Boomers's Biggest Regret?

[Samz]

I'm readying this...
Boomers' Biggest Retirement Regret? They Didn’t Work Longer

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13152984/1/boomers-biggest-retirement-regret-they-didnt-work-longer.html?puc=yahoo&cm_ven=YAHOO

According to a study by Bankers Life 69% of already retired say they would have liked to work longer. And that 6 in 10 say they work for non financial reasons...this is really messing with my OMY syndrome!

 

[2017ish]

DW and I are late boomers (we've always felt wrongly categorized!). This will not be our biggest regret.

 

[Bamaman]

My company overreacted to the economic conditions of 2008, and they essentially retired all employees over the age of 55. Got paid a year's severance pay, 5 weeks vacation, a pay supplement until age 62 and ability to buy their great retiree insurance until Medicare kicks in--and use their retiree supplement. I didn't mind getting unemployment for almost 2 years.

I was 58 1/2 years old--perfect timing. That was 6 1/2 years ago. Thankfully I've got substantially more in my IRA rollover accounts than I had 6 1/2 years ago from playing the stock market moderately.

I have no regrets. Really didn't have time to work anyway.

 

[KingB]

My regrets: I should have retired sooner.

 

[Music Lover]

I think it's a waste of life when people have spent 50+ years on the planet and have absolutely nothing to fill their days with other than work.

 

[Gumby]

I was talking to a colleague yesterday about retirement plans. She is 58 and has twin 13 year old daughters. She said "well, I have to get them through high school and college, so that's 8 more years, at least. But I'm not sure I want to retire even then. What would I do? You have to do something." My reply was "I'm pretty good at goofing off, so I think I'll just do that."

 

[NW-Bound]

I am 58 and retired from part-time consulting work 3 years ago. The work content was as interesting as could be, and the pay was good. But the people for whom I worked took all the fun out of it. And then, a bout with serious illness shortly thereafter - I am OK now - took away all second thoughts about leaving the work that I had enjoyed all my life.

PS. I would not say I could have retired earlier. If I did, my financial situation would not be the same, and besides I was still enjoying doing the work.

 

[NW-Bound]

According to a study by Bankers Life 69% of already retired say they would have liked to work longer. And that 6 in 10 say they work for non financial reasons...this is really messing with my OMY syndrome!

The article also says this:

While boomers may want to work in retirement, most retired boomers (72%) aren’t working at all. And half of those who don't work would like to have a job but can't get one, mostly due to health issues.​

It seems to me people who have health problems but still want to work must do so due to financial necessity.

 

[aja8888]

I'm just outside of the "Boomer year band" (older) and have no regrets about the past decisions, many of which had unintended consequences. My biggest challenge is making the right decisions going forward.

 

[NW-Bound]

Your attitude is right about the proverbial water under the bridge.

And looking ahead, none of my future decisions are really that important to cause later regrets, such as whether I should drive my motorhome to Alaska or not.

Well, maybe I would regret it if I get chased by a grizzly, or even a moose, but the thing to do would be to take precautions to prevent that from happening.

 

[Samz]

What is this w*rkin' in retirement?

The article also says this:

I found a link that includes a another link to the actual survey report:

Reality Bites for Boomers Unable to Work in Retirement, New Study Unveils<CNO.N> | Reuters

In it, the survey defines "Who is retired? Respondents to the survey self-identified as retired or nonretired, regardless of their work status".

What defines "retired" when are you "w*rking in retirement"?

I'm self a employed consultant and have been since early-mid 1990's...for any of the past +1,000 weeks when I billed under 40 hours...was I really already RE??????

We don't need no frik'ng... "w*rking in retirement right"?

 

[Al in Ohio]

T



Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

 

[haha]

I'm just outside of the "Boomer year band" (older) and have no regrets about the past decisions, many of which had unintended consequences. My biggest challenge is making the right decisions going forward.

This is my attitude also. Regrets are just a bad habit of mind. Very likely the same people would also regret having made the different decision.

Ha

 

[frayne]

My regrets: I should have retired sooner.

Ditto and my biggest regret as well.

 

[ERD50]

I was talking to a colleague yesterday about retirement plans. She is 58 and has twin 13 year old daughters. She said "well, I have to get them through high school and college, so that's 8 more years, at least. But I'm not sure I want to retire even then. What would I do? You have to do something." My reply was "I'm pretty good at goofing off, so I think I'll just do that."

I don't understand these people either. But instead of the 'goofing off' reference (though I'm pretty good at that as well), I just say "Wouldn't you rather decide what you do for the day, instead of letting someone else dicate that? You don't let others decide what you eat, or wear or watch on TV, or what music to listen to, do you?"

Yep, I don't get it. And I know someone like this, actually told me his boss aggravates the heck out of him. Yet, he also says he has the means to retire, but what would he do? He either lacks imagination to an extreme degree, or it's a cover-up for something else (like not really having the finances).


-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

Yep, I don't get it. And I know someone like this, actually told me his boss aggravates the heck out of him. Yet, he also says he has the means to retire, but what would he do? He either lacks imagination to an extreme degree, or it's a cover-up for something else (like not really having the finances).

Retirement is a great option for many, it's unfortunate that most people (eventually) don't derive satisfaction/enjoy their jobs/careers. But it's interesting how often members here post assuming there's something wrong with anyone who chooses work over retirement. Some people would just rather work, doesn't necessarily mean they 'lack imagination to an extreme degree' at all...

