Never retiring from work.
Discussion
I don't plan to retire from work, unless my health becomes so bad that I cannot physically carry on.
The main reasons for this are:
1. There is still so much I want to achieve and I'll need to work longer to do what I want to do.
2. I would deteriorate if I stopped working.
3. I want to be in as strong a position economically as possible, for as long as possible.
4. I think working probably keeps people younger than retiring.
5. I tried golf and I was no good at it.
I'm not fifty yet, but am trying to put in place the physical strength and fitness attributes that will hopefully see me through. I am also starting to work on my mental fitness in the hope of remaining mentally agile.
Is there anyone here who is either of retirement age and still working flat out, or intending to be that way? If so, what do you do, or plan to do, to ensure a long and productive work life after most people have retired?
By the sound of it you still have around 20 years of work ahead before retirement before it is even an option (for more people). As such I wouldn't worry about it, when it becomes an option five year ahead then start thinking about it, but this far out it seems pretty pointless for you, IMHO.
Do you say all this because you don't obviously have other interests outside work? If I retired today, I'd be even busier as I do loads of sports and hobbies and if I was retired, I'd also be able to spend longer periods of time with my family and visiting people and other countries.
My dad retired in his early 50s, he spends all his time doing stuff he enjoys and staying healthy. Him and my mum are always going places and doing interesting stuff that he wasn't able to do as much when he was working.
The trouble is that when you are older, you generally slow down rapidly in your 70s, then it starts to become difficult to do all these great things.
As ever each to their own but your post actually saddens me for some reason.
My dad retired in his early 50s, he spends all his time doing stuff he enjoys and staying healthy. Him and my mum are always going places and doing interesting stuff that he wasn't able to do as much when he was working.
The trouble is that when you are older, you generally slow down rapidly in your 70s, then it starts to become difficult to do all these great things.
As ever each to their own but your post actually saddens me for some reason.
el stovey said:
Do you say all this because you don't obviously have other interests outside work? If I retired today, I'd be even busier as I do loads of sports and hobbies and if I was retired, I'd also be able to spend longer periods of time with my family and visiting people and other countries.
My dad retired in his early 50s, he spends all his time doing stuff he enjoys and staying healthy. Him and my mum are always going places and doing interesting stuff that he wasn't able to do as much when he was working.
The trouble is that when you are older, you generally slow down rapidly in your 70s, then it starts to become difficult to do all these great things.
As ever each to their own but your post actually saddens me for some reason.
Exactly - we're taking the decision to retire earlier rather than later. We won't retire to the lap of luxury but we'll have enough and we'd rather do cool stuff while we're still able to. No Kids to worry about leaving anything to either - It's there to be spent and enjoyed.My dad retired in his early 50s, he spends all his time doing stuff he enjoys and staying healthy. Him and my mum are always going places and doing interesting stuff that he wasn't able to do as much when he was working.
The trouble is that when you are older, you generally slow down rapidly in your 70s, then it starts to become difficult to do all these great things.
As ever each to their own but your post actually saddens me for some reason.
We'll also still do 'work' of some sort for a while. Even if it's just for beer tokens.
Stay fit and healthy if you can, for as long as you can to hopefully be able to enjoy life whichever path you take.
I'm torn - my father retired mid-fifties looking forward to a long and happy retirement travelling with my mother. She died suddenly a year later and Dad was rather rudderless for a while. He'd been a metallurgist at Rolls Royce so it was a surprise to us all when he became a driving instructor, but he loved it. He kept on working into his early seventies, gradually cutting back the hours until a TIA which rather put a stop to it. Since then he's back to full health, for an 81 year old, and still loving life. He may even have a decade or two left in him!
On the other hand, my bosses are going to die before they retire. Neither need the money but still enjoy the buzz. One's the same age as my father and he spends a few months a year in his villas in Portugal and France and he also has a nice holiday flat in Poole. The other's still pretty much full time in his late sixties.
When I see some of my ex-colleagues who've retired it's quite sad - they seem to spend time filling time.
