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How long should I work for?

Discussion in 'Tilted Life and Sexuality' started by ASU2003, Aug 4, 2011.

  1. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    Is there an age that you have to reach where it is socially accepted to 'retire'? (*retire=quit your primary career and volunteer, spend time with friends & family, invent, work for a cause, have some fun hobbies, or relax on the beach) Or is it a certain amount of money? A certain lifestyle? Accomplishments?

    Do you have an exit strategy? Are you going to work until you are 80? Retirement Age? For Many, It'll Be 80 - SmartMoney.com http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/01/can-you-afford-to-retire-25-years-early-one-couple-says-yes/
    Do I 'have' to work so Social Security is around for others?

    Just like the government is cutting expenses, could you cut enough to be able to retire early? Would you be able to handle the 'unknown' expenses?

    The big question is what kind of retirement do you plan, what will prices do, and how long will you need to survive in your home vs a nursing home...will you have something to live for, or will you wish you had lived more...

    Why do I ask this... I have turned into a workaholic, relationships and friendships are only on-line, family is out of state, and my lifestyle is inexpensive right now. But, I can't really quit my job, nor do I want to right now. But at the same time, I'm not sure how many more years I can do this before I burn out (again).

    [insert video from Office Space here about not needing $1 million dollars to do nothing...]

    (Move to Life forum)
     
  2. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I only want to work for as long as I have to. I am planning, currently, to retire at 65. That said, should I get a higher paying job in the next few years (a feasible prospect) I am going to retire as soon as I reach my monetary goals.

    I hope to retire to somewhere rural where the cost of living is low (Bali would be nice).
     
  3. BadNick

    BadNick Getting Tilted

    Location:
    PA's on U SofA
    Well I'm 62 now but I generally find my "job" to be fun and rewarding and the pay is good, too, so I don't plan to retire for a few more years. I figure once I'm qualified for the max from Social Security I'll have more motivation to retire. But there is a good chance I can soon partake in substantial equity in the company and if that happens I'll continue on as a consultant, sort of part time. Otherwise, I'll "retire" to do something else rewarding like some kind of volunteer work in the neighborhood. And have more time to spend racing my car :D
     
  4. My dad was forced to retire early - he was a driving instructor/examiner for the army, and one day he had an epileptic fit at work - quite possibly caused by him going through a windscreen some years earlier. He hadnt wanted to retire at 60, and the army would have given him a desk job, and his mates would have covered his turn in the car share to work - but to him it was part he didnt want to be a creature to be pitied, and he didnt want to 'put upon' his mates for years. He later thought it better to retire with some quality of life still about you rather than wait till nearly dead. I guess the other thing you have to add to the scales when working out when you will retire is genetics. My fathers line goes with strokes and heart attacks at relatively early age onset. One of my aunts runs on rat bait like cars run on petrol. Last time she told me her pulse it was 40. She has severe arthritis, is scared of getting knocked or scratched because of the warfarin. Most of her day she spends in bed trying to nap, because if she sleeps she wont hurt. Then you have to consider quality of life. While your body is bendable, and your heart is sound and strongly pumping, whilst you still have the memory to know where you are, what you are doing - go walk the great coat hanger in the sky or whatever else you wish to do. I think it preferable to retire before deaths breath chills the back of your neck. Wasnt it New York that guy was dead at his desk for a week and no one noticed?
    I am not physicaly well enough (nor mentaly stable) to work, but I do go out doing voluntary work for animals, and it is good to keep the noggin working else the grey cells die from under use. I may not be able to trudge across fields - but I am smart enough to throw binoculars in the car. You have to use the brain more as other bits fail - sadly thats been battered too in my case.
    Also, there is also semi-retired. Quite a few 'retired' folks still do bits of work. My mates body work guy still touches up her car, but not many, now he is retired he has taken up carpentry. I know of a retired gentleman who helps on helicopter flights for shows and things and does bookkeeping for a local gym for free membership and stuff - so before you retire, think barter. There are no pockets in a shroud. Money isnt everything.
     
  5. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Retirement is what you make it. I have no intention to retire into an easy chair with a blanket across my lap regardless of the temperature outside.

    It is my feeling that anybody that counts on government assistance for financial security in their golden years is a moron. Especially social security.

