Why are people obsessed with putting $$ in retirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

That's much harder to accomplish than you think.

I'm a hospice worker and you would be surprised at the incredible will humans have to live. Intentionally killing yourself in the absence of depression is nearly impossible.

I'm the PP who was initially asking about practical means of avoiding end-of-life medical care.

I don't actually want to kill myself, but I do really want to be able to refuse medical care and have something in place before I end up with dementia or something and am not considered to be able to make such decisions. I don't want to blow hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars on medical bills to extend my life another six months. Any advice on avoiding this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My boss is 67 yrs old. Nobody wants him to retire because of the knowledge and expertise he brings to the table.
He is very well respected in our industry. He will retire when he decides to retire.

+1. I work as an attorney for a wonderful boss who's in his 70's. He is invaluable to the corporation and everyone respects him so much. He's also happy to work evenings and weekends when needed, to avoid having to asking those of us with young kids to have to do so.

I cringe when younger employees ask him (with some frequency) "when are you going to retire." Note to self -- that is a rude question to ask someone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My boss is 67 yrs old. Nobody wants him to retire because of the knowledge and expertise he brings to the table.
He is very well respected in our industry. He will retire when he decides to retire.

+1. I work as an attorney for a wonderful boss who's in his 70's. He is invaluable to the corporation and everyone respects him so much. He's also happy to work evenings and weekends when needed, to avoid having to asking those of us with young kids to have to do so.

I cringe when younger employees ask him (with some frequency) "when are you going to retire." Note to self -- that is a rude question to ask someone.

Extremely selfish of that 70 year old who has more than enough money he could ever spend in his life to hog a job that a millennial with a family needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I'm a NP and I wouldn't want to live like that. My grandparents had full active lives and passed away in their late 80s after a few weeks of suffering. I refuse to spend $$$$ to be in a bed with a feeding tube down my throat and no mental cognition. This is my idea of hell.

But practically, how would you pull something like this off?

It sounds like I'm joking, but I'm not. I don't really want all of my savings to be blown in my last year(s) on treatments I don't want, but I'm not really going to expect my children or spouse to smother me with a pillow. A living will is fine, but don't those only apply if I'm unconscious?

overdose on pills.

That's much harder to accomplish than you think.

I'm a hospice worker and you would be surprised at the incredible will humans have to live. Intentionally killing yourself in the absence of depression is nearly impossible.

Except that a hospice drug regimen typically includes antidepressants. Start with not starting on those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My boss is 67 yrs old. Nobody wants him to retire because of the knowledge and expertise he brings to the table.
He is very well respected in our industry. He will retire when he decides to retire.

+1. I work as an attorney for a wonderful boss who's in his 70's. He is invaluable to the corporation and everyone respects him so much. He's also happy to work evenings and weekends when needed, to avoid having to asking those of us with young kids to have to do so.

I cringe when younger employees ask him (with some frequency) "when are you going to retire." Note to self -- that is a rude question to ask someone.

Extremely selfish of that 70 year old who has more than enough money he could ever spend in his life to hog a job that a millennial with a family needs.

And it is this attitude that will keep you an underachieving whiney sniveling loser your entire pathetic life.

-a millennial

[Anonymous]

how dumb are you OP? the average cost of a nursing home is 6k/month. Unless you qaulify for medicaid and then you can live in some crap hole room with two roomates and be left to fend for yourself in a medicaid facility.
And 6k is cheap. we priced a bunch for my FIl and he is in "independent" living place and shelling out $8500/month. Memory care facilities can run you 10-15k/month.
Good luck OP, hopefully you wont be a burden on your kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most of you posters clearly have not had any family members with dementia or Alzheimer’s. The cost would blow your mind. Especially because frequently these people are otherwise physically healthy.

Yes. And if you don't have money, your options are horrendous. Just spend Christmas visiting my husbands grandma. I commented to my teens that Id rather someone smother me with a pillow. I wasn't being dramatic. Its not hard to see that awful abuses muse be going on when the families are not around.

I'm a NP and I wouldn't want to live like that. My grandparents had full active lives and passed away in their late 80s after a few weeks of suffering. I refuse to spend $$$$ to be in a bed with a feeding tube down my throat and no mental cognition. This is my idea of hell.

alzheimers doesn't require a feeding tube but can require round the clock care for a decade. Memory care facilities can run you 10-15k/month.

[Anonymous]

Thank you to the hospice PP. That's great food for thought.

But what about dementia and ALZ patients? Can there be a directive for assisted suicide after a certain threshold is reached?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people here obsessed about saving for retirement?
I do save for the future but not aggressively. I do not max my 401k.
I am not concerned about retirement because I plan to work well into my 70s possibly 80s if still alive.

Retirement is for blue collar workers and poor people. These blue collar jobs are often unpleasant, they take a toll on the body and require a
physical fitness that workers no longer have as they age. It makes perfect sense to call it quit and retire.

White collar don't often face the same situation. They even get wiser and better with age. Why retire if you love what you are doing?

Most successful people I know are not thinking about retiring. You find a lot of old men and women at the top of the business, corporate and
political pyramid in our society. They are still working.

I know my perspective might be unique here. I'm a research scientist. Maybe I'm a crazy scientist?

I am also a research scientist. I enjoy what I do. The pace can be frantic at times. And I absolutely plan to retire. Why? Well, right now, the work I do -- the research -- is geared to what others want/need. It is very applied. I am taking my science and building algorithms that with work within the customers constraints. That is what I have to do to get paid. I would like to do some more basic research (6.1 or 6.2 instead of 6.4 in terms of DoD funding guidelines). But, I know I can not get paid what I am making to do that.