I'm torn - my father retired mid-fifties looking forward to a long and happy retirement travelling with my mother. She died suddenly a year later and Dad was rather rudderless for a while. He'd been a metallurgist at Rolls Royce so it was a surprise to us all when he became a driving instructor, but he loved it. He kept on working into his early seventies, gradually cutting back the hours until a TIA which rather put a stop to it. Since then he's back to full health, for an 81 year old, and still loving life. He may even have a decade or two left in him!
On the other hand, my bosses are going to die before they retire. Neither need the money but still enjoy the buzz. One's the same age as my father and he spends a few months a year in his villas in Portugal and France and he also has a nice holiday flat in Poole. The other's still pretty much full time in his late sixties.
When I see some of my ex-colleagues who've retired it's quite sad - they seem to spend time filling time.
LordGrover said:
When I see some of my ex-colleagues who've retired it's quite sad - they seem to spend time filling time.
That's what happens when you have no life outside your job and then you retire.If you are like that and have no interests or hobbies or things that inspire you, other than your work, then you're probably best to keep working really.
I work with my dad. He's 73. The only reason he comes to work is to keep himself busy, although I'm actually not sure what he does at work. He has no life outside work (other than pottering in the garden) as he devoted his life to his business (it also cost him 2 marriages). However his physical health is deteriorating and he cannot do what he once could or would like to. So he is getting resentful and bitter - musing on what could have been, but unwilling to try something new, even though lots of people have encouraged him. It's not a pretty place, but he has created the world he occupies.
There is absolutely no way I'll be in his situation. I fully intend to be retired with a wad of cash by the time I'm 55 and will have no trouble keeping myself busy with family, friends, travel and hobbies.
There is absolutely no way I'll be in his situation. I fully intend to be retired with a wad of cash by the time I'm 55 and will have no trouble keeping myself busy with family, friends, travel and hobbies.
el stovey said:
your post actually saddens me for some reason.
I'm 40 but i could quite easily stop working tomorrow and fill another 40 years with stuff i actually want to do (sadly cant afford to though!). Retirement only leads to "deterioration" if you have a chronic lack of imagination.
OK some answers:
HenryJM - My view is that I need to be planning now for my continued working life. This applies to a number of areas, but mainly:
1. Health - If I ensure that before I am 50 I am as physically strong and fit as possible, with a well dialled lifestyle, I believe it will assist me in remaining fit later and if the worst should happen and I become ill it might help me get through it.
2. Financial - I need to ensure that I can take risks without risking everything. As I deal a lot with banks and lenders I need to accommodate the fact that the older I become the greater risk they will perceive me to be.
El Stovey - my interests outside work are mainly family related, car related, fitness and work (!). I try to combine my enthusiasm for cars with my work. But I don't do sports particularly, nor do I collect things.
LordGrover - Yes, staying fit is something I do and plan to continue doing. One thing I would like to change though is that I am now muscular and stocky, I think going forwards that losing some muscle mass might help me. I am not fat (15% BF) but I think 10-12% BF and lighter would be helpful.
Plchard - I actually really like my job and I really enjoy being in business. In fact, sadly some might say, it is probably my favourite hobby.
I think maintaining health is one of the major areas to focus upon.
Art0ir said:
Losing muscle mass should be the one thing you want to avoid. There's a fair stack of evidence that going into your twilight years with as much strength and fitness as possible will serve you very well.
I agree with you, but at the moment my build is probably more geared towards strength than all-round fitness. I'd like to resume running but at 5'10" and 14 stone I find that I get calf injuries. I could be wrong, but a stone lighter made up of some muscle loss and reduced BF (maybe 10-12% might be better.I would say that strength training will serve you better into your later years than taking up runnin. just throw in some metcon type of stuff to maintain the CV system and you'll be right.
Do some Crossfit style workouts, you get to lift some weights and blow out your arrris all in the same session.
