Retirement Reality

[Danmar]

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

Yes for sure. My mother (now 90) lost the use of her legs through inactivity and obesity. Sits in her chair all day long watching TV while getting wheeled down to her meals. Pretty bad. Couch potato may be a good investment strategy but it's an awful retirement strategy.

We also live in a mountain town (Canmore Alberta about 5,000 ft) and here activity is the norm even for older people. We see people biking/running/hiking/skiing all the time. You don't necessarily have to be an athlete, just keep your legs strong so you can get around.

 

[RunningBum]

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.

The last person I rode the ski lift with this morning was a friend around 84 years old, give or take a year or two. Didn't see him last year because of the lingering effect of Lyme's Disease, but he's bounced back. He took 3 big multi-week international trips this year. As of two years ago he was still running beagles. And note that I mentioned he was skiing today, keeping up with me just fine.

My 95 year old friend appears to have given up on skiing. He wasn't able to make it out last year either, but was a frequent skier at 93.

Some aren't quite so active. My parents cut out traveling and some activities in their mid-70s, but Dad is somewhat concerned about finances as Mom may need managed care in a few years, which will increase their expenses.

I've got lots more anecdotal evidence if that's where we're going.

 

[LARS]

Yes for sure. My mother (now 90) lost the use of her legs through inactivity and obesity. Sits in her chair all day long watching TV while getting wheeled down to her meals. Pretty bad. Couch potato may be a good investment strategy but it's an awful retirement strategy.



We also live in a mountain town (Canmore Alberta about 5,000 ft) and here activity is the norm even for older people. We see people biking/running/hiking/skiing all the time. You don't necessarily have to be an athlete, just keep your legs strong so you can get around.

Off topic, but love Canmore. Spent a winter there (renting) and skied Lake Louise all winter. Gorgeous part of the world. Top ten drive: Icefields Parkway.


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[Moneygrubber]

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!

God Bless her.


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[Moneygrubber]

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.

Thanks for the REALITY check...


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[Mulligan]

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.

I have made an interesting observation about myself. I would consider
myself in good shape at 51. I work out frequently, played 18 holes, then went on a 2 hour walk afterwards today. So energy level is still there. The curious problem is my desire level to do a bunch of things. I still travel some but only about 5 real trips a year with 3 of them Vegas jaunts.... I have become a relative home body. I used to even have season NHL tickets and now prefer to stay home and watch it instead of "fight the crowds". Very odd at this point in my life with so much time and more money than I have ever had, I choose and want to do less. Rounds of golf when weather allows with retired older friends, go out once a week with GF on the town, a weekly beer met up with friends, follow the market and my sports bets and that is most of it....So much for an engaging, inspiring and intellectual retirement...I really enjoy doing nothing....Maybe it will change who knows...


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[RunningBum]

I have made an interesting observation about myself. I would consider
myself in good shape at 51. I work out frequently, played 18 holes, then went on a 2 hour walk afterwards today. So energy level is still there. The curious problem is my desire level to do a bunch of things. I still travel some but only about 5 real trips a year with 3 of them Vegas jaunts.... I have become a relative home body. I used to even have season NHL tickets and now prefer to stay home and watch it instead of "fight the crowds". Very odd at this point in my life with so much time and more money than I have ever had, I choose and want to do less. Rounds of golf when weather allows with retired older friends, go out once a week with GF on the town, a weekly beer met up with friends, follow the market and my sports bets and that is most of it....So much for an engaging, inspiring and intellectual retirement...I really enjoy doing nothing....Maybe it will change who knows...

Sounds like a great life to me. I'm not too far off outside of the details. I don't need to do things just to keep me busy. People ask what I do, living alone on a mountain, and whether I get bored. I've got some answers for what I do but not enough to fill the time to their satisfaction, but I don't get bored or want for more.

 

[Mulligan]

Sounds like a great life to me. I'm not too far off outside of the details. I don't need to do things just to keep me busy. People ask what I do, living alone on a mountain, and whether I get bored. I've got some answers for what I do but not enough to fill the time to their satisfaction, but I don't get bored or want for more.

You bring up the ultimate cause or "problem" with the word bored. My land, in my 20s and 30s, I better have the weekend planned with activities or I would be bored quickly. It appears to me I have lost the ability to be "bored". Even if I am doing nothing, I am not bored. Sounds odd, but that is the way it is. And like you, I do not mind my alone time. And I get plenty of it in the winter and with GF still working full time.


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[NW-Bound]

...We also live in a mountain town (Canmore Alberta about 5,000 ft) and here activity is the norm even for older people. We see people biking/running/hiking/skiing all the time. You don't necessarily have to be an athlete, just keep your legs strong so you can get around.

