Retirement

[sir archely]

Just curious how people feel about the idea of retirement, and prospects for their own retirement.

Retirement for "all" is a relatively new idea for the world. Of course it's not really all, but that's how we like to frame it. Do you think that retirement is a right for everyone that should be provided for, or do you think it's a privilege that should be only for those who can earn enough and save enough for it? Something else? Why?

Do you plan for retirement? Do you want to retire?

[Kalle al'Tear]

I picked the "I can't save anything for retirement right now, but I do plan to retire" Option.

I can't even put money aside for savings let alone a retirement fund.. but I would like to think that I wouldn't have to be really old and still have to work. I really am hoping to find a job that will pay me enough that I can pay for the things I need to now, set some money aside for emergency's or vacations, and still be able to plan for my old age.

[Apoc]

I ticked the something else, tell you in a post and well here's the post

Well, if i get to that point where i'm down to my last pennies and i'm at that stage where others would retire and spend all this money that they saved, i'd leave whatever assets i have to family and friends and well instead of retiring i'd have a party, the last farewell, and then i'd make a one way wander up to the north pole and spend the last of my days looking for polar bears in the peace that i've enjoyed the ride to its fullest.

[Amos]

Not much would change for me if I retired right now. Maybe I'd mow the lawns... Probably not though. I'm saving a little so that in the future I can buy a robot to do tedious things like that for me while I play the sims all day.

[AquaFizz]

I have to coolest old man who comes into work a couple times a week. I adore him.

He used to be a judge and I'm pretty sure his family is independently wealthy, too, because he spends TONS of money in our store. He spends so much money, in fact, that he gets a discount. He has one of our cards and you can see how much he's spent in the last year. ...If I added up how much I paid a month for rent when I lived in NY for a year-He'd still have spent more than that in our store. That's mostly movies and then a few books. He's got to be, like, 70 or 80. I asked him the other day if he'd watched the last batch of movies he'd bought. He said, no. He's saving them for when he "gets old and can't get out anymore." He's super adorable.

I want to be that cool when I'm old, senile & retired. But, seeing as how my parents are flat broke & I'm an english major who wants to get her masters in Creative Writing-I'm pretty sure it'll never happen. I'm okay with that, though, because I get bored way too easily for retirement.

[dark fuschia]

I hope to work until I die, not so much because I want to, but because I feel it's better for a person. It keeps the mind active and all that. As nice as the idea of doing whatever I want sounds, I have come to learn that there is nothing I really want to do, so I might as well be working. I will probably have to retire in the end though because it gets very hard to keep a job anyway after a certain age, in which case I guess I'll try and volunteer for things to keep busy with. I don't put aside any more than I have to (the gov holds a certain proprtion of your income and will not release it to you until a certain age) so when that time comes I suppose it wil be a life of black and gold tea and baked beans for me!

[wiggin]

Huh, I find everyone's responses to be illuminating.

Personally, I'm saving quite a bit for retirement. The reality of compounded returns on investment means that every $1000 I sock away now will be worth at least 20 times that when I retire (probably more), and will be sorely needed. Furthermore, right now market conditions are great for heavy investing - P/E ratios are good, most of the risk has been priced into the market, and plenty of solid companies have bargain prices. I fully expect to be a multimillionaire by the time I retire - nothing crazy, probably just 5ish million, but enough to live comfortably without concerns of 'running out' in the event that life expectancy dramatically increases (before you think this is crazy, figure out about inflation and costs of living - retirement costs a lot of money).

That being said, I'm not really looking forward to retiring - it's absolutely ridiculous that retirement age is still 65 (well, 67 in another decade or two). Back when that was established, people didn't really expect to live past 75. Nowadays, 90 isn't uncommon, and people are very much capable of work past 67. It would solve a lot of our pressing 'entitlement' concerns in the US - growth in Medicare and Social Security spending are a big problem. Furthermore, I'd probably be bored out of my mind. Nevertheless, there is a certain point after which one's mind is not as nimble as one's earlier years. In my field (bioengineering), it makes sense to shift one's work from active innovation to either management or consulting as one ages. It's experience and knowledge that matters then, not so much the brilliance of your mind or how cutting-edge your thinking is. After I finally taper that off, I probably wouldn't be opposed to teaching in a local school or something, either. It provides some supplemental income, keeps one busy, and has a positive impact on the world.

As is probably unsurprising given my previous statements, I feel that social entitlements should only work to provide a bare minimum of a safety net - it's generally too expensive (and often unfair) to guarantee more than that. It's up to us as individuals to save for our retirements so we can actively enjoy them and have no concerns about income or a gradual decline in poverty.

