I’ve always felt retirement is an over rated concept.
The idea of staying home and watch day time television has never much appealed to me. Golf would get boring after a while.
I hope to work and be productive as long as I am breathing.
God willing.
**They worked til they died.**
Like in the gulags.
Yup. I'm planning on it.
Social Security, AKA, FICA or Federal Insurance Contribution Act. Social Security is also known as Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI), although retirement and survivors’ benefits are only a portion of the SSA’s obligations.
It was never originally intended to be a ‘retirement plan’..................
I am 69 years old. I will retire when I am physically unable to leave the hospice. My SS is insufficient to do anything beyond play on the computer and that gets old.
Working Retirement - is now what it's all about. Go from a job to doing something you love to do.
RE: SHOULD WE RETIRE RETIREMENT?
The problem is not really retirement, the problem is AGEISM.
A large number of businesses and companies will FORCE you to retire vias layoffs, replacement, or some other means when you reach a certain age.
And very few businesses will hire you even if you are strong enough and willing to continue working.
I am happy to now have ALL of my time available for working for the betterment of my fam rather than being forced to slave away 40% of my working time for the benefit of the govt. I’m still a big net taxpayer, but my time is my own.
***That’s when Social Security came about.***
At that time normal life expectancy for a man was about 57 years, and a woman 64. That means most would never reach retirement and the system would not be stressed.
Then came Penicillin.
In 1964, the government said this...
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/history/ssa/usa1964-2.html
Self-Supporting
“The program is designed so that contributions plus interest on the investments of the social security trust funds will be sufficient to meet all of the costs of benefits and administration, now and into the indefinite future—without any subsidy from the general funds of the Government.
Both the Congress and the Executive Branch, regardless of political party in power, have scrupulously provided in advance for full financing of all liberalizations in the program.”
And HERE is where your money went. Read and weep.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/ProgData/fundFAQ.html#n4
I am. Been retired over 20 years and livin' the dream. Of course I worked steadily all my teen and adult life and had the sense to squirrel away enough nuts for this season. Following Dinah's advice to,"See the USA in my Chevrolet" I am never bored.
I have been retired for 20 years. I have held my retirement job as long as I did my real job
Having pared my client list, I work on average on two days per week.
On two other days I either paddle my kayak or go swimming for exercise. I spend too much time either arguing or agreeing with FReepers. The writing keeps my mind fit.
When I first retired, I walked every day to the post office to get the mail for my new very small business. I met a down the street neighbor one day that mowed his yard twice a week. One day he told me he was accustomed to going to work at his engineer job and being told what to do. Now he was at home and had no one to tell him what to do and he didn’t know what to do so he mowed his yard.
That was perhaps the saddest tale I ever heard.
I wish that the do-gooders would don make up to look like 65 year olds and then try and get a job. The medical benefit rules never helped, and Obamacare has made it worse.
Now I'm retired, and while I wish I had more spending money, I'm not doing too badly financially. I can't get around like I used to, but I still try. Always helps to have interests, hobbies and family and friends. There's always something you can do. When I can, I get off my fat rear and go somewhere. I don't stay home and look at four walls. If I can't get out, there is always the Internet and of course, maintaining the house and doing chores. I love to go online and annoy a liberal.
As long as you keep your body and brain in use, you will enjoy your retirement, no matter how much or how little money you have.
If the author of this so called article thinks retirement is bad, then he should not do it. I do not work for the the “state”, I work for myself and my family. I work to live, to put food on the table, shelter for my family, etc. I do not life for work. I have many interests to pursue, given the time to pursue them.
Whether I work for myself, work for a business, work at a position that is not challenging, work part-time or not at all is simply my God given right to pursue happiness and is only my business and my family’s business.
Which is not valued by employers. Not when they can lay off the old guy and replace him with a younger one at half the salary. That's all that matters anymore, and anyone on the far side of 50 who is out there looking for a job, after being laid off, can attest to that.
Let’s retire government over-reach, then they wouldn’t need to steal so much of my money with which to buy the votes unproductive.
I was just talking to a friend about this yesterday. Living in Florida I see a lot of retirees and I was commenting how early 60s is way to young to retire.
I retired at 60, 6 years ago. I am busy all the time with keeping my investments working and doing volunteer work and part-time work that I enjoy. My wife does the same. We volunteer for our local community serving in various positions for no pay. We travel, infusing money into the places we visit.
Life is what you make it. There’s more to being productive than holding full-time job.
I really don’t expect to ever retire. I plan on working until I just can’t anymore. I won’t probably always work in law, though - too time consuming and stressful.