    I've decided to front load the suck in my life. Instead of working a comfortable job that gets me $1x a year, I've decided to push through with the I-hate-my-life job that makes $2x-3x+ a year so that I can dump that much more money into savings. My goal is to pay cash for a house by the time I'm 30-something. I'd say that a man that is in his early 30s, owns his own home and has contributed $60k to a Roth IRA is doing pretty well for himself. That said, I'm basically toiling away my youth for a nest egg. It's bittersweet. I don't get weekends or holidays. No booze, no sex.

    My retirement goal is to maintain a comfortable, active lifestyle. I want to be able to drive gently used vehicles, buy the occasional new gizmo, travel the world, feed my shooting hobby and enjoy all the fancy new breakfast cereals that come out in 2050. Money isn't everything, but it does help.

    I'll put a .470 Nitro Express round through my temple before I go into a nursing home. There are some things worse than death and that's one.
     
  6. Plan 9 - when you go to buy that nice used car, remember what they see is an old fool walking up the drive. Regardless of what comes out in the way of cereals, you will probably be eating something that tastes like cardboard but makes you 'regular'.
    Certainly agree with your last paragraph. I intend floating off in the arms of morpheus..... You ever want a laugh, ask a young dealer if they can sort you out a 'final exit' package. It is not what they are used to being asked for, little dears. Sorted my exit out, morphine drug of choice I believe. It will be delivered and an envelope will be put under the matress or somesuch for payment. I think I would rather drift off than go out with an act of violence like yourself plan 9 - sort of like the difference detween the vet and the abbatoir.
     
  7. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Really? And buying a new car would serve what purpose? What are you getting at here? You're talking like OCM. Car salesmen always see fools.

    Hah, I'm set then! I already do. I love the hell outta high fiber cereals, lima beans and eat things that taste like cardboard because I like them.

    Drugs are for pussies and women. Real men kill themselves with violence. The gun, the knife, the fall... bonking a Kodiak with a baseball bat.

    And I'm not a former GI Joe nor a flesh mechanic for non-humans. I do work with dirty, smelly animals all days, though. *rimshot*
     
  8. Not suggesting a new car plan 9, its just they get the idea that the less able you are (young) the more likelyhood there is they can - make more than a fair profit.
    Now I know you will never be in one as you want to go tickle a bear, (wont be the bears fault you want to kick the bucket, so please leave the bat behind - you could even take it a muffin for desert after eating all that high fibre filled meat) but old peoples homes - or waiting rooms for death, they have companies come round and sell you stuff you dont need - like hearing aids - at far more than shop price or fair price. Of course the homes get a kick back. They think you are stupid, and sadly many are sort of conned by these people, so its worth their while to keep on trying.
     
  9. greywolf

    greywolf Slightly Tilted

    I semi-retired at 56, figuring to take 6 months to a year off to figure out what I want to be when I grow up (still undecided between jet fighter pilot and fireman). In order to be able to withdraw from society if I want to at my age, I did the save, save, save, invest routine and lived well below my means for 30+ years. I didn't do without anything I needed, but some of the things I wanted. Now I can sit back, enjoy my kids, manage my schedule to indulge them, do some do-it-yourself projects that even someone with no manual skills (such as myself) can do, and take naps frequently. It is good, but I can't guarantee I won't go back into something else on a volunteer basis, or even for some minor financial return. I can't see myself returning to a day-to-day job because I've been there, done that, and actually have the T-shirt (a number of them).
     
  10. PonyPotato

    PonyPotato Very Tilted

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    I will "start" my chosen career when I am about 29 years old. However, most physical therapists (who like their jobs, anyway) continue working in the field for a looooong time.. it's a career that can easily be scaled back if life circumstances change or if you'd like to partially retire at a certain point. Some of my professors are "retired" but teach one class a quarter and see patients just a couple afternoons a week to keep their skills and patient interaction up to date. It's a hard profession to just retire from and leave behind completely.

    So, I figure I'll probably continue working (at least part time) as long as my body will let me. :)
     
  11. BadNick

    BadNick Getting Tilted

    Location:
    PA's on U SofA
    hmmm, I can't see how to edit here. Must be something I'm missing.