I'm also not opposed to passing something on to my heirs - I certainly will shell out plenty of money when they're growing up to provide them with the best education and opportunities. My family's story is one of a gradual rise in education and wealth with every passing generation, mostly through dint of hard work and prudent fiscal management (we started with literally nothing 4-5 generations ago, and now everyone in my generation has a professional/graduate degree, low or zero loans, and decent career prospects). I want my kids to be better off then I was, and I'll try to help them as much as I can when I'm alive. Other than education, I've found that parents and grandparents with means can help cushion major capital purchases through zero or low interest loans (e.g. buying a first car, a downpayment on a house, etc.). It doesn't return anywhere near as well as the market, but the dividends are far more valuable, and helps contribute to the march of increasing prosperity. That being said, I won't feel too bad if after all of that investment in the future, my family will have a relatively modest inheritance to split up when I pass on - they'll have the tools to succeed quite well on their own, and I don't want to feel beholden to others. I've got things to do, charities to support, etc.

Ender

[Anita Blake]

I'm saving a little right now. I hope to start saving more soon, now that I don't have any significant debt. If it were up me, I'd retire tomorrow, because I see retirement as "freedom". I look at things like this: needing to have a job to pay the bills is sort of like being a bonded servant. Being retired is like saying "I have enough money that I don't need to work to live." I don't want to "get by" on social assistance. I want to have enough money that I can do whatever I damn well please, when I choose to do it. Travel? Sure, no problem? Take a random class on glass-blowing? Sign me up!

My ideal retirement plans involve going to school for courses that I enjoy (but won't give me a lucrative career), spending my time doing random awesome stuff for myself, others, charity, and profit, and gardening, running an artist studio, watching sunrises and sunsets from some kind of amazing island retreat, and generally being the woman that everyone wants for an aunt/grandmother/friend.

[AquaFizz]

...and generally being the woman that everyone wants for an aunt/grandmother/friend.

Aw, Anita. You *so* already are. You remind me a lot of what I remember my most favorite aunt being like (and, for the record, she died super young...so, I'm NOT saying you remind me of a great old lady or anything). And there are definitely times when I read your posts and think, "Meh. Anita is cooler than my friends." So, anything you do post-retirement will only further my sulking over you not being around.

[Eyreplenh]

I'm with the "I'm saving a little, and will retire when social security or other support makes it possible" gang.

With the usual norwegian deviation that is. Our bonus is that, again, we're born with spoons of gold waiting to serve our slippery mouts the moment we exit the womb. Everyone is entitled to publicly funded retirement, which I support, and it's quite comfortable. There's one group that comes out a bit worse than the rest here, and that is home-dwelling mothers who for some reason or other leaves husband/is left by husband after a long marriage and at old age. There's the same as in a lot of other (socialist) places, so during your whole career as a worker money for this is deducted and payed back when you get old. As a home-dwelling mother you don't get paid, so you don't earn your way up the retirement-ladder either -though you may have earned it The same would apply for home-dwelling dads, but that's hardly a group worth mentioning.

I'm starting extra saving for my retirement this year. As Wiggin pointed out, it's a good time for some investing (with my HUGE bankroll, lol). More importantly for me though, is that a fairly small amount of money put in retirement savings earns you quite a hefty bonus in taxes. Don't know if this is the same everywhere. I'm putting in about 2,500 us dollars, and by june the government spits 850 of those right back at me. No fund or bankaccount can match that rate

Extra savings like these are, strictly speaking, not necessary here in oiland, but it's quite profitable. In addition, as the nation's getting older, maybe we'll have to reduce the minimum amount of today.

[Corvus Corax]

I'm in the "I'm saving a little, and will retire when social security or other support makes it possible" boat as well.

Also a "socialist" country, but with a twist that means I'm paying for those who are retired now and the following generations will pay for my retirement. Although they are slowly changing that. Also got insurance funds as a benefit from work, saving up to a nice sum when I retire (or as a get well soon present for those who benefit from me should I kick the bucket before I retire). And next to that I've got a pension saving with the bank, as it is tax deductable.

Pensions aren't huge over here, but indexed at least. Part of the reason I bought the flat was to pay off the mortgage by the time I retire. Rent will only increase.
An average flat/house where I live (cheap area) rents out for between $900 and $1500 now, which is about my mortgage. But in a few decades, that'll probably triple or quadruple, with the mortgage staying roughly the same. So I guess that's also a form of retirement planning. Of course it'll mean not doing any real investing this year and maybe the next... bugger.

Over here there's the general concensus that people who retire either fall into a black hole (very unhealthy) or have never been busier. I'm hoping for the latter option. Maybe persue a "career" unlike anything I did before.

Working till you die is great. Having to work till you die sucks the gay right out of Liberace's anus.

[joshuathemakaleen]

I feel cancer will knock me out before I get attacked as an old man in a shack relying on yack to get back

[Buck]

I don't plan on retiring until I am forced to. I can't imagine life being interesting or exciting as a retired person. Ok, you sit around and do what exactly??

[Dregs]

Other than superannuation, everything is going to get plowed into the house. Land price doubles here every seven years, so it makes more sense at the moment.

But when (or if) I retire I'm going to write loads of curmudgeonly letters to various newspapers.

[dark fuschia]

LOL Dregs, I think you will be good at that.