Retirement Reality

[Midpack]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I know for a fact that I will die on February 14, 2069, at the age of 110, when I am shot by the jealous husband of my 28 year old paramour. My last $50 will have been spent on the bottle of Veuve Clicquot that we drank before we hopped into bed.

Better buy the Veuve now, it won't be $50 in 2069 (closer to $250)...

 

[kcowan]

My dad died at 69 just nine months after retiring to a place where he planned to golf everyday. One reason I am pulling the plug at 57 this June.

My Mom died when my Dad was 65. She was 57 and taken by breast cancer. My Dad lived for 30 more years alone.

I decided to retire at 55 but ended up working until 60 to fund my divorce. I don't worry about statistics. We should be OK.

 

[Moneygrubber]

I don't know about the rest of you guys, but I know for a fact that I will die on February 14, 2069, at the age of 110, when I am shot by the jealous husband of my 28 year old paramour. My last $50 will have been spent on the bottle of Veuve Clicquot that we drank before we hopped into bed.

Lol!


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Moneygrubber]

A Psalm of Life

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,— act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.

My dad died at 69 just nine months after retiring to a place where he planned to golf everyday. One reason I am pulling the plug at 57 this June.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

Yup, me at 55, bernstein and kictes be dammed!



Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Moneygrubber]

Yet another flawed assumption, one of many that the OP has made in this thread, that those of us who use statistics exclusively use stats.

So what do you use?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Moneygrubber]

This has been a great conversation, we are a different generation, my parents and in laws has modest jobs, modest pensions are in their early 90's and know nothing of withdrawal rates, kitces, berstein or portfolio success rates, they do not eat cat food and are perfectly happy living their lives, reality for some.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Big_Hitter]

This has been a great conversation, we are a different generation, my parents and in laws has modest jobs, modest pensions are in their early 90's and know nothing of withdrawal rates, kitces, berstein or portfolio success rates, they do not eat cat food and are perfectly happy living their lives, reality for some.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

sounds like my parents - DB pensions are awesome, takes away a lot of the worry

 

[kaudrey]

We expect to live into our 90's with a life that we can enjoy our hard earned savings, it is my hope we all achieve this goal. Cheers!

Not all of us do, really. We PLAN to live to 90 or 95, but I don't necessarily expect it. And I'm not sure I want it.

I am at the age where the generation before me is in their 70s and 80s. My parents are 78, and due to my mother's health, they don't travel anymore, and although my dad has lots of hobbies, my mother can mostly only do things around the house.

My 73-year old aunt is dealing with her 86-year-old husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's and poor physical health. He has almost 24-hour care, and she is stressed out and miserable.

My grandmother spent almost 14 years in a nursing home with Alzheimers, most of it on Medicaid. My dad's parents lived well until mid-80s and died fairly quickly. I hope I end up like them.

I would LIKE to have "good spending" years until 75, and a more quiet, home-bound life for some time after that. Having said that, we lost my MIL in April at the age of 74 to stomach cancer. I'll PLAN for an outcome that I HOPE will happen in some form, but I don't PREDICT anything.

 

[RunningBum]

So what do you use?


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

You go first.

 

[Moneygrubber]

You go first.

Lol


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[Teacher Terry]

My Mom died at almost 90 and all her savings was gone but she was still fine because she had DB pension & SS. She lived below her means just fine and took all her vacations when she was younger figuring that if she got that old she would not want to travel anymore. She saved just enough for the funeral she wanted. Only person I know that wrote her own obituary, planned her own funeral right down to asking certain people to sing certain songs, etc. She was a remarkable woman!

 

[Al in Ohio]

Anyone else check obituaries? Funny thing I have found, almost half the men die in their sixties after barely 5-10 years of retirement.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[kcowan]

Maybe because it is the west coast but most live well into their 80s...our famous orchestra leader just died at 97, an exception for sure but he did not retire...

 

[RunningBum]

Anyone else check obituaries? Funny thing I have found, almost half the men die in their sixties after barely 5-10 years of retirement.

I will say that my method is not based on a few random obituary observations. That's using statistics too, btw, only with a very small sample size.

 

[aggie76]

Anyone else check obituaries? Funny thing I have found, almost half the men die in their sixties after barely 5-10 years of retirement.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

A very good friend who is a pretty well known wealth manager who specializes in retired and near retired told me this a few years ago:

After working with HUNDREDS of retired folks over the years I can safely say to my newly minted 60 year olds....Guys..when you turn 60 you have ABOUT 10 maybe 15 years left that you can do all those things on your list that you have talked about for 20 years. Sure ..some will only have 5, some will be a robust 85 BUT the vast majority of the 60 and beyonds that I have worked with and known for decades of experience have only had about 10 years to git er done. Once you hit your 70's, especially around 75, you just don't have the energy or the desire to take that trip to Upper Outer Inner Lower Slobovia..you just don't have the energy or desire to see every major league ball park...on and on...

