I loved my job. (pilot - small aircraft ) Could no longer do it due to physical damage to me from the wreck. Incapacitated in such ways that all but one pastime was doable.
Due to piss poor prior planning & unforeseen costs, we live on SS.
Health for both is not real good.
If you do not have your health, you don’t really have anything. After as certain point. $$$ can not buy health.
Learn to like what you have before you have no choice.
Of the 100’s of examples of the 70 - to 90 year old’s doing amazing things & having a ball, there are millions who are not having near as much fun.
Don’t wait too long & stay in the present as long as you can.
When I applied for my first job (aged 20), they asked if I had any questions. I wanted to know what the pension was like.
It was superb (index-linked, lump sum included) and now I receive it.
I’d also paid off my mortgage before I retired and had an investment fund. (I think it’s vital to have your finances in order before retiring.)
I was lucky enough to have a final job teaching at a very good school, so when I retired (aged 55) I asked to work there part-time. The Head said I could work until I was 65.
So I run Activity clubs for the pupils (roleplaying + computer games ), benefit from the stimulation and earn extra money (without having to do reports, marking or invigilation.)
I teach a few locals bridge and chess (again with the rewards of company, self-esteem and pocket money.)
Living in the middle of England, I have visited Las Vegas several times recently, but the travelling is too much now. (Over 17 hours, largely spent in airports or flying.)
I think I’ll visit Europe by train (or maybe do a cruise.)
The steep increase in healthcare cost was the my most surprising experience. I am not sure this was all foreseeable. The institutions and the insurance companies usually work against us. The first time my medications hit the donut hole left me in disbelief.
On the positive side the relief from the need to carefully plan times and activities like going to the grocery store, or the Grand Canyon for that matter, was a most welcome surprise.
I agree. I am actually busier than when I worked, and if I’m not doing anything on my “bucket list” of things to do, I’m stressing about not doing them.
Not all of us had wonderful jobs that we wanted to do till retirement age.
If I hadn’t left my job from hell when I did, I’d already be dead from the stress. In situations like that, it’s pretty impossible to be affluent after retirement, and the best to hope for is winning the lottery, a death bequest from a relative, or learning to live within one’s means.
I don’t expect to retire. I’ve smoked for 26 years now. Longevity runs in my family (females over 90, males to the mid 80s) and so does Alzheimer’s and strokes. My aunt needs 24 care, my mother just bought a rascal. I hope to jam as much of the retired life into weekends and vacations as i can.
The varied responses in this thread have been pretty interesting. I’m six years away from retirement and, while I have some ideas of what I’m going to do, the first thing will be to decompress from 45 years of getting up and going to work every day. I have things I haven’t been able to get to that I’ll finally get around to doing but if that takes six months or six years that’ll be ok with me. By the time I get some of it done, I’m sure I’ll be interested in something else and finally have the time to go do it.
I miss strange things. Weekends for instance; and vacations. These were breaks from work which don’t occur anymore. I’ve never been much into hobbies, etc. so I have a lot of sitting around to do. I partly solved that by doing some volunteer work; first 8 hours a week, now just 4 (thinking about 8 again).
I have never liked traveling either, so that’s pretty much out and my social network is extremely small but it is mostly satisfying.
My mother is 89 and has been retired for 30 some odd years.
Initially after retirement she became a part time real estate agent. She also played in a band for ‘old folks homes’. She joined professional and college societies for retirees. She travelled. She did social work for her church, sang in the choir, did local missionary work.
And then she survived all her friends. They’re all dead now. The phone doesn’t ring anymore.
Her church, her professional and college societies have given her lots to do and feel useful. She’s pruning them now, because she’ll soon be 90.
If you live retired a long, long time, those formal clubs with a constant ingress of new retirees can be very valuable. Clubs of friends the same age–eventually they all die off.
This is us. We both left full-time employment before retirement age, and money is tight, even with SS, part-time jobs, and two pensions.
On the plus side, there are no expenses for commuting, lunches, work social functions, Beer Friday, or new clothes. We could get by with one vehicle but we choose not to.
Also on the plus side, we were home 24/7 when the new puppy came, so she was housebroken and trained very quickly. We’ve spent a lot of time gardening in the summer, and when relatives come visit, we don’t have to schedule vacation time to be with them.
Same with scheduling all kinds of appointments, doctor, repair people, deliveries. “What time is good for you?” “Anytime.” “Really. Cool.”
The best part is not ever having to set an alarm clock. The worst part is no weekend. One day is pretty much like any other.
), benefit from the stimulation and earn extra money (without having to do reports, marking or invigilation.)