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A somewhat pessimistic study on retirement...
09-27-2011, 07:24 AM
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#1
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 103
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A somewhat pessimistic study on retirement...
I guess I don't really follow the trend in this study...
Retirement: Reality Not As Rosy As Expectations : NPR
I couldn't wait to retire... and haven't regretted a second since...
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09-27-2011, 08:07 AM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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So far my nearly two year retirement has been the happiest time of my life.
 Quote:
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The survey results suggest the main problems people encounter are money and health.
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Most of our members are careful to wait until they have enough money before retiring.
Retiring was the best thing possible for my health. Perhaps the survey did not control for the effects of aging, which occur whether or not one has retired.
Overall, this seemed like one more article urging baby boomers to keep working and not retire. Sure seems like a lot of articles like that have been popping up lately.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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09-27-2011, 08:13 AM
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#3
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,022
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Quote:
Originally Posted by W2R
Most of our members are careful to wait until they have enough money before retiring.
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My take on the survey says many folks had to retire earlier than planned due to poor health and/or job loss. That is a significantly different group than the majority who post here - although there are certainly some among us who fit into that category.
It seems logical having to retire before you were ready would lead to a "somewhat pessimistic" view of retirement...
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Numbers is hard
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09-27-2011, 08:21 AM
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#4
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: New Orleans
Posts: 47,501
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Quote:
Originally Posted by REWahoo
My take on the survey says many folks had to retire earlier than planned due to poor health and/or job loss. That is a significantly different group than the majority who post here - although there are certainly some among us who fit into that category.
It seems logical having to retire before you were ready would lead to a "somewhat pessimistic" view of retirement...
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That would do it. For example, if one was just waiting to die in a medicaid nursing home and never got to really enjoy retirement first, then retirement is unlikely to seem like a happy time in one's life.
__________________
Already we are boldly launched upon the deep; but soon we shall be lost in its unshored, harbourless immensities. - - H. Melville, 1851.
Happily retired since 2009, at age 61. Best years of my life by far!
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09-27-2011, 08:29 AM
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#5
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Chattanooga
Posts: 3,895
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No one plan fits all but IMHO going into retirement with no debt, owning your own home and having health insurance coverage is critical and living within and or below your means prior to retirement doesn't hurt either. Health problems are a big question mark for everyone and it isn't an "if" thing, just a "when" thing for most.
Just my two cents.
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Earning money is an action, saving money is a behavior, growing money takes a well diversified portfolio and the discipline to ignore market swings.
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09-27-2011, 09:05 AM
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#6
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Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Waimanalo, HI
Posts: 1,881
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__________________
Greg (retired in 2010 at age 68, state pension)
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09-27-2011, 10:19 AM
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#7
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: May 2006
Location: west coast, hi there!
Posts: 8,809
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I think the study is biased.
I'm happy in ER and never participate in surveys unless there is really something in it for me. Why spend my happy minutes doing that?
Do happy retired people readily do surveys? My guess is a fair percentage do not. The grumpy ones are more likely to respond.
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09-27-2011, 11:53 AM
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#8
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: North Oregon Coast
Posts: 16,483
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Yeah, I think this article touches on some of the obvious -- retirement for the "401K generation" will be a lot more insecure and cautious than it is for those with a secure DB pension. Maybe it will be better, maybe it will be worse depending on market conditions and the economy, but it adds a layer of uncertainty that wasn't there when retirement was the (preferably COLA'd) monthly pension check. And all else being equal, that added uncertainty makes it "feel" a lot less comfortable.
And as an aside, I know almost *no* one who is voluntarily retiring these days without a significant pension and health insurance waiting for them.
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"Hey, for every ten dollars, that's another hour that I have to be in the work place. That's an hour of my life. And my life is a very finite thing. I have only 'x' number of hours left before I'm dead. So how do I want to use these hours of my life? Do I want to use them just spending it on more crap and more stuff, or do I want to start getting a handle on it and using my life more intelligently?" -- Joe Dominguez (1938 - 1997)
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09-28-2011, 10:53 AM
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#9
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,860
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lsbcal
I think the study is biased.
I'm happy in ER and never participate in surveys unless there is really something in it for me. Why spend my happy minutes doing that?
Do happy retired people readily do surveys? My guess is a fair percentage do not. The grumpy ones are more likely to respond.
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Not only biased but small. I think we have higher responses on some of this board's polls.
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Like many others in the poll, his lifestyle isn't what he imagined.
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So how much did the foundations spend for this data analysis?
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