I dislike pinning and avoid it when possible. I have found that binding does need to be secured before sewing it. I now use Wonder Clips and am very happy with them and I do not get stuck with pins. I do not do any hand stitching. I will clip the binding along one side of the quilt and then machine stitch very close to the edge of the binding fabric with a matching thread on both sides. When I reach the end of one side, I will then clip the next side and proceed. I would prefer Wonder Clips over clothespins because they are flat on the bottom and smaller.
I too am retired. I retired nearly 1 1/2 years ago and have been quilting for over a year. I also do all of the quilt myself.