Posted on 02/15/2024 8:00:45 PM PST by DoodleBob
In an episode of “The Sopranos”, a popular television series which started airing in the 1990s, a gangster tells Tony, from the titular family, that he wants to retire. “What are you, a hockey player?” Tony snaps back. Non-fictional non-criminals who are considering an end to their working lives need not worry about broken fingers or other bodily harm. But they must still contend with other potentially painful losses: of income, purpose or, most poignantly, relevance.
Some simply won’t quit. Giorgio Armani refuses to relinquish his role as chief executive of his fashion house at the age of 89. Being Italy’s second-richest man has not dampened his work ethic. Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s sidekick at Berkshire Hathaway, worked for the investment powerhouse until he died late last year at the age of 99. Mr Buffett himself is going strong at 93.
People like Messrs Armani, Buffett or Munger are exceptional. But in remaining professionally active into what would historically be considered dotage, they are not unique. One poll this year found that almost one in three Americans say they may never retire. The majority of the nevers said they could not afford to give up a full-time job, especially when inflation was eating into an already measly Social Security cheque. But suppose you are one of the lucky ones who can choose to step aside. Should you do it?
The arc of corporate life used to be predictable. You made your way up the career ladder, acquiring more prestige and bigger salaries at every step. Then, in your early 60s, there was a Friday-afternoon retirement party, maybe a gold watch, and that was that. The next day the world of meetings, objectives, tasks and other busyness faded. If you were moderately restless, you could play bridge or help out with the grandchildren. If you weren’t, there were crossword puzzles, TV and a blanket.
Although intellectual stimulation tends to keep depression and cognitive impairment at bay, many professionals in the technology sector retire at the earliest recommended date to make space for the younger generation, conceding it would be unrealistic to maintain their edge in the field. Still, to step down means to leave centre stage—leisure gives you all the time in the world but tends to marginalise you as you are no longer in the game.
Things have changed. Lifespans are getting longer. It is true that although the post-retirement, twilight years are stretching, they do not have to lead to boredom or to a life devoid of meaning. Once you retire after 32 years as a lawyer at the World Bank, you can begin to split your time between photography and scrounging flea markets for a collection of Americana. You don’t have to miss your job or suffer from a lack of purpose. If you are no longer head of the hospital, you can join Médecins Sans Frontières for occasional stints, teach or help out at your local clinic. Self-worth and personal growth can derive from many places, including non-profit work or mentoring others on how to set up a business.
But can anything truly replace the framework and buzz of being part of the action? You can have a packed diary devoid of deadlines, meetings and spreadsheets and flourish as a consumer of theatre matinees, art exhibitions and badminton lessons. Hobbies are all well and good for many. But for the extremely driven, they can feel pointless and even slightly embarrassing.
That is because there is depth in being useful. And excitement, even in significantly lower doses than are typical earlier in a career, can act as an anti-ageing serum. Whenever Mr Armani is told to retire and enjoy the fruits of his labour, he replies “absolutely not”. Instead he is clearly energised by being involved in the running of the business day to day, signing off on every design, document and figure.
In “Seinfeld”, another television show of the 1990s, Jerry goes to visit his parents, middle-class Americans who moved to Florida when they retired, having dinner in the afternoon. “I’m not force-feeding myself a steak at 4.30 just to save a couple of bucks!” Jerry protests. When this guest Bartleby entered the job market, she assumed that when the day came she too would be a pensioner in a pastel-coloured shirt opting for the “early-bird special”. A quarter of a century on, your 48-year-old columnist hopes to be writing for The Economist decades from now, even if she trundles to her interviews supported by a Zimmer frame; Mr Seinfeld is still going strong at 69, after all. But ask her again in 21 years.
Excuse me for poking my nose in here ... but just thought I'd throw this your way.
day trade ?
when you want ...
how you want ...
a little or a lot
everyday or just when ever.
there is an investment thread around here somewhere that is really interesting ...ping list thing
Adrenaline ..... current events...
I love the rush of the Q train ... it's better than a bass boat
You should never retire and enjoy life. Work intil 80 or 90, like Armani, Mung, and Buffet.
Sounds exactly like the advice you would get from “Bartleby”.
Ignore everybody’s advice, they don’t know you and your plan. Plan and do.
I was given the choice of take the shot or retire.
I have never been so busy since leaving the job I loved. I wanted to work at least another couple of years, but circumstances dictated otherwise.
