Retirees who were defined by their career have no identity, daily structure, or social network after they stop working

A 65-year-old engineer retires after 35 years at the same company. Monday morning: no alarm, no commute, no meetings, no colleagues, no purpose. His identity was 'I am an engineer at Boeing.' Now he is 'I am retired.' His social network was entirely work-based — lunch with coworkers, happy hours, conference travel. All gone overnight. His wife has her own social life. His kids are in other states. He starts going to Home Depot daily just to be around people. Within 6 months, he is clinically depressed. So what? Retirement is sold as freedom but experienced as identity collapse. Men are disproportionately affected because male social networks are more work-dependent than female networks. Retirement depression affects 25-30% of retirees in the first year. The suicide rate for men over 65 is 3x the national average. The 'freedom' of retirement means freedom from structure, purpose, social contact, and identity — the four pillars of psychological wellbeing. Why does this persist? Pre-retirement planning is 100% financial (do you have enough money?) and 0% social/psychological (do you have a reason to get up tomorrow?). HR departments, financial advisors, and retirement planning tools focus exclusively on savings, investments, and healthcare costs. Nobody asks: who will you talk to on Tuesday? What will you do between 9am and 5pm? Where will you find purpose? The institutions that could provide post-career structure (community colleges, volunteer organizations, civic groups) exist but have no outreach to new retirees and require self-motivation at a time when motivation is at its lowest.