I am currently 55 and have just over 1 mil in my 401K. I am looking to work to at least when my child finishes college, in 6 years. I figure I should have closer to 2 mil; my house will be paid for and worth close to 800K. Sell it, move to an area where I can continue working (central Florida) at a lower level of effort (and lower salary) to cover expenses while transitioning to retirement. Full retirement will begin when Medicare is available.

You’ll have to be putting away at lest $75k/year (which is over the 401k limit) and hope for at least 6% per year to go from 1 million to 2 million in 6 years. Last year was great but I’m negative YTD so 6% is pretty optimistic

Historically, the market doubles about every 8 to 9 years. I am over a million now.

Economist here. I would say there is close to zero chance of the market doubling in the next 8 to 9 years...

+1 I think the market has an excellent chance of doubling in the next 8-9 years..... but only after it halves itself first

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to the hospice PP. That's great food for thought.

But what about dementia and ALZ patients? Can there be a directive for assisted suicide after a certain threshold is reached?

Assisted suicide is only legal in maybe a half dozen states. Additionally you must have a terminal illness and a 6 month prognosis. It is a long expensive March to get there.

You can have a medical directive that doesn't allow for any treatment whatsoever, but that's not a very pleasant way to die

Again, trivialize suicide and thinking that's an easy and inexpensive choice, iis foolish and is not a solid retirement plan. AZ is the absolute worst. By the time it's time to throw in the towel, you'l wont be capable of putting together a plan. Your family will be left with a mess. I personally am planning to be able to have my affairs in order. I don't want my family to have to makes these decisions or to see that my only options are limited to Medicaid facilities.

We'd all love to die in our sleep, old and coherent, living life to the fullest, but we don't get to choose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone puts wages into retirement. Some jobs come with automatic benefits as soon as your time is in. Law enforcement is one of these jobs, at least, it is in Virginia. You can retire at 50 with extra for hazardous duty pay or you can work longer and do a large plop along with the haz pay.

This is a huge problem that will have to be corrected. It was fine when lifespans were shorter; the taxpayers do not want to pay for retirement that, in many instances, is as long as or longer than the time public employees worked.

Speak for yourself. I am okay with paying for their retirement benefits. They put their lives on the line, I think they deserve it.

It is not a sustainable financial model, regardless of the underlying profession. That's why defined benefit plans are all but extinct in the private sector. Also, I reject the idea that certain types of public employees (but not others?) are entitled to 30+ year fully funded retirements.

You just keep borrowing from next gen. Let them pay for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DH and I are 59&61. We are semi-retired (both work part time). I am so glad we saved. we are having the time of our lives, traveling, exercising daily, eating well, and enjoying no longer being wage slaves. We have never been healthier. I am so glad we can spend this half our our lives doing exactly what we want to do. Our kids are grown and life is good! I would not want to be working at this point. It really starts to wear you down after decades of running in the hamster wheel.

When did you retire? Was it hard to pull the plugs?

They rent retired. They both work part time.
I am a nurse and always worked part time only. I wouldn't call myself retired. That is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

They aren't retired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to the hospice PP. That's great food for thought.

But what about dementia and ALZ patients? Can there be a directive for assisted suicide after a certain threshold is reached?

Assisted suicide is only legal in maybe a half dozen states. Additionally you must have a terminal illness and a 6 month prognosis. It is a long expensive March to get there.

You can have a medical directive that doesn't allow for any treatment whatsoever, but that's not a very pleasant way to die

Again, trivialize suicide and thinking that's an easy and inexpensive choice, iis foolish and is not a solid retirement plan. AZ is the absolute worst. By the time it's time to throw in the towel, you'l wont be capable of putting together a plan. Your family will be left with a mess. I personally am planning to be able to have my affairs in order. I don't want my family to have to makes these decisions or to see that my only options are limited to Medicaid facilities.

We'd all love to die in our sleep, old and coherent, living life to the fullest, but we don't get to choose.

My grandmother figured out how to do it long time ago, she traveled for fun and visiting family for a year before her suicide. She absolutely didn't want any assistance or be dependent on others or a cocktail of medications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you to the hospice PP. That's great food for thought.

But what about dementia and ALZ patients? Can there be a directive for assisted suicide after a certain threshold is reached?

Assisted suicide is only legal in maybe a half dozen states. Additionally you must have a terminal illness and a 6 month prognosis. It is a long expensive March to get there.

You can have a medical directive that doesn't allow for any treatment whatsoever, but that's not a very pleasant way to die

Again, trivialize suicide and thinking that's an easy and inexpensive choice, iis foolish and is not a solid retirement plan. AZ is the absolute worst. By the time it's time to throw in the towel, you'l wont be capable of putting together a plan. Your family will be left with a mess. I personally am planning to be able to have my affairs in order. I don't want my family to have to makes these decisions or to see that my only options are limited to Medicaid facilities.

We'd all love to die in our sleep, old and coherent, living life to the fullest, but we don't get to choose.

My grandmother figured out how to do it long time ago, she traveled for fun and visiting family for a year before her suicide. She absolutely didn't want any assistance or be dependent on others or a cocktail of medications.

Your grandmother is an outlier. I'm also in geriatrics (oncology) and though it sounds appealing to. Healthy person, suicide is not something most people can go through with or even consider. The statistics on suicide by terminally ill people are very very low. Especially healthy ones that kill themselves today, but were traveling yesterday.