Life is what you make it. If you want to work until you’re dead, that’s your choice. I’m having a great time doing what I want when I want for as long as I want.
If you want to live a life controlled by the whims of work, go for it. I’ll live for MY wants and needs.
That was a very useful and thoughtful post. Glad you took the time to write it. Kudos... no sarcasm.
Don’t travel, we hang around at the house-live in very rural Alaska on the Kenai river. Very fulfilling.
Congrats, nice ending!
Good for you?! That's a great attitude. In other words, everyone should do what's best for them. Thanks for the positive comment.
That's what I do.
What are you doing now?
“something to do that’s not brain-dead.”
Excuse me for poking my nose in here ... but just thought I’d throw this your way.
day trade ?
when you want ...
how you want ...
a little or a lot
everyday or just when ever.
**********************************************************************************
Did military/industrial electronics. system ops/maintenance, design/build modules when replacements not available, mentor the system techs and the new engineers, build automated test suites for maintenance/performance testing, system docs/corrections, beat up on b’crats (I always won)....
Day trade? Nope....
Not my train. Others do fine at it though.
Sounds like you may have had plenty of “numbers” to last a life time ..
I just thought I'd throw it out there , my wife and I have a good time with it but like you say , it's not for everybody.
It's something we can do while we travel and such. Get a little excitement.
I'm watching the overnight right now ..ndx..10yr bond and the dollar dxy
I made some pretty bold calls on the investment thread today,
so far I am looking like a brilliant prodigy ... ha ha .. but the fat lady hasn't even started to sing yet.
I hope you find that “not brain-dead” thing your looking for.
I imagine it's tough to find something challenging after some of things you've done.
But you will.
You poor devil! What an insult! In what kind of industry do they try to placate you with such measly raises?
Regards,
But what does that mean, actually?
I love beautiful sunsets. I love studying medieval European history. I love sitting up in bed in the morning, sipping espresso, posting on Free Republic, and gazing at the snow-covered Alps out my window.
Do these things "love me back?"
Perhaps I'm being dense here, but please help me understand.
Regards,
I retired 10 years ago and there hasn’t been a single day that I wished I was back at work.
That was his version of the story.
The truth might have been that they nudged him out because he was becoming increasingly incompetent, antagonizing coworkers, abusing underlings, etc.
Regards,
Who can afford to retire these days.
I make more in retirement than I did when I was working. It just took a little planning.
How about cracking a book? Or caring for a grandchild? How does your spouse feel about this?
Regards,
“part time at Home Depot”
That would be a losing proposition for me. I would lack the self control needed to leave my shift without buying something I really don’t need. I suspect employees get some kind of discount; that would just compound my self control problem.
I have always wanted to retire since I started working part time at 15 😁
This year is the year I will start to travel some, drive around the country. Plan on buying my youngest sister a house in Minnesota where she lives. I am in southern Calif.
I always have something to do around my place. I am not the type that needs to be at work. I like having no plans everyday.
Eventually I will buy a house for myself in Minnesota and maybe rent a place in Calif during the winter. You can buy 3 bigger homes for the price of one smaller home in Calif.
I am as of Nov 2021 retired. Six weeks later the AMD stock I have went from a high of $162 and then crashed by 1/3rd then by Oct 2022 down to $54+.
The last two years I worried about the savings after congress tanked the economy but the AMD stock I have has now reached $176 😁 I wished I bought nvidia the past year!! I think AMD will be like Nvidia and the shares will make me more comfortable before I buy Elon Musk Starlink IPO when it comes out maybe at the end of this year or 2025 or even 2026. That stock will ‘rocket’.
I have about 1/3rd less shares as before and had no plans to sell as I expected the stock to go up and not down and down 🙁 so I spent little money. Borrowed from the broker the money I had already paid taxes on. So owed no taxes 😁
“Staying in your job can provide purpose and challenge not found elsewhere.”
Alex Lifeson of the group RUSH had an interview a few weeks ago where he talks about the music he has been experimenting with lately. He said after RUSH ended (after more than 40 years) he played a lot of golf, owned a nightclub, etc. He said something like “After a year of that I thought - I can’t just play golf the rest of my life! So I got back into music. And just having fun with it. (Well, he’s put out two collaboration albums - so not just “fun”) Doing different things with it that I just really enjoy doing. I mean, it’s not like I need the money.”
ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.