Forum topics by age.

[papadad111]

I have been reading the fire and money forum for years and was cruising through a long thread on social security claiming and such.

It dawned on me that this board is really not targeted at general "old" retirees but rather is an EARLY retire board and for those who are trying to retire or are retired .....early.

I thought ... Hitting social security, while a good milestone and part of ones overall fire strategy, is not so relevant to an early retiree say someone in their 40s or early 50s.

That got me thinking that this early retirement forum might be well served to have an age based area or categorization for common topics and a chance to intermix with similar "stage" of early retirees. example (making this up as I type)

30's and 40's. targets early early retirement. Those with kids at home. Maybe little kids. College and retirement savings. These are the two decades til SS or more crowd -- probably don't have traditional pensions. Maybe early out military Etc. Probably includes some money mustache types. ACA and other strategies to bridge til 59.5 IRA access. Even drawdown strategies are different based on this younger age and likely long long retirement time horizon.

50s. Those that are still in the grind but aspiring to get out around a decade before the non-planners. They are dealing with empty nest. Downsizing house. Maybe a mix of pension and non pension. Making catch up contributions. Doing their Roth conversions while time is on their side. . Starting to take IRA money.

60's...ok. Few are early retirees. Talk about claiming your SS, changes in file and suspend, Medicare. Perhaps many don't even belong on an "early retiree" board. They're pretty much run of the mill retirees. Those that got out early will discuss their "in my Xth year of retirement".

Seems there are some relevant topics by retiree "generation". Would be fun to have a place where like ages can post relevant topics and keep those topics organized --- while I respect my elders, I also think hanging out with similar age ( and thus similar issue) members would be interesting.

I always go back and try to recall who is who and how old they are etc when trying to understand their perspective when they respond to a post. It's very clear that age and generation combined with their own personal point in retirement strongly influences the perspectives and mental models they carry. Me included ...

So the question- can the forum have age or generational topics -- or even just social channel to meet those more "like me" so to speak

Also helpful to know if there are any "younger" mods. -- 30s or 40s for example- to help guide the evolution of the forums. I find this particular demographic generally under served in retirement discussions across the web - presumably because the numbers are relatively low by comparison ...

How to propose to the forum an add/ a change ? Thoughts?

[marko]

From my own perspective, I like the idea of having the ages all brought together under one roof. The forum is about RE at any age.

I'd hate to have a young'un miss an insight just because he/she bypassed it due to an 'older person's thread' tag.

I also find the questions and issues of a 20, 30 or 40 y.o. interesting; sometimes just one sentence or comment is another learning experience on what people are thinking. Personally I'm fascinated by the motivation of a 28 yo who's wants to RE

I know you're not suggesting to keep the ages excluded from each other (like a nursing home!!) but to just have a special channel, but FWIW I think there's great value in uncategorized access.

The topic subject line is often enough for me to join or stay away from the conversation and I find that a decent filter.

Just my opinion.

[pb4uski]

+1 I think there is a lot of value of intergenerational dialogue. I'm afraid that I might tend to focus on my own age group and not get the wisdom of those younger or older.

Besides, imoldernu would be lonely.

[papadad111]

Fully agree reference never want to be exclusionary - or segregating. all points about good nuggets of wisdom from across the populace are valid indeed.

Think of it more as a "social space" to allow for targeted discussions among similar-aged or similar retirement-stage forum participants.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by papadad111 Fully agree reference never want to be exclusionary - or segregating. all points about good nuggets of wisdom from across the populace are valid indeed. Think of it more as a "social space" to allow for targeted discussions among similar-aged or similar retirement-stage forum participants.

That's been in place for almost a decade. See the Young Dreamers forum: "Still have quite a few years before you can retire? Issues related to that can go here, but you're welcome anywhere on the forum!"

Not sure how creating more stratified age categories would be of much value since anyone can be whatever age they want on the internet.

[Sarah in SC]

Wait, you want the mods to confess their ages?

Hmmmm..........

[steelyman]

It's an interesting idea but, corny as it sounds, age is a lot about attitude. So keeping it mixed is good, I think.

There have been some posts by younger people who seem to have been hit by early-onset curmudgeon syndrome, as well as from very cool older people who stay young somehow.

[braumeister]

There is also the "aging in place" issue. A lot of us retired early (however you want to define that) but have enjoyed the conversations enough to stick around for years. Quite a few years in some cases. I thoroughly enjoy that, just as I enjoy talking with good friends who are either much younger or much older than I am.

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Wait, you want the mods to confess their ages? Hmmmm..........

No, just one mod in SC.

[splitwdw]

If you are in your 20's & 30's looking for advice, wouldn't you want your question answered by someone whose been there and not one of your peers. Not to say that "age" is/has the answer. I learn from everyone here regardless of age. Speaking of age, where is Imoldernu?

[Amethyst]

And what about us mixed-generation marriage people, where the spouses retired in different centuries? Were you going to have a special forum just for me? LOL

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister There is also the "aging in place" issue. A lot of us retired early (however you want to define that) but have enjoyed the conversations enough to stick around for years. Quite a few years in some cases.

Yep.

[Meadbh]

If you start dividing the forum by age, you might as well divide it by gender, too. Then by nationality, race, religion or any number of characteristics.

I'm joking, of course. Most of us come hear to learn from and exchange information and opinions with a diverse group of people. Else, how can we learn?

For those seeking an affinity group within the forum, there is the option to add buddies. And one can always send a PM.

[ExFlyBoy5]

I don't think it would be useful. I don't (and sometimes can't) place an age on the posters here. As a matter of fact, the page defaults to "new posts" for me so I don't even look at the categories. If the thread has a topic that looks interesting, I will open it up. Most of the "age specific" threads (such as medicare supplement pricing today) are easy to spot, and if it doesn't apply to me, then I don't look at it. Plus, I think that it's wise to get inputs on many of the topics from people that are of all ages and circumstances. I am retired and drawing a pension, so a lot of people would *assume* that I am in my 60s, and not 20 years younger.

[rodi]

Ugh. I hate this idea.

My husband is in the older category - collecting SS.

I'm in my 50's and recently retired. I handle the household investing and money stuff - so I'm paying close attention to stuff like medicare signups - since that's only a year out for us.

I have teenage kids - so topics about how to save for college are legit for me and I have opinions to offer and am always seeking input from others.

Young dreamers provides a forum for those who are earlier on the path. Life after Fire provides a forum for those who've obtained retirement. Why do we need more than this?

[MichaelB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Wait, you want the mods to confess their ages? Hmmmm..........

No fair! I read the rules and there's nothing that requires me to be age 21 or older!

[Janet H]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah in SC Wait, you want the mods to confess their ages? Hmmmm..........

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB No fair! I read the rules and there's nothing that requires me to be age 21 or older!

I am in favor of transparency. I am 29

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb4uski +1 I think there is a lot of value of intergenerational dialogue. I'm afraid that I might tend to focus on my own age group and not get the wisdom of those younger or older. Besides, imoldernu would be lonely.

imoldernu was already lonely, and appeared to move to elsewhere.

And about the age of the mods, I know there are geezers and geezerettes, but also some babes.

[H2ODude]

Funny, I was just wondering the other day whatever happened to Imoldernu. Used to be quite active, hope he's still well.

[Sarah in SC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janet H I am in favor of transparency. I am 29

Some of our mods have pants older than that!