Retirement: That's when you return from work one day and say, "Hi, Honey, I'm home — forever."

Perret’s joke frames retirement not as leisure but as a sudden, permanent shift in domestic presence. The punch line—“I’m home—forever”—captures the comic anxiety that retirement can unsettle routines built around one partner’s daily absence. It hints at the renegotiation of identity (from worker to “always at home”), space, and marital expectations: what sounds like a warm greeting becomes an ominous announcement. The humor depends on exaggeration, but it points to a real social dynamic—retirement as a transition that can strain relationships unless both partners adapt to new rhythms and boundaries.