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.
Their healthcare is actually good there. Depends on where you live of course.
The banker knew I had a government pension coming. As he put it “You are worth more as a software developer in the open market. If you want to work, there is the money”. He even offered me a job as a bank teller for $22 an hour.
Then why did Castro go overseas for treatment?
I got a surprisingly generous buyout offer from my employer of 25 years.With it and one or two wise (or lucky) real estate investments I made I was in a very good position. Retirement isn’t Nirvana...at least not for me...but I prefer it to the 9 to 5 grind.
I regard retirement to be that time when I can afford to do things on my own time. If I were already running my own company that maybe different since I would have control over my schedule and authority to tell everyone else what to do while I am gone. Since most people work for someone else, retirement is that point where you are no longer on someone else’s schedule.
Retirement cannot just be about cruises and pleasure; we are not children. What it can be is time to do things for your family and community. Charitable and community organizations run on old guys with time on their hands. Helping out kids and grandkids is something fulfilling to do. Have a hobby business making crafts for sale. Do something, just not work for a paycheck.
My apologies - no trolling and not NeverTrumping.
What I was trying to get at, was that working into one’s final years isn’t necessarily a sign of being unable to “let go.”
I suspect if you asked Pelosi, Schumer, the late Ted Kennedy and Grand Dragon Byrd, they’d SWEAR they’re not quitting because they love their job and they want to protect the little guy. Uh huh.
At the risk of sounding naive, I would be willing to bet that such a belief resides in Bernie’s heart. He is an old fool, a fraud given his home(s), but he’s probably a True Believer.
Trump…well…the guy is definitely driven, can overplay his effectiveness (his terrible HR chops are his Achilles), and is kinda full of himself. That said, he’s the best since Reagan (better in some regards), a fighter, and has more to gain by retiring/golfing. He sees Purpose in carrying on.
Just didn't like you formulating it as your banker telling you to retire. Sounds like an order.
Regards,
In one way, I'm also a civil war buff. The difference is I follow only the Japanese civil wars that ran for most of the 16th and 16th centuries :- )
NHK and TV Japan make it easy for me. There's an epic TV series called the Taiga Drama that runs every year on the theme of one person's life -- 50 episodes (once a week) broadcast on prime time for 45 minutes with no commercial interruption. Fantastic television -- these docudramas feature maybe 50 nationally known actors. Costumes, elaborate sets, highly orchestrated battle scenes, and lots of real horses! Of course, most episodes don't feature the actual battles, but the strategies, personalities, and intrigue of the civil war period.
I don't know Japanese, but I can look up the history on-line.
This year the missus and I plan to visit Himeji Castle, the most beautiful and strongest defensive fortress of the civil war period. So I'm reading up to enjoy the visit fully.
It won’t. I am a power systems Dispatcher, and I can 100% guarantee you that linemen would never rely on computer programs to be running the grid when SHTF. They would strike first, and until robots can do line work, it isn’t going to happen. There are portions on my job that could be done by AI in the future to be sure, such as forecasting power and power sales, but there’s got to be a human at the helm.
Me too!!
Hey!! Thanks for sending me that link to the video about Japan’s castles. It amazes me that those beautiful structures survived all those years. I realize they are set on massive stone foundations, but the buildings themselves have survived intact for hundreds of years, and through Japan’s Civil Wars, when so many stone castles around the world didn’t. During England’s Civil War, whenever the Royalists or Parliamentarians layed siege to a castle, once they gained control, they made sure they destroyed as much of the structures as they could. That TV series sounds fascinating. Have fun at Himeji Castle, and I hope you get to see many more of Japan’s historic sites in the future.
I ONLY TALK TO THE OLDER PERSONS AT LOWE’S & ACE.
THEY KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWERS
Thanks, mass55th. Another aspect of Japanese castle survival is the ability to endure earthquakes.
In fact, FReeper sushiman has a personal experience of earthquake near one of one of the castles in that video I sent you.
That's amazing that they had the technology back then to protect those structures from earthquakes. Do you know which castle sushiman was near when the earthquake hit? The only earthquake I recall ever actually feeling happened several years ago here in central NY State. I was sitting on the sofa, and felt it, but then thought I had imagined it, and noticed the lamp shade was swaying, so that convinced me it had been a small quake.
Wow, what a neat testimony! Well done...
Earthquakes . We had 2 : a 6.2 and a 7 both within 28 hours . Wiki : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Kumamoto_earthquakes
We’d moved into our new home exactly two weeks before ! Yes , there was some damage but nothing major . Everything that wasn’t nailed down went onto the floors inc. tv , computers , rice cooker , glassware , stereo speakers ( one fell from the loft on the second floor to the first ) , my record collection , etc ,. Wife had PTSD for a couple of years.
Thanks sushiman for sharing your experience in the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. Those were pretty strong quakes, it’s no wonder your wife suffered PTSD from it. I live right in the middle of New York State, so if there are any quakes, they are so insignificant, that one doesn’t even notice them. Any time the power goes out around here, it’s usually because of strong winds, and no other reason. They finally came around last week and cleared tree branches from the wires. They were pretty well overgrown. Hopefully that will alleviate that problem. Time will tell.
My first thought was it was the end of the world. You can’t imagine what it feels like to experience a 7 quake unless you have experienced one .
And these two quakes were shallow ; just 8 miles deep . We live about 10 miles from the epicenter of one of the quakes .
I hope you and your wife never have to go through that again. I can only imagine the feeling of helplessness, and wondering if this was the way your life was going to end. Nobody can actually understand unless you've been in that same position yourself.
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