Do some Crossfit style workouts, you get to lift some weights and blow out your arrris all in the same session.
el stovey said:
Do you say all this because you don't obviously have other interests outside work? If I retired today, I'd be even busier as I do loads of sports and hobbies and if I was retired, I'd also be able to spend longer periods of time with my family and visiting people and other countries.
Me too. Work gets in the way of life but it's a neccessary evil to fund my lifestyle. I'm 40 and I'd retire today if I were in a position to do so finacially. I'm addicted to travel and there's so many more places I want to see but I have to limit my trips to the 25 + 8 bank holidays I get allocated. My father retired young but he didn't have any interests so declined pretty quickly. In that respect, I can see where the OP is coming from. I have an Uncle who retired young and now he's in his 70's, is often found climbing ladders fixing up his daughters Lake District cottage or under a neighbours car fettling with some mechanicals. He's not let his age stop him living life.
My mates parents retired young and have a fantastic lifestle. They travel about 4 or 5 times a year and when they are home, they have a large family to spend time with and a lovely big house to enjoy. That's the dream.
toon10 said:
Me too. Work gets in the way of life but it's a neccessary evil to fund my lifestyle. I'm 40 and I'd retire today if I were in a position to do so finacially. I'm addicted to travel and there's so many more places I want to see but I have to limit my trips to the 25 + 8 bank holidays I get allocated.
I genuinely enjoy my work though, and would probably do some of it even if I didn't get paid (which sometimes I don't!). It is not an inconvenience for me to have to work.I would like, though, to be able to afford better time off when I am older. I still wouldn't take more than a week off at a time, but I'd book better places and transport.
Purity14 said:
My Grandad is 90 this year, and still goes to work.
He lost his driving licence due to eyesight, so now catches the bus to work.
He dislikes it because it exposes him to germs.
His girlfriend wants him to stop working and retire, but he has said that he doesn't want to lose his mind.
Given that he's 90 and still working, the evidence strongly suggests that he's already lost his mindHe lost his driving licence due to eyesight, so now catches the bus to work.
He dislikes it because it exposes him to germs.
His girlfriend wants him to stop working and retire, but he has said that he doesn't want to lose his mind.
My wife and I retired a couple of years ago at 51, we really don't know how we managed to find the time to go to work. OP you seem particularly concerned about your health and fitness in retirement, well once you have retired you have lots of time to train and exercise, as an example we both go and swim a mile or more every weekday morning at 07.30 before coming home and having breakfast and then getting on with our day. We used to swim when we worked but had to go earlier and then eat something on the hoof before getting to work.
We now go away to so see friends and family a lot more at weekends, do last minute holiday deals, go to loads of car shows and events etc. When we were working the bulk of weekends were spent doing domestic niff naff and trivia, shoping, housework, garden maintainence etc, and if we were lucky we had a couple of holidays each year before getting back on the treadmill.
What decided things for us was that a couple of friends suddenly died in their 50's, both fit and healthy, in fact one was a fitness instructor. They both had so many more things that they wanted to do in life and never had the chance.
I have always worked to live, not lived to work. But each to their own.
We now go away to so see friends and family a lot more at weekends, do last minute holiday deals, go to loads of car shows and events etc. When we were working the bulk of weekends were spent doing domestic niff naff and trivia, shoping, housework, garden maintainence etc, and if we were lucky we had a couple of holidays each year before getting back on the treadmill.
What decided things for us was that a couple of friends suddenly died in their 50's, both fit and healthy, in fact one was a fitness instructor. They both had so many more things that they wanted to do in life and never had the chance.
I have always worked to live, not lived to work. But each to their own.
LordGrover said:
I prefer to have a job I enjoy with colleagues and friends every working day. Worked with my fellow long-termers for c. 30 years, so far.
Do you naysayers hate your jobs so much you want to get out ASAP? Why not get a job you like?
I dont hate my job, but nor do i wish to do it until the day i die - It's a means to an end.Do you naysayers hate your jobs so much you want to get out ASAP? Why not get a job you like?
If someone gave you 20 million quid tonight, would you still go to work tomorrow?
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