I have read that Colorado residents are among the most active in the US. Also, the Swiss are also very active with outdoor activities (they do not go to gym).

Why is it that people in hilly or mountainous country have this propensity to be more active outdoor? Perhaps in hot and humid climate, it is more comfortable to just lay in a hammock, sipping beer or margarita?

 

[RunningBum]

I have read that Colorado residents are among the most active in the US. Also, the Swiss are also very active with outdoor activities (they do not go to gym).

Why is it that people in hilly or mountainous country have this propensity to be more active outdoor? Perhaps in hot and humid climate, it is more comfortable to just lay in a hammock, sipping beer or margarita?

I moved to the mountains because I am active outdoors. It's not too hot in the summer, and there are winter sports to enjoy. Generally, more active people are probably attracted to areas like this, unless you activity of choice is suited for the beach or wherever else. It's not like I moved to the mountains and then decided to be active.

 

[ejman]

I knew I was ER material when a coworker told me many years ago "you know what your problem is? "you're too easily entertained..." She was right. I've never been bored in my 13 years of ER so far and I don't feel the problem coming on any time soon.

 

[Moneygrubber]

I knew I was ER material when a coworker told me many years ago "you know what your problem is? "you're too easily entertained..." She was right. I've never been bored in my 13 years of ER so far and I don't feel the problem coming on any time soon.

For some reason folks that are not retired are convinced we will be bored and listless, we do not have to meet their standards of activity, we just need to be happy within ourselves.


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[ERD50]

I have read that Colorado residents are among the most active in the US. Also, the Swiss are also very active with outdoor activities (they do not go to gym).

Why is it that people in hilly or mountainous country have this propensity to be more active outdoor? Perhaps in hot and humid climate, it is more comfortable to just lay in a hammock, sipping beer or margarita?

I moved to the mountains because I am active outdoors. It's not too hot in the summer, and there are winter sports to enjoy. Generally, more active people are probably attracted to areas like this, unless you activity of choice is suited for the beach or wherever else. It's not like I moved to the mountains and then decided to be active.

I was going to say, cause/effect?

Related to some of the earlier posts, I don't think it takes any great level of activity to avoid some of the aging/mobility problems we see in so many older people. I do very little actual aerobic exercise, but I make a point to do some 2x/day stretches to keep my back in shape, and daily lunges for my knees, and often will take stairs instead of waiting for an elevator, etc. I try to do some core workouts from time to time, but I fall off the wagon. But I manage to do enough to stay flexible.

But many of these older people with mobility problems have just sat in a chair and watched TV for years and years and years, with little other activity. So what do they expect as they age, and everything becomes harder? I think just a little activity goes a long way.

-ERD50

 

[UpAnchor]

People ask what I do, living alone on a mountain, and whether I get bored. I've got some answers for what I do but not enough to fill the time to their satisfaction, but I don't get bored or want for more.

Although only semi-retired (though not for long), I've already been subjected to such questioning. Often I try to deflect, as nothing bugs me more than to spell out a long list of the things I enjoy doing only to get the response, "Man you must really be bored!" OK, so not everything I enjoy doing is shared by the masses and some may border on the esoteric, but-doggone it-they ask and I answer honestly. Well, almost. At that point I really don't want add that-like RunningBum-I don't need to account for every waking hour.

I knew I was ER material when a coworker told me many years ago "you know what your problem is? "you're too easily entertained..." She was right. I've never been bored in my 13 years of ER so far and I don't feel the problem coming on any time soon.

That pretty much describes my life. And on the cusp of full retirement, I don't expect to change any time soon.

I'm reminded that, like many of those my age (early 60's), I learned early on in childhood never, ever to admit being bored. For Dad would have an immediate solution and it would likely not be that which I'd have chosen. Thankfully my nature is such that boredom rarely occurred, then or in the years to follow.

For some reason folks that are not retired are convinced we will be bored and listless, we do not have to meet their standards of activity, we just need to be happy within ourselves.

You nailed it.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Perhaps in hot and humid climate, it is more comfortable to just lay in a hammock, sipping beer or margarita?

Yes! We are issued hammocks soon after birth, and learn to move (and talk) slowly to avoid over-exertion!
The margaritas and beer come later, of course, but are a well-practiced art by adulthood.

 

[Souschef]

Here is my take on things. I am 77, my wife is 72. We have been married 8 years, and in that time we have taken 49 trips domestic and foreign,
At times we were rode hard and put away wet. The toughest one we took recently was to Russia, with a 14 hour flight and 11 time zone difference.
Right now, my wife has a serious knee problem, and I remember the post on mobility.
We can no longer go on those "bags outside at 7 on the bus at 8" trips, but will do some low impact traveling on our own.
At this point we plan for the future, but know one of us will go before the other. All the IRA's are set up and other accounts are set up as POD.
The bottom line is an old expression, "Man plans, God laughs"

 

[Al in Ohio]

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......

