Retirement, as a concept, sort of baffles me.
First of all, it sounds boring.
I know, I know. You can be active and interesting and involved with things. But I already have chronic fatigue, and the aging process can take its toll on healthy people. So there’s that.
More than likely I’ll be doing what I was doing when I was on disability. Which is a whole lotta nuthin. I read three or four books a week, I watched far too much TV and I was still bored out of my mind for most of the day.
That reason alone is enough to make me lukewarm about the idea of retiring.
Second, I like having real income.
I’ve tried to live on $800 a month while I was on disability. Now that I’m working again, any future Social Security benefits will probably be higher. But it’d still be dicey.
Yes, the house will be paid off. But remember that $500 utility bill this past month? I do.
Third, retirement really isn’t something my family does. We work until we can’t — whether from age or disability.
My grandfather finished his career as a teacher and, within a couple of years, became a country line dance instructor.
My mom will be blogging until they pull the keyboard out of her hot little hands. (Or, as she added, “my cold dead fingers.”)
And finally, I have an amazing job. Well, not the job itself so much as the boss. I work from home, I can take breaks as needed, and quite frankly I’m paid far too much. Not that I feel the need to tell him that.
I don’t love the actual work. Few people in customer service do. No offense to you guys, but people can be mean and/or dumb, and they really enjoy accusing us of unfair practices rather than admitting to a mistake on their part. (To be fair, about 80-90% of the people I deal with are very nice and reasonable. But the bad ones stick in the mind.)
Still, my job comes down more to the hassle of angry customers than actual work.
So, as far as I’m concerned, I will be working there until I’m unable to type. Then I’ll go buy that Dragon software stuff. Or maybe by then they’ll have something that lets you transcribe directly from your brain. Whatever.
But I hear about all these people retiring early. I’m not really sure what they do with themselves all day. Those with kids… well, they have kids. That takes up a sizable portion of the day I’d imagine.
And most of them talk about retiring young because they have a blog that they devote a lot of time to. I don’t know if that’s retirement so much as switching careers.
Point is, I don’t want to be retired at 35. Or even 40. Of course, I should point out that it’s not even an option. Last year was the first time we made over $40,000. We don’t have 401(k)s, and my IRA is woefully underfunded. (I’m working on it.)
Maybe if it were more of a possibility it would seem tantalizing. But I don’t think so. My mom, though somewhat paranoid about “bag lady syndrome,” mainly works because she’s good at it and she enjoys spilling thoughts onto (virtual) pages.
Personally, I like having the security of a paycheck, and I like having income that isn’t predicated on the stock market being predictable.
How about you guys? Anyone know someone who can retire early? Or at all?
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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
There's no way I can retire early, and it's doubtful I'll be able to ever fully retire at all. However, like you, this doesn't bother me. I'd rather drop while still on the go.
Additionally, historically, people did not retire. The age chosen for Social Security to kick in was chosen because it was 2 years AFTER the current life expectancy….so most people died before it would kick in. I imagine sort of like those who now live to be 95…they may want to work, but likely might not be able to. The more recent trend of retiring early, and then enjoying a retirement that is very expensive — trave, healthcare, etc — is quite extravagant and likely not sustainable for society as a whole…and definitely not for me personally, but that's ok with me!
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
I certainly wouldn't mind traveling more, but I don't think I should put that off until retirement. And it does seem like a lot of early retirees work full-time as bloggers. One guy in a seminar actually said he now works more as a "retired" guy who blogs and writes books than he ever did in corporate America. So I guess it's a matter of perspective.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:27 pm
I certainly wouldn't mind traveling more, but I don't think I should put that off until retirement. And it does seem like a lot of early retirees work full-time as bloggers. One guy in a seminar actually said he now works more as a "retired" guy who blogs and writes books than he ever did in corporate America. So I guess it's a matter of perspective.
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I don't really see the point of retirement. I might retire from my current career, but I anticipate doing something to earn income, but maybe with a non-profit or part time– so I'm planning that in addition to savings I will probably still have an income, just at a lesser amount. I'm not planning to have just savings and social security (if it still exists) carry me until I *have* to stop (hopefully very, very late in my life).
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I think that sounds like a great plan! I think in the end a lot of people who retire early don't actually stop work. They just change to a career of their choosing. And even regular-aged retirees often end up doing some extra work just to help with financial security.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:28 pm
I think that sounds like a great plan! I think in the end a lot of people who retire early don't actually stop work. They just change to a career of their choosing. And even regular-aged retirees often end up doing some extra work just to help with financial security.