I watched my parents and all of my aunts and uncles plus their friends go thru the retirement years ( they are now all gone). Some died early but a lot lived till their 90's BUT virtually none of them did a lot of the type of activity that we all have on our lists ( see $$$$) much past their mid 70's.
My "planning" is all based on hitting it hard for the next 10 years and then let nature and the finances take its course.

 

[38Chevy454]

There are many people that will not retire and then die soon, they will keep working

 

[HadEnuff]

Anyone else check obituaries? Funny thing I have found, almost half the men die in their sixties after barely 5-10 years of retirement.


Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

a dearly departed golfing buddy of mine once told me that if he could just make it to 115 he'd be fine, because he never saw any of those folks in the obits.

He also once told me "you know, it's bad luck to be superstitious"...

Not for nothing, but, he died young after a very brief retirement... sucky.

 

[Big_Hitter]

about 10 years to git er done. Once you hit your 70's, especially around 75, you just don't have the energy or the desire to take that trip to Upper Outer Inner Lower Slobovia..you just don't have the energy or desire to see every major league ball park...on and on...

or stand up all game at Kyle Field?

 

[Silver]

British actor Alan Rickman just died at age 69. I thought he was excellent in "Die Hard", but also thought he was great as the pediatric cardiac surgeon Dr. Alfred Blalock in "Something the Lord Made". (As a peds nurse my entire career I have cared for many kids after they had Blalock procedures.)

Anyhow....another death at age 69 this week joining David Bowie.

I think I'll take myself out shopping today......

 

[Big_Hitter]

things happen in 3s - who's next?

 

[hnzw_rui]

Guys..when you turn 60 you have ABOUT 10 maybe 15 years left that you can do all those things on your list that you have talked about for 20 years. Sure ..some will only have 5, some will be a robust 85 BUT the vast majority of the 60 and beyonds that I have worked with and known for decades of experience have only had about 10 years to git er done. Once you hit your 70's, especially around 75, you just don't have the energy or the desire to take that trip to Upper Outer Inner Lower Slobovia..you just don't have the energy or desire to see every major league ball park...on and on...

Honestly, you usually don't have the same energy in your 50s or 60s as you do during your 20s through 40s. Also, kids age, etc. Balance is key.

 

[Danmar]

when you turn 60 you have ABOUT 10 maybe 15 years left that you can do all those things on your list that you have talked about for 20 years. Sure ..some will only have 5, some will be a robust 85 BUT the vast majority of the 60 and beyonds that I have worked with and known for decades of experience have only had about 10 years to git er done. Once you hit your 70's, especially around 75, you just don't have the energy or the desire to take that trip to Upper Outer Inner Lower Slobovia..you just don't have the energy or desire to see every major league ball park...on and on...
.

I have no doubt this is true. However, I am 65 and very fit. Been retired almost ten years. Majority of our travel is currently biking trips where my wife and I can keep up with people much younger than we are. But time will eventually take its toll. I figure at some point we will give up the bike trips and start doing cruises instead. Hope to get another 10 years of biking trips assuming nothing serious health wise happens.

Avoiding obesity and inactivity is something retirees should really work on to get the most out of their retirement. Mobility is key. One of the couples we bike with are in their mid seventies and can also keep up. They work very hard at keeping fit and it has really paid off for them.

 

[photoguy]

Avoiding obesity and inactivity is something retirees should really work on to get the most out of their retirement. Mobility is key. One of the couples we bike with are in their mid seventies and can also keep up. They work very hard at keeping fit and it has really paid off for them.

+1

Go to any mountain in east asia and you will see massive numbers of old people walking up the trails. My dad hikes up Namsan mountain in Seoul 2x a week and he is nearing 80. In his early 70s he was hard to keep up with in the metro as he would dart around.

 

[hesperus]

I sincerely believe that keeping ones legs strong and healthy is one of the most important things one can do moving into older age. I've seen too many elderly people with weakening legs that directly leads to a decline in activity, and consequently a decline in health and fitness. One needs a strong foundation to build on and stay active.

For me, I train my legs year round with a combination of biking, running, hiking, skiing, and weight training. Of course, my DW and live in a mountain town, so we have unlimited opportunity for mountain sports, so strong legs (and lungs) are a must. The demographics of our community are also a motivator - the majority of people who choose to live here are dedicated outdoor enthusiasts and athletes. It keeps the pressure on

 

[Big_Hitter]

I sincerely believe that keeping ones legs strong and healthy is one of the most important things one can do moving into older age.

+1 - there is an old dude (75?) that works out every morning at the club and he does 90% legs and core