Never really retiring

[TxZen]

I have an Uncle who is still working at 73. He doesn't do it for the money but because he gets great enjoyment out of working. He is sharp as a tack, physically in the best shape for a 73 year old I have ever met and just never thought about retiring. He works for General Electric and started working there only 15 years ago after he was laid of from his previous job. What do you all think of this concept?

There is also this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11229331/Keep-going-Judi-Dench-youre-an-inspiration.html

I think with my new career, as long as I avoid the upper management moves I made in the past, I could work forever. I am loving the new challenges, the ever changing, the new people I get to meet, the prospect of down the road. etc. I also never really thought about retirement as a certain age or fiscal number.

[Tammy]

Not having to work is key to making work fun.

Also for some people like me, work is great for a few years until I master it, then I need a new challenge. I can't imagine staying in one position for decades.

[SiouzQ.]

My dad is 87 years old and is still working almost full-time (his second career) at the University Of Washington School of Public Health. His first career was a metalurgical engineer. When he retired from that position in the '80's he went back to school and got a Master's degree in Public Health and has been working in that field ever since. He and his wife have a penchant for flying to exotic places for long weekends - Sydney, Tokyo, Hawaii (twice this year so far) to get frequent flier miles. I don't know how he keeps up that kind of pace but he's having fun and is still feeling very useful!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I know a lot of people that are resigned to it and say "retire *eye roll* I'll probably die on the job" (but realistically they would hit age discrimination in hiring long before that point probably). But it's an incredibly depressing thought no doubt.

I had relatives that worked into old age, they had fairly fulfilling work but that's not why they did it, nor was need of money. It was a moral conviction on the virtue of work (they didn't spend the extra money on themselves either- also against their convictions). I had relatives who lived and died strict moral convictions and what was most enjoyable for them just wasn't much of a factor in their decision making process period. I don't share their opinions on the virtue of werk though obviously. So when my dad retired at 65 they cursed him, but Dad was just glad to get out!

[TxZen]

Wow SiouzQ!!! I want to be your dad when I grow up!!! Awesome!!

[ApatheticNoMore]

I want to be retired when I grow up. It might happen :) Without pensions, without matching of any sort in my 401 really, pretty much ever (yea I know why people are resigned to dying on the job), so it would just be me.

[Zoe Girl]

I think there are some of the things I do that I would not want to retire from. I guess I am assuming my health will hold up which is great. The mediation that I am working into is something I could do forever. It is not a job that needs to be a full time job, so I can keep it up on the side forever. Plus the work I do with kids always has loads of room for people to do some work. There are many after school providers that are solo or small companies that keep on working, however the income is not that great. I could just keep going with the direct with kids stuff forever as long as I can make enough.

[Blackdog Lin]

These are wonderful stories - about people who truly enjoy working and feeling useful in the world. I applaud them.

But I am essentially lazy. I am also a serious introvert, which I only came to truly accept in my 50's. And as such, I LOVE retirement for the total lack of commitment, the lack of schedules, the lack of deadlines, the lack of PEOPLE in my days, the almost-total lack of stress. (I really do look 10 years younger than I did 3 years ago.)

I always had a strong work ethic. I was DEDICATED. I was there for the job when others weren't. But now my work ethic now only extends to me and mine and the projects I think important. And I think my way of thinking is just as good, just as relevant, as those that keep working into their 70's. Not to take away from what they're doing, but.....we're all different. Yes?

[kib]

Yes. I have started realizing that while I need a little more in my life, it might be fun to spiff up flea market furniture and have a booth sale every two months or some other silly thing, I really don't want another job. While I love being knee deep in some experiment of my own making, I don't like having to show up every day, or week, whether I feel like it or not. I like the fact that while I'm testing this no shampoo fiasco, I don't Have to show my face in public for a day, there's nothing that can't wait a few more hours if I wish to make it so. I admire people who enjoy being busy out there in the world, but I'm not one of them.

