From my article on "After 50 Living."
"Retirement is not some Viagra commercial, replete with svelte
chardonnay-chugging wives and husbands, frolicking on some Floridian
beach. It is the end of your previous life, which, for all of its faults and drawbacks, provided you with reason, agency, and purpose. And
to stop that life, without replacing it with new point and purpose to
live, is the quickest way to a sad, depressing, and unhealthy
retirement. Thankfully, this problem and inadequate savings for retirement can be solved by continuing to work past retirement."
I do not plan on "retiring". I already am making plans for what I will do if and when that day comes. Setting new goals, and striving for them is what keeps me going.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who was kind of forced into an early retirement, but wasn't quite ready to fully retire. So, he hooked on to an organization after retiring, doing the same thing he did in his previous career. Well getting shot at does get old, so he realized he needed to do something else, and retrained himself. He opened his own business doing home inspections for home buyers. He makes his own hours, and is close to making the same amount of money he previously made. He said to me recently, he should've started his own business sooner. Hey, better late than never was my response. You're never to old to start your own business. The point is, never stop learning and moving, because when you do, you're dead.
Let's say you did a great job and have $2,000,000 in an account for retirement at age 65 today, and plan on living til 85. If you move it to a safe fund making 4% and plan to withdraw, you can withdraw $147,163.50. If you don't care about leaving any for the family. That's quite good and will leave you feeling comfort, but you're not going on expensive vacations constantly with your twenty years younger trophy wife.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that you can't just shut down. But, each person will have his own needs. I retired as a high tech person and moved to Mexico. I read a lot, true. But, I also teach free English classes. Those classes are a lot of fun and give me something to look forward to. Of course, I also post on men's boards. My views are different than many, because I supplied no-fee counseling to an estimated 1600 plus men.
ReplyDeleteI have friends I socialize with. That generally does not happen in the USA.
My retirement would not suit captain capitalism, of course. But, it suits me.
Anonymous age 75
Life should be divided into three parts: youth with education; career; retirement. It is glorious to be retired. I have had a marvelous career, and enjoyed it greatly through the various episodes. I too was afraid of retirement, but after a time of accommodation, I re-organized and am enjoying myself even more than while working. You cannot appreciate how nice it is unless you have experienced it; I certainly couldn't while working. I just kept repeating the mantra: "I love my work". Well, sure, and you will learn to love retirement, if you are able-bodied, creative, and have someone to be retired with. My only regret was that I thought I would need more money that I do, and kept working too long. Give it up!
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