The British actor that played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series died today. He too was just 69.


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[audreyh1]

The British actor that played Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series died today. He too was just 69.


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That was Alan Rickman.

 

[UnrealizedPotential]

My take on this subject is that since no one can know for certain how long we will live, it would be smart to plan on the possibility of a long life not on the probability since there is no way to know. I had one ancestor, his mother died when she was 35, his father died when he was 39, and he lived to 88. Should he of planned to die young? I think not.

 

[Danmar]

I have read that Colorado residents are among the most active in the US. Also, the Swiss are also very active with outdoor activities (they do not go to gym).

Why is it that people in hilly or mountainous country have this propensity to be more active outdoor? Perhaps in hot and humid climate, it is more comfortable to just lay in a hammock, sipping beer or margarita?

Not sure but there are a couple of possibilities. Many mountain towns are travel destinations that attract a lot of young transients because of the hospitality jobs. They are often quite active. Climate might be a factor but I often see people in Canmore wearing shorts in the winter? So not sure.

The whole mountain culture thing is quite real. People in Canmore just feel they are tougher, more self reliant, less "affected". This seems to go hand in hand with the outdoors, I guess the other thing is that it is just so beautiful in the mountains, you want to be outside. Also, Canmore is right beside Banff national park which is a world class park offering outstanding camping, biking, hiking, scenery, etc. Great place to live. We moved here from Toronto when I retired.

 

[Danmar]

Off topic, but love Canmore. Spent a winter there (renting) and skied Lake Louise all winter. Gorgeous part of the world. Top ten drive: Icefields Parkway.


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Yes, I agree. That drive up to Jasper is truly breathtaking. Have done it a few times in a convertible.

 

[fishndad42]

"Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful." (George Box). DW and I are perfect examples of the dilemma of longevity planning. My first episode of stage 4 colon cancer was in 1993, when I was told to get my affairs in order. I had a 3% chance of survival and an estimated 6 weeks to 6 months to live. 2007 I had my second, it was "only" stage 3. Just this past December I had another major cancer surgery, fortunately stage 1. My genetics have a known defect, so I will in all likeliness get it again.

3 years ago DW had stage 4 breast cancer. They wouldn't even give her an idea of longevity, they always said "let's just get through this week". She'll be on maintenance chemo the rest of her life, however long that might be. Statistically the new drugs have extended life to about 6.5 years. Yet in some cancer forums she's met some with similar circumstances who surpassed 20.

Actuary tables don't help us much. Family history doesn't in her case. In mine, I've lived longer than any of the men in previous generations except 1, so family history says I ought to be gone already.

I will ER this year, once I am fully recovered. I am fortunate to have good retirement benefits, so health care will not be a huge burden. How long am I planning for? I just use the 30 year model (I will be 60 this year). I doubt I'll make it 10 years, but a lot can happen in medicine in that time, and I've beat the odds already enough to know that spending everything I've got in 10 years would not be wise. DW could make it 3 more years or 20 - who knows? And to the OP point, various models with various assumptions put me anywhere between 80% - 100% success probability. Good enough for me. If we're gone in 10 years, there will be an estate for the kids. As long as we're having a happy retirement, that's OK with me. I also have gained confidence through this forum that I can make any adjustments along the way if the models change, so I don't fret about running out of money.

Who knows what the future brings? For me, it brings a happy retirement in 2016!

 

[shotgunner]

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.

I don't think I have read a better argument for retiring early as this. We all like to believe we will be the exception but most of us will not, especially males. I have long thought around age 70 would be the time I move from living in a small ranch house to a condo. Let someone else mow the lawn, shovel the driveway and do the upkeep.

 

[kcowan]

We also live in a mountain town (Canmore Alberta about 5,000 ft) and here activity is the norm even for older people. We see people biking/running/hiking/skiing all the time. You don't necessarily have to be an athlete, just keep your legs strong so you can get around.

I went through a rough patch for my left leg with a torn Fascia, then an infected spider bite, then a broken bone in the foot. Has taken a concerted effort to restore mobility but I have made it!

You are so right about the importance of mobility to maintaining good health.

 

[marko]

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.

Ran into an old guy in a bar a few years back who told me the same thing: "ok, you're 60 now...even if you live to be 90, do you realize that you have only 15 or 18 good summers left to do the things you want to do?...After that things start to go wrong..."

One of those things you know but never really realize until someone hits you over the head about it.