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Why don't people retire anymore?

When I was little, if you were 60 or 65, you were retired. Now I work with people pushing 80.

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by Anonymousreply 61April 3, 2023 12:17 PM

80 is the new 60

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by Anonymousreply 1March 25, 2023 3:27 PM

Our motto is: "Keep working, piss off a Millennial."

by Anonymousreply 2March 25, 2023 3:28 PM

No one can afford to retire.

by Anonymousreply 3March 25, 2023 3:29 PM

Thank you for providing a photo OP

I was unsure of what an older person looked like and that helped clarify it

by Anonymousreply 4March 25, 2023 3:31 PM

R3 beat me to it. LBOs in the 80s destroyed pension funds. Unions are busted. Real wages haven't increased. And despite that, Republican politicians want to destroy Social Security and Medicare. Their masters want them to provide cheap labor. Many people cannot afford to retire, and it's not an accident.

by Anonymousreply 5March 25, 2023 3:33 PM

Funny during COVID all the media hyped was then GREAT RESIGNATION. All the boomers were taking early retirement because they suddenly were facing the jaws of death and realized work was not all that mattered. Then inflation hit 10%, rents went though the roof and now it's THE GREAT UN-RETIREMENT. Who knew.

by Anonymousreply 6March 25, 2023 3:34 PM

Our bodies and health are deteriorating by 60. It makes sense for people to retire around 60 as they are typically fighting all kinds of illnesses, health issues, and cognitive issues. Yes, there are exceptions. But the majority of us are on the decline.

The reason people aren’t retiring is that governments want to keep making money off of employed seniors and have an excuse to avoid paying out social security. And yeah, people can’t afford to retire.

by Anonymousreply 7March 25, 2023 3:37 PM

Retire on what? Suicide? In print media the only thing to do is to keep working until your'e dead. And that's if you're lucky. Suicide sounds better and better every day. If only I knew how.

by Anonymousreply 8March 25, 2023 3:41 PM

As long as health insurance is tethered to employment (for most of us) and affordable healthcare is denied us, many of us are forced to keep working.

Medicare starts at 65.

Fun fact: more people go bankrupt because of outstanding medical expenses than for any other reason in the U.S.

by Anonymousreply 9March 25, 2023 3:42 PM

They can't. There may be something to the fact that people live longer and therefore should be working longer, but not THAT much longer. Most people are still working because they have to. You can tell of someone is older and just doing a job to keep busy and stave off boredom, not because they absolutely need the money.

by Anonymousreply 10March 25, 2023 3:44 PM

R6 Boomers weren't the only people to quit their jobs during the Great Resignation.

by Anonymousreply 11March 25, 2023 3:45 PM

OP we have a President who's 80!

by Anonymousreply 12March 25, 2023 3:46 PM

What is the leading cause of suicide in the United States?

I'll bet it's medical debts.

by Anonymousreply 13March 25, 2023 3:47 PM

And yes, it's true, no one can afford to retire. Most private companies stopped offering pensions in the '70s and early '80s.

401Ks are subject to market fluctuations and the evil machinations of Madoff-like individuals.

by Anonymousreply 14March 25, 2023 3:48 PM

The only solution is suicide.

by Anonymousreply 15March 25, 2023 3:50 PM

Besides factors already mentioned here, many older people have found themselves in the unenviable position of supporting multiple households (due to aged parents and adult children who can't, or won't, cover their own expenses).

by Anonymousreply 16March 25, 2023 3:51 PM

Then we should legalize it, [R14].

by Anonymousreply 17March 25, 2023 3:51 PM

Big point r16. Plus, many older people are still paying off their own student loans and mortgages post 65

by Anonymousreply 18March 25, 2023 3:58 PM

The vast majority of people are out of the workforce before they’re 65-67 let alone 80 whether they want to be or not thanks to age discrimination, burnout, illness, or the inability to keep their skills current. People keep working because they have to or they want to. No doubt hard to believe but some of us liked our work and our bosses liked how we did it. I was happy to retire at 65 because I could thanks to a great pension.

They still pay me as a consultant when they need me because, um, well, how can I say this, sometimes they need me when my replacements (3 people, all in their 20’s are doing my old job) can’t figure something out.

by Anonymousreply 19March 25, 2023 4:05 PM

They can't afford to retire. Or they may like their jobs.

by Anonymousreply 20March 25, 2023 4:11 PM

We should legalize it, r17. America never will, because it means less tax money.

by Anonymousreply 21March 25, 2023 4:13 PM

You mean every Baby Boomer isn't a rich, fat, lazy entitled jerk who had it easy? No!

by Anonymousreply 22March 25, 2023 4:14 PM

[quote]It makes sense for people to retire around 60 as they are typically fighting all kinds of illnesses, health issues, and cognitive issues.