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I think it is wise to financially plan for retirement, even if you think you prefer not to. Some people find themselves suddenly unable to work, or unable to find work, whether they like it or not.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Petunia,
You make a good point. Tim and I are certainly well acquainted with disability interfering with work. I guess my point wasn't that you shouldn't save for it. I fully intend to save in an IRA, though I doubt we'll ever be able to max out two IRAs. (Especially if I open a SEP, which has a higher allowance.) But I'm hoping that those savings will just make life more comfortable, rather than be our only income.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Petunia,
You make a good point. Tim and I are certainly well acquainted with disability interfering with work. I guess my point wasn't that you shouldn't save for it. I fully intend to save in an IRA, though I doubt we'll ever be able to max out two IRAs. (Especially if I open a SEP, which has a higher allowance.) But I'm hoping that those savings will just make life more comfortable, rather than be our only income.
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Since mandatory retirement has been outlawed in Canada, I will probably work until I either can't mentally keep up with it or they take me out feet first in a box. Leaving work at any age just to play Suzie Homemaker would drive me buggy!
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Well, I'm not sure you'd have to play homemaker. But I definitely get the sentiment. Even when I didn't have work as an excuse, I found any possible reason not to clean. Blech.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Well, I'm not sure you'd have to play homemaker. But I definitely get the sentiment. Even when I didn't have work as an excuse, I found any possible reason not to clean. Blech.
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My dad retired in his mid-50's and he's now in his late 70's. He got to travel around the U.S. in an RV and spend a lot of time with his grandkids. Of course, he made good money while working and made good investments. He's enjoyed retirement and has no regrets about it.
My late mom had to retire at 59 because of her health. She didn't get to enjoy it because her health steadily declined until her death at 68. This is one of the many reasons I'd like to retire while I'm still relatively young.
Another thing to remember is that a lot of employers don't want employees who are past a certain age on the payroll. They offer them early retirement or find a reason to let them go. Then they have a harder time finding a job that pays nearly as well as their last job, if they can find a job at all.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Catseye,
I think you're right about enjoying life, but I also think it's dangerous to put things off until retirement. In the end, it's moot for us. It's great if you can enjoy your retirement. But most people I know/have read the blogs of… They worry so much about having "enough" for retirement and figuring out how to do without in those later years…. It seems more exhausting than just working.
You're certainly right that some employers don't want older people on their payrolls. It's something I don't have to worry about with my job, so I need to remember those things.
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Abigail Reply:
September 13th, 2012 at 9:21 pm
Catseye,
I think you're right about enjoying life, but I also think it's dangerous to put things off until retirement. In the end, it's moot for us. It's great if you can enjoy your retirement. But most people I know/have read the blogs of… They worry so much about having "enough" for retirement and figuring out how to do without in those later years…. It seems more exhausting than just working.
You're certainly right that some employers don't want older people on their payrolls. It's something I don't have to worry about with my job, so I need to remember those things.
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I agree with Petunia, it's essential to plan for retirement . You can always put it off as long as you want to and/or are able to, but the reality is, most people are not physically able to continue working up until death, no matter how badly they want or need to.
But I disagree with Elizabeth. The Social Security Administration did not choose 65 as the retirement age so that "most people would die before it kicked in." While the the overall life expectancy in 1935 was lower than 65, that was due mostly to high infant-mortality rates. In 1935, more than half the population was expected to live to age 65 if they made it to age 21. And those who lived to age 65 were expected to live another 13 years, on average (compared to 17 years today). The retirement age of 65 was chosen because that's what other pension systems (state, railroad, etc.) used at the time.
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Meghan,
Interesting information about Social Security! I think I wasn't clear. I certainly will try to save for retirement. Tim and I both know plenty about not being able to work. I just don't think I would shoot for early retirement — even if it were possible. I think you can save for retirement without actually intending to retire. Arguably, that's actually the best plan these days.
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LOL! Nice post. Love the image of spending your dotage dictating blog posts into Dragon.
The point of retiring is not to do nothing. It's to do what you want to do rather than what someone else wants you to do. I've never met anyone who hasn't said they're busier in retirement than they ever were when they worked. Have heard of people who claimed they were bored and went back to work, but never actually talked to such a person face-to-face; my guess is, they hadn't saved enough to make ends meet & didn't want to admit they had to go back to wage slavery.
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I guess it depends on what your job is. If you dug ditches for a living you might want to retire as early as possible. I make so little that I always say that I will work until I die. The sad thing is it's probably true..even if I live to 100
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