[SteveinMN]

Lin, I could have written much of your post. I love being retired for the reasons you mentioned and it's had an impact on the success of my photography business. I had a strong work ethic, too, but that pretty much got kicked out of me by the end as I realized that politics and good ol' boys and girls had more to do with raises and promotions at work than merit did. It wasn't the people who worked hard or smart who got ahead. Sad.

I figure there are lots of kinds of work. I'm the househusband. When DW retires, that will change some. But I'm also an active volunteer with a few organizations, and that's work, too, though it's work of my choice and much more rewarding than corporate life was. I hope to be doing the work I want to do for decades to come.

[iris lilies]

DH could work at this job forever. He can scale it down and work part time, work just for a few customers, work just on little jobs or work only on jobs that he likes in great weather, skipping all of the odious.

Me--not so much, I'm more hard on/off. Although I've thought about

1) Doing simple yard maintenance, especially the places that do not need mowing. We have lots of small yards in my neighborhood with ornamental plantings and no grass
2) DH and I fixing up alley finds and selling them. I think we'll do that anyway, and donate to the Park Conservancy sale of antique and vintage items

But then, there are so many things I want to do creatively, like paint and make flower arrangements, and Park Conservancy can be my outlet to get rid of the things I make.

[Float On]

My dad is pretty inspiring. At 75 he built a log cabin by hand because "I just always wanted to and thought I better get started". He has retired twice over the years and currently co-owns a small timber management company. His partner is in his late 60's. They are able to hire a couple of the young Amish men and keep them working through the winter to help them with the bids they win through out the north central part of the state. It's hard work out in the middle of huge plots of woods but he loves staying active and fit and improving the forests.

[goldensmom]

I used to have 2 jobs. I retired from my paying job of 30 years and now I just have 1 - 24 hr/day, non-paying job as a housewife and homekeeper and I love it.

[awakenedsoul]

Oh, I love Judi Dench! Carol Channing and Tommy Tune just did a show together in San Francisco. She's in her nineties, and he's in his seventies. I wish I'd seen it. I worked with both of them for many years. I love the old timers. It's so inspiring to be around them. Passion for your work is a wonderful thing. I love working in my home, but I still don't ever miss an audition. If I can get back into a musical at age 50, I will definitely do it! Practicing music every day keeps me motivated, too. The training, rehearsals, and auditions are all just as exciting now as when I was young...

[Float On]

I used to have 2 jobs. I retired from my paying job of 30 years and now I just have 1 - 24 hr/day, non-paying job as a housewife and homekeeper and I love it.

I think I went back to work for a break from the full demands of the homekeeper/mom/homeschool teacher role I had. As my MIL says...."those are the forgotten years"....they did go by in a blur.;)

[Teacher Terry]

I retired from a government job because I was sick of many things that Steve mentions. However, 6 months into it I got bored. I now do consulting work in my previous field and also teach an online university course. It is just the right amount of work for me. Usually about 10-15 hours a week depending. I also volunteer with the Humane Society & take people to their doc appointments, etc. For me this has been the right balance. I am so happy not to be doing the daily grind. I have plenty of time to take my big dog for an hour walk in the middle of the day when the sun is shining instead of in the cold, dark night. I often work in my pajamas. No rushing when I get up in the am & usually no setting an alarm clock. I have lost weight & really do not have much stress.

[frugal-one]

Wow SiouzQ!!! I want to be your dad when I grow up!!! Awesome!!

Not me. Find it totally sad that w*o*r*k* is his motivation for living. There are so many other awesome reasons for being alive!

[SiouzQ.]

I don't think that it is his motivation for living at all. I really think that he is quite happy to putter around doing statistical charts (or whatever he does at work). He is an introvert, and quite possibly mild Aspergers (he,at age 80-something, had even said this about himself. He is kind of an odd duck). But he loves his numbers, and I think he needs the routine of getting up to be someplace. He is still fairly healthy and active for his age. His wife (second one), is about twenty years younger and loves to work too. I think they complement each other quite nicely, and us kids don't really have to worry about him at this point because his wife is a nurse and her specialty is gerontology and hospice care. He is in good hands with her. But I am also keenly aware that he may not be around in ten years, even though he is in good health now. Eighty-seven is pretty old...