How old are you, 25? The majority of people age 60 are perfectly able to work and don't suffer from debilitating illness physical or mental. Your "old man" concept is dated.

by Anonymousreply 23March 25, 2023 4:14 PM

Depends on the job

Being a corporate lawyer at 70 is a very different game than being a construction worker at 70

by Anonymousreply 24March 25, 2023 4:16 PM

Thank god for DL, where we sensibly agree that one must have at least $2.5 million (in investments and real estate holdings) to retire comfortably and confidently. Unless you want to wind up in some trailer park in Flyoveria.

by Anonymousreply 25March 25, 2023 4:28 PM

I honestly cannot imagine a question that is more infuriating to the elders on this forum. Remember to ask yourself the same query when you reach 62 yo. You will understand then. Pipsqueak.

by Anonymousreply 26March 25, 2023 4:30 PM

[quote]Being a corporate lawyer at 70 is a very different game than being a construction worker at 70

Can you say, union, R24? That construction worker would have retired at 45.

by Anonymousreply 27March 25, 2023 4:32 PM

r8 Investigate Switzerland. They have suicide down. It is EXACTLY what I am going to do.

by Anonymousreply 28March 25, 2023 4:33 PM

Datalounge.

Where it's always 1987

by Anonymousreply 29March 25, 2023 4:33 PM

I retired early, no regrets. I don't know why people work after retirement age since there's SSA and Medicare unless they want to continue to buy a lot of stuff. It's just STUFF, people. Get out more.

by Anonymousreply 30March 25, 2023 4:37 PM

I'm an accountant and work full time during tax season, late January to mid-April. Very eagerly awaiting 4/18/23 so I can get off this merry go round and back to enjoying not having the Sunday blahs.

The only mitigating factor is I work for a real nice guy, young guy mid- to late 30s who treats me (and everybody else) like a king. He makes the job bearable.

by Anonymousreply 31March 25, 2023 4:49 PM

People today are afraid to retire because - they fear outliving their money and they fear not having anything to do.

THREAD CLOSED

by Anonymousreply 32March 25, 2023 4:50 PM

R30

[italic]You[/italic] need to get out more. SSA benefits often won't be enough to pay the rent. Medicare doesn't pay for everything. Many people don't have savings and it's not because they were living the high life. It's not like they're refusing to keep driving their 2020 Subaru because they want a new Mercedes. The STUFF they need is essential.

by Anonymousreply 33March 25, 2023 5:07 PM

R32

They keep working because they don't want to have to crawl back to a movie theater and beg for a job as a ticket taker.

The world is so sad and I'm not in great shape myself, but many of the responses in this thread are cracking me up. Thanks, DL!

by Anonymousreply 34March 25, 2023 5:11 PM

R27 Are you high? There are very, very few construction workers (or any workers) who are represented by unions. It's the great scandal of the last half of the 20th century - all of the structures of the economy that created a middle class and the most equitable distribution of wealth in human history were dismantled. Through lies told to "voters" who believed and supported (and still do) the lies: "trickle down" economics have had 50 years to work... and demonstrably, through all data sets, have proven that the inequality of wealth has exponentially increased.

E.g.: Collective bargaining, producing things like pensions, have been destroyed. In the 60s over 35% of Americans were represented by unions. That is barely 10% now.

The Wall St Journal just this week described how anyone retires if they don't have more than $1 million in savings. You can't. And still over 60% of American households have NO savings, and live paycheck to paycheck.

Thank you Reagan. Thank you oligarchs. Thank you Republican ostriches.

by Anonymousreply 35March 25, 2023 5:24 PM

"Unless you want to wind up in some trailer park in Flyoveria"

C'mon down!

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by Anonymousreply 36March 25, 2023 5:26 PM

And if you wonder where the money went that use to fund pensions - since 1960 American worker compensation has increased 12% CEO compensation has increased 948%,

by Anonymousreply 37March 25, 2023 5:46 PM

What R3 said.

by Anonymousreply 38March 25, 2023 5:47 PM

If you work from home and are still relatively healthy you can work way past traditional retirement age. I’m very old, past 67, work for a huge corporation and I never have to take sick days. I recently survived a reduction in force in my department. Last man standing, baby!

by Anonymousreply 39March 25, 2023 5:47 PM

There’s like one street in Arkansas that even looks that nice.

by Anonymousreply 40March 25, 2023 6:41 PM

Because the wealth of nations has filtered up to a few. Most people in the world cannot afford to retire. Retirement = death.

by Anonymousreply 41March 25, 2023 6:48 PM

A current work associate is 94. He lives in a neighborhood where the cheapest house goes for upwards of $3M. He described that place in a recent phone call (while we were doing the usual small-talk before the work started) as a 'dump'.

He said he would go crazy if he didn't have a full schedule of purposeful things to do.

by Anonymousreply 42March 25, 2023 6:51 PM

^ Fuck him.

by Anonymousreply 43March 25, 2023 6:54 PM

To all those who suggest suicide here... what a waste.