    In any case, I wanted to edit my post above to mention fly fishing. I will be doing a bunch of fly fishing when I have more time after my current 9 to 5 routine ends; both freshwater and surf.
     
  12. uncle phil

    uncle phil Moderator Emeritus (and sorely missed) Staff Member Donor

    Location:
    pasco county
    i worked twenty years for the federal government and ten years for the state of new york - retired from both...

    i still don't know what i want to be when i grow up...
     
  13. lionrock

    lionrock Getting Tilted

    Location:
    Out here
    Hopefully I can / still want to work until I die. I don't know if I could not do something every day.
     
  14. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    It is that attitude that is causing lots of problems in this country. No long vacations, unemployed people are slackers, and your position and income define your self-worth... And the old people are working way too long and preventing newer workers from entering the work force because they haven't 'reached' their monetary goals yet or are afraid the social safety nets won't be there.

    I wouldn't have a problem if we were living in a socialist country and you volunteer to be a workaholic and do my job for me though. But I am having big problems keeping up with people with that attitude (and have 350+ hours of vacation they don't use).
     
  15. Aren't those valid reasons for older people to delay retirement?

    Tell you what, raise a family, pay the mortgage, pay the college bills and save towards retirement only to watch the economy crumble, then tell those people they are what are causing the problems in this country. Many of them have no freaking choice.
     
  16. greywolf

    greywolf Slightly Tilted

    One of the problems with the work force these days is the rapid aging thereof... as the baby boomers move into their mid-60's and begin to retire, there will be an issue of a declining work force and increasing demands on Social Security. People who are choosing not to retire, for whatever reason, are helping to reduce both of these issues.
     
  17. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    And they are increasing the unemployment rates of the 20-30 somethings...which lead to bigger problems down the road. How many 20 somethings are going to be in their 30s looking for their first real job? How delayed will they be in their careers and retirement plans? How much are they contributing to social security and taxes now?

    There is a large majority of 60-70 somethings working now that have enough to retire, just not enough to have the 'dream' retirement...

    If they want to work 'part-time' in their retirement because they need something to keep busy, then that is one thing, they can help teach the next generation. But there is a limit to the number of jobs, and the amount of labor a company can afford.

    All I know is that people who are 65 and older and are still working full time can't complain about younger people being lazy or on welfare, since their are probably quite a few of them that are willing to do their job.
     
  18. greywolf

    greywolf Slightly Tilted

    You do have some points, but there would likely be a worse impact on the economy if they all retired. The demands on the government of older citizens is usually greater than younger citizens. So even if they all retire, the younger people moving in to the entry-level positions thereby opened are going to find that their taxes have to rise to pay for the larger number of retired persons. They'd be better off right away, but stuck with a very long payment plan.

    It's a sort of Catch-22 for the young people, and there isn't a real easy solution.
     
  19. Flesque

    Flesque New Member

    Location:
    Chicago
    I'm just getting to the point of facing the retirement question, and I find the points you all raise interesting and valid.

    I'm still trying to decide what to be when I grow up, and I'm on my 3rd or 4th career (and I don't just mean different jobs). When I was a kid, I always wanted to work in a hardware store, so that's what I'm doing now. It's fun.

    But the real reason that I work in a hardware store is the benefits. My wife couldn't get medical benefits (asthma, migraines, diabetes), so I HAD to have a corporate job with bennies. She just started with Medicare (and there's another thread in the offing! Even with a Medicare Advantage plan, it's terrible), so when I hit the Medicare age in a couple of months, then I can start seriously debating retirement, semi-retiring, starting another career, etc.

    I have thought about the semi-retirement gig. It's appealing. I've cut down to 32 hours/week this winter (helps out the part-timers who are scrambling to make ends meet), and I have discovered that I like the extra time that the one day gives me. But I also like the security of a job-in-hand, just in case Congress gets another powder up its nose and cuts Social Security, or Medicare. Leaves me sitting on the fence-rail (and if you've never had a nice sit on a fence-rail, they can be sharp after while).
     
  20. Cayvmann

    Cayvmann Very Tilted

    Medical bills for my family will probably keep me working until I am too old to do anything but retire. Hopefully one day I'll have a job that I enjoy enough to think I'm retired on the job.