Anonymous wrote:I look at dh parents who retired in 60s and then they literally did NOTHING. they just wake up (early) and sit in their house and sometimes make up random errands. It's so weird to me. As long as I could contribute to the world, I want to be doing 'something'. Plus until i get to a certain income level i would feel bad to sit around when i could be making more $$ to help my kids as inflation skyrockets around us.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I will never be able to afford to retire.
I'm worried this, too. I got started saving for retirement really late, haven't saved nearly enough (and not by some crazy DCUM standard).
My side hustle is writing fiction. If that ever brought in any real money I could see gladly doing it for the rest of my life. But I'm worried that I will have to have a real job forever to keep a roof over my head.
Anonymous wrote:What does this mean? I understand liking to work, but at some point you aren’t going to be as productive or efficient right?
Anonymous wrote:I will never be able to afford to retire.
Anonymous wrote:Because they own their own business and/oe have no hobbies.
Anonymous wrote:I'm in a very specific niche of academia where no one ever teaches full time. The typical career path for people at the top of the field is to do roughly 80% field work and 20% teaching at a top program (T10, T20 etc isn't really relevant because only a handful of universities offer the subject, but there are a couple of known top programs where a lot end up resting on their laurels).
As people age, they tend to do less field work, and what work they "do" tends to be taken over by a growing army of assistants as you gain prestige, to the point where it's kind of a known secret that once you hit a certain age/status, your assistants are carrying most of the weight. At that point you hit professor emeritus status somewhere cushy and do a lot of speaking engagements until you can't string a sentence together anymore.
So, certainly not working full steam at 100%, but also not fully retired.
People are able to fully retire, but the field attracts the "my work is my life" types, which means a lot of people don't want to, and a lot of people also sacrificed having a family/hobbies/a shred of a personality, so this is all they have to cling onto.
Anonymous wrote:I am on a second career and really enjoy it. Not particularly high pressure and plenty of PTO. I have no real hobbies and will probably continue to work not because I have to financially, but it gives me purpose, I enjoy the people and when I want to travel or do things, I have plenty of sick/vacation days to take.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:My DH says this and hates his job. Why do you think people say this because they like their job? Maybe they fear they will never save enough or maybe realize they do not have enough to retire? 1%ers have more than $10M saved for retirement. (It may be $5M.)
OP - there were people saying this in another thread on money and retirement and they had plenty saved up to retire.
people say that but i often wonder whether they really know what's up.
At the current rate, my parents will spend $6m on care for my mom if she lives another 20 years.
That's not even counting care for my dad if he needs it, and them just being alive.
general tax and inheritance tax will eat a huge amount of the rest. So unless you have a $20m+ nest egg you can't count on being able to leave your kids much, which is super important to me. I feel like i will never be able to retire based on their experience.
How?? What kind of care does your mom require for 20 years?
The average long term care stay is less than two years.
Not the PP but my parents were responsible children of the Depression and lived very modest, thoughtful lives. They each retired at 65 with a solid financial plan. Combined, they had about 17 years of long term care that, of course, burned through every penny they had saved plus some from us.
I'm just a wage slave and don't even have my parents level of resources and have no plans for retirement as I hit my early 60s.
Like trips to Europe and playing golf, a "comfortable retirement" is for other people.
What's the point of even saving if it's all used for long-term care? Might as well be broke and go on Medicaid.
Easy to say when you're young. You need to see what many Medicaid facilities are like. It's like jail for old-people. No personal agency. Surrounded by the smell of ur*ne. Nicer ones frequently aren't much better, but it is all very much $$$ dependent.