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by Anonymousreply 44March 25, 2023 6:55 PM

Retirement costs a lot of money.

My 85yo mother recently moved into a senior community. She has a 2 BR apartment and pays 8K a month for it. Meals and utilities are provided, and there are a number of daily activities. I'm a few years away from the retirement age myself, but there is no way I could afford 8K a month for a place to live. Social Security will provide me 2K/month and the Medicare Supplemental will take a chunk of that.

by Anonymousreply 45March 25, 2023 7:01 PM

A lot of people don't recognize the signs that it's time to retire.

For example, if hearing the following sound, when off the clock, raises your blood pressure it's time to retire.

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by Anonymousreply 46March 25, 2023 7:08 PM

[quote] If you work from home and are still relatively healthy you can work way past traditional retirement age. I’m very old, past 67, work for a huge corporation and I never have to take sick days. I recently survived a reduction in force in my department. Last man standing, baby!

R39, can you say why you haven't retired, yet?

by Anonymousreply 47March 25, 2023 7:23 PM

[quote]For example, if hearing the following sound, when off the clock, raises your blood pressure it's time to retire.

Agree, R46. I began to flinch every time my in-box made a noise, when my phone rang, et etc.

I just got sick of being at everyone's beck and call for decades on end. Because I worked for a Japanese-owned company, executives there had no qualms about contacting me during their "business hours" (a/k/a my "sleep hours"), and expecting a "prompt response."

I'd had enough. I had just turned 51. But it took me years--years!--to detox, unplug, unpack, try to regain some semblance of a life, move forward.

The only saving grace was I sold my soul for a price, and the price was enough to pay for a reasonably comfortable retirement. And I have a husband who stood by me through all of this crap.

I find it sad that at this point my career serves only as a cautionary tale. But at least it's that.

by Anonymousreply 48March 25, 2023 7:43 PM

^ You were very fortunate to get out so young. I will have to work until I fall over dead, never having experienced much beauty.

by Anonymousreply 49March 25, 2023 8:03 PM

People want to work until they die nowadays. Something about a well funded retirement being overrated?

by Anonymousreply 50March 25, 2023 8:08 PM

R47 I haven’t retired yet because I like having a routine of tasks to do each day. I don’t want to end up watching Netflix all day. Mostly though I like the money. I get good social security payments, added to my work salary and very good healthcare coverage at a low rate through my job. I like to take nice vacations and buy stuff. I like the money.

by Anonymousreply 51March 25, 2023 8:56 PM

R45, that's assisted living. Besides costing a bloody fortune, it's a sham - they take people who have no business in such an establishment, people with dementia and worse.

by Anonymousreply 52March 25, 2023 9:20 PM

Because if you retire and don't have money, your life is shit.

Some examples of people who're lucky thanks to family and public or subsidized housing to be getting by.

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by Anonymousreply 53March 25, 2023 10:54 PM

According to my accountant, I can afford to retire 3 years and 10 days after I die.

by Anonymousreply 54March 25, 2023 11:08 PM

Despite having had a variety of jobs, there has never been a job that I WANT to stay at. Maybe it’s a personality issue - I just have no understanding of someone who chooses to work a day longer than absolutely necessary. The only reason is money - or an ingrained terror of poverty, however unrealistic.

by Anonymousreply 55March 26, 2023 12:53 AM

The economy..duh

by Anonymousreply 56March 26, 2023 1:33 AM

3 days in office and Monday and Friday at home

by Anonymousreply 57March 28, 2023 3:45 AM

My deadbeat Boomer Dad who hasn't formally worked a job in 12 years loves gleefully reminding me that the retirement age keeps going up and up. Even when the other day I said to his face after the fiftieth time, "yeah, thanks, I already want to k!ll myself", he stared at me, shrugged, and went right back to it. Fucking prick, hope my Mom has life insurance.

by Anonymousreply 58April 2, 2023 8:53 PM

Is he holding out for a management position too?

by Anonymousreply 59April 2, 2023 9:09 PM

R58 do you live at home?

by Anonymousreply 60April 2, 2023 10:31 PM

R60 no, though I’m not sure why that matters or is relevant?

Though my job is entry level/sporadic hours for my age/education level (all I can get with my shitty resume), plus I do live with my grandmother as a live-in part-time career (we also have trained people come in to help sometimes), and we have dinner with my folks every week. So I’m not living the independent life someone my age should or would want to. Believe me, I’d prefer to have my own place and be making 6 or 7 figs, wouldn’t we all. Alas.

Still, even if I am a family disappointment, I don’t think that gives my broke father a right to twist the knife about how my generation seem to be fucked over in terms of finances and future career. Especially when it was his generation’s fault..

by Anonymousreply 61April 3, 2023 12:17 PM
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