A heart condition, a slipped disc or a fall can suddenly and involuntarily force the decision to stop working; unplanned endings of this kind can leave the person feeling far more helpless and unprepared.
The new routine at home
For someone who has spent a lifetime leaving early in the morning and coming home in the evening, being at home all day is an unfamiliar situation, both for them and for their spouse. The household routine the spouse has built over many years may be disrupted, and small frictions may increase. Retirement is a transition experienced not only by the person who retires, but by the whole family.
Generational conflict in the family business
The new ideas of the son or daughter who takes over the business may clash with the father's habits. While the father keeps interfering out of the worry that "they'll run the shop into the ground", the children may feel hurt, thinking "he doesn't trust us at all". We look at how conflicts of this kind can be managed in family businesses in our article on conflict in family businesses.
The invisible retirement of women in shopkeeping and farming families
Many women who mind the till in the shop, hoe in the field or look after the animals never gain a pension in their own right in return for this labour. According to SGK data, women make up only 13.6% of those receiving an old-age pension in their own right in Çorum; by contrast, 24,062 women receive a survivor's pension after the death of their husband. For these women there is often no threshold called "retirement": even when their husbands retire, their work in the home, the garden and caregiving continues at the same pace. What is more, with the husband at home all day, their workload sometimes increases. Feeling that their own labour goes unseen can feed tiredness and resentment. When planning for retirement, talking about the wife's right to rest and to have time for herself as well helps build a fairer arrangement for the family as a whole.
A person may retire from their work; but they never retire from the need to feel valued and useful.
Let us imagine a shopkeeper who has run a hardware shop in Çorum's market for forty years and decides to hand the shop over to his son. In the first weeks he tries staying at home, but he grows restless, argues often with his wife, and in the end goes to the shop every day, saying "I'll just drop in". There, he criticises every change his son makes; his son, thinking his father does not trust him, withdraws into himself. In this fictional example, the problem is neither the father's experience nor the son's competence; what is really missing is an openly discussed plan for the handover and the father being able to find a new role for himself.
Practical Suggestions for Adapting to Retirement as a Shopkeeper or Farmer
For those approaching retirement
- Make the transition gradually. Rather than stopping completely in a single day, gradually reducing working hours makes it easier for both body and mind to get used to the new routine.
- Talk openly about the handover. Clarifying within the family who will take over the business, when and on what terms prevents hurt feelings later on. If necessary, draw up a written plan.
- Take on the role of adviser. After handing over the business, being "the person whose advice is sought" rather than "the boss" both makes your experience valuable and gives your children room.
- Find new roles. Time with grandchildren, the garden, a neighbourhood association, the mosque or charitable work, teaching a craft to young people... New pursuits that make you feel valued fill the identity gap.
- Protect your social network. Find friends and places where you can meet outside the shop or the field too; the tea stall in the market, a morning walk, a weekly get-together.
- Listen to your body. Regular health check-ups and a working pace suited to your body help strike a balance between "I can still do it" and your real limits.
- Plan your finances together. Talking through post-retirement income and expenses as a family reduces the worry caused by uncertainty.
For family members
- Saying "it's time you rested" is well meant, but do not overlook the person's need to feel valued.
- Talk to them about any changes to be made in the business that has been handed over; asking for their opinion makes it easier for them to let go of control.
- Keep in mind the spouse's adjustment to the new routine at home too; retirement is a life that two people restructure together.
When Should You Seek Professional Support?
Adjusting to retirement can take several months, and ups and downs during this period are normal. However, it may be helpful to talk to a professional in the following situations:
- If listlessness, an inability to enjoy things and low mood have continued for weeks after retirement
- If the person does not leave the house and is drifting away from old friends and their circle
- If there is ongoing conflict within the family over the handover of the business or the routine at home
- If there have been marked changes in sleep, appetite, or alcohol and tobacco use
- If thoughts such as "I'm no use to anyone any more" or "There's no point in living" have become more frequent
Thoughts of self-harm or of ending one's life are an emergency: call 112 (emergency services) and do not leave the person alone. Where there are pronounced depressive symptoms, an assessment by a psychiatrist is recommended to decide whether medication is needed.
How Is Adjustment to Retirement Addressed in Therapy?
In therapy, retirement is approached as a period of transition and restructuring as much as a loss. In cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), thoughts such as "Without my work I'm nothing" or "If I'm not there, everything will collapse" are examined, and the person is helped to recognise that their worth does not depend solely on their productivity. Through behavioural activation, new activities that bring meaning and structure to daily life are planned step by step.
From a schema therapy perspective, patterns such as high standards or suppressing emotions, which worked for many years but become a burden in retirement, can be recognised. Where handing over a family business and generational conflict are involved, sessions with the participation of family members can also be helpful. For this transition in the retirement period, individual therapy can be carried out face to face in Çorum or online.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't shopkeepers let go of their work when they retire?
For a shopkeeper, work is often part of their identity, social life and family legacy. Financial worries, uncertainty about the handover and the belief that "nothing works without me" can also make it hard to stop.
Is it harmful to keep working after retirement?
Not in itself; an occupation pursued willingly and within the body's limits can contribute to feeling valued. Problems arise when work turns into an obligation, an excessive burden or a form of escape.
Why is the share of retired people high in Çorum?
According to SGK's 2025 data, people receiving a pension or benefit make up about 24% of Çorum's population; in Turkey the figure is about 20%. This is largely related to the province's older population structure.
How can I support my father in giving up his shop?
Instead of trying to persuade him, listen to his worries. A gradual transition, an openly discussed handover plan and leaving him a role in which he is consulted make this process easier for both him and you.
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Eda Erkan Alapala
Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.
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