[Zoe Girl]

SiouxQ I think I have seen that attitude towards work with many people and I love it. My mom tried to stay in her field and take low hour/low pay jobs again and no one would hire her because she had been the boss too long. However she does other things now and I think my parents would drive each other nuts if they didn't have their small jobs. They are in great health, get to go on trips they want, and also get some interaction with their own friends through their small jobs. I would always keep working for one reason, I am an introvert with not a lot of ways that I make friends. Sometimes the only social interactions I get are around work. For all my griping I really love getting into a project with a like minded person and making it happen. Trying to create the same thing (and I have tried) outside a work setting is really daunting.

[ToomuchStuff]

There was a statistic years ago, that I don't know if it was valid or not. It was a certain percentage of people who died, within 2 years of retirement, and part of it was lack of things to do. I talked to a friend who was 70 around that birthday, as he ran into some old classmates who said he looked really fit and what did he do (golf, or tennis, was their question). He owns his own machine shop and still works, at his schedule and they asked him if he was going to retire. He asked why. He still enjoys what he does, has built yet another hot rod, and an experimental plane that he loves flying in. (tried to get me to build one)
I expect to work until my death, in part because savings for retirement wasn't even a speck on the radar starting out (didn't expect to live this long, then nearly became homeless once). I just hope I find something I enjoy as much as him.
On the other side, I knew lots of those who kept working when they retired, and some opened their own businesses. Others, like my father, when they retired, they found they were less busy when they worked (between wife's to do list, kids and grandkids, thinking they have all this time off, etc) and he went back to work a couple of times. Now he just putters around.

[Gardenarian]

I was planning on retiring this year, but there was a job that looked intriguing in our new town...so I'll be working a while longer. My hours at work keep getting shorter (a good thing) but I guess I still need that feeling that I'm contributing something.

I have a fear that if I stop working to devote myself to all the things I imagine and dream about, I will fail. Which is pretty dumb, because by not giving them a chance, I'm failing for sure. The new job will give me a lot more time for writing and other creative endeavors - I hope I put it to good use. But I know I will not really be invested in my own creativity until I retire from the system entirely.

[nswef]

But Gardenarian, By working less hours you are easing into getting out of the work force. That could be good. You might use your free hours to do the writing you want to do. You could make a list of what you "dream and imagine" as your first bit of writing, then figure out a way to make it happen even now. How is the new neighborhood? Are you settled into the house yet? Have you decided to paint?

[Teacher Terry]

I think each person will find that path which is right for them in regard to balancing work vs free time once retired or semi-retired, etc. Some people like my Mom had so many volunteer, hobbies & other activities that she loved that she had no time for work. Others like me need some kind of work. I came to my career late in life due to raising kids, going to college later in life so I am probably just not sick of working yet. The sad thing is when people retire & then just sit around. It is these people that die young.

[Spartana]

I think each person will find that path which is right for them in regard to balancing work vs free time once retired or semi-retired, etc. Some people like my Mom had so many volunteer, hobbies & other activities that she loved that she had no time for work. Others like me need some kind of work. I came to my career late in life due to raising kids, going to college later in life so I am probably just not sick of working yet. The sad thing is when people retire & then just sit around. It is these people that die young.
I agree with this. I've been retired a fairly long time now and really haven't had much free time at all to sit around and wait to die :-)! I actually haven't even had time to finish an entire book in...well at least 10 years. Maybe I'll be able to read once I retire from early retirement :-)! That's the plan of course - to have a more relaxed retirement when I am too old to do the more physical things I enjoy doing now - but will see what happens when I actually get there. But for now there seems to be an endless amount of things I'm interested in doing/seeing/trying, as well as improving and challenging myself at the current things I do.