 

[REWahoo]

Retirement is a great option for many people, it's unfortunate that most people (eventually) don't derive satisfaction/enjoy their jobs/careers. But it's interesting how often members here post assuming work is the worst option for everyone. It's not...

You find that assumption interesting on an early retirement website? Interesting.

 

[donheff]

According to a study by Bankers Life 69% of already retired say they would have liked to work longer. And that 6 in 10 say they work for non financial reasons...this is really messing with my OMY syndrome!

Maybe you don't feel like retiring? If you like your work and are not looking forward to different activities in retirement why not just continue working? I understand people wishing they were still working if retirement wasn't actually a decision (e.g. health problems or layoff drove them out) but our polls show the vast majority of folks here who actively choose ER do not regret the decision.

 

[Midpack]

You find that assumption interesting on an early retirement website? Interesting.

In general, no of course. But 'something wrong with anyone with a different POV,' yes...

 

[Samz]

the survey defines "Who is retired? Respondents to the survey self-identified as retired or nonretired, regardless of their work status".

New Expectations, New Rewards: Work in Retirement for Middle-Income Boomers

Here is a better link to the actual study. Looking over it a little more it appears that they surveyed people who were 1) middle income - household income between $25K and 100K, and have less than $1M in investable assets...and were 2) born between 1946 and 1964. Seems like a huge spread on the income part.

You could self identify as retired or nonretired regardless if you were working or not which seems to means everybody in the study that fit into 1 and 2 above.

Per the study...48% of mid income boomers consider themselves retired or semi-retired. For the mid income boomers who consider themselves retired almost 1 in 10 are currently employed (seems like semi retirement unless the pay is very low and they just want something to do?).

Some of the findings do point to a good % of people that do want to continue to work but not so much for the money.

A section lays out implications for employers. Overall the results of the study are well presented.

 

[martyp]

I'm a boomer who ER'd at 55, four years ago, with no regrets. Also, on this site, we often distinguish between being FI and retirement. In my opinion, if you are FI and choose to do what you like and happen to get paid for it then that seems reasonable to me. In fact, you may want to get paid just to maintain some self respect however if you are FI you are at least w*rking on your own terms.

I was an engineering manager who now, in ER, chooses to volunteer to teach science classes. To a teacher it might look like I'm w*rking. To me it is an fun and intellectually stimulating activity that I do 1-2x per year for 6 wks at a time. Totally on my own terms.

I've seen similar studies that find that 1/3rd to 1/2 of retirees are "forced" into retirement either through layoffs or because of health reasons. If you weren't planning to be retired there is a good chance that you are financially stressed. These people tend to be, in general, less satisfied with retirement.

We often talk about how it is not enough to retire from a j*b but you should be retiring to something as well. If you are retired involuntarily then you probably aren't retiring to something. Once again, these people tend to be less satisfied with retirement living.

Some people had j*bs that allowed them to determine what their projects were and what their w*rk day was like. Maybe you owned your own business. Those people tend to be self starters and tend to do better in retirement because, like me, they know how to find interesting things to do. If you had the type of j*b where they told you what to do each day then when you retire you are likely to be at a loss of what to do with yourself because you've had others defining most of your day for your entire adult life.

Of course there are some people who truly love their j*bs. I've w*rked with scientific researches will do that w*rk until they drop. I've seen them at it. They are truly happy.

I often tell people that being retired is not like being on vacation. People who did not plan to retire discover this pretty quickly. I'm not surprised that when surveyed they say they want to work again. They don't know what else to say.

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by ERD50 View Post
Yep, I don't get it. And I know someone like this, actually told me his boss aggravates the heck out of him. Yet, he also says he has the means to retire, but what would he do? He either lacks imagination to an extreme degree, or it's a cover-up for something else (like not really having the finances).

Retirement is a great option for many, it's unfortunate that most people (eventually) don't derive satisfaction/enjoy their jobs/careers. But it's interesting how often members here post assuming there's something wrong with anyone who chooses work over retirement. Some people would just rather work, doesn't necessarily mean they 'lack imagination to an extreme degree' at all...

But there was no such assumption in the post that you quoted.

For the record, I understand that some people get satisfaction from their jobs and wish to continue them. There's nothing at all 'wrong' with that - their satisfaction is the key, however they achieve it. Their choice, and I'd be happy to find myself in that same situation - if work was better than retirement, why wouldn't I chose the better option?

But as I said in my post - this person (not 'anyone') talked about his frustration with his job, and claimed that the only reason he didn't retire was that he wouldn't know what to do. I'd call that 'lack of imagination' - wouldn't you? You can't do something unless you are told what to do?

-ERD50

 

[Midpack]

But there was no such assumption in the post that you quoted.

For the record, I understand that some people get satisfaction from their jobs and wish to continue them. There's nothing at all 'wrong' with that - their satisfaction is the key, however they achieve it. Their choice, and I'd be happy to find myself in that same situation - if work was better than retirement, why wouldn't I chose the better option?

But as I said in my post - this person (not 'anyone') talked about his frustration with his job, and claimed that the only reason he didn't retire was that he wouldn't know what to do. I'd call that 'lack of imagination' - wouldn't you? You can't do something unless you are told what to do?

-ERD50

Fair enough, I didn't put all that together reading the earlier post, but I see the reference now.

I am probably overly reactive on the point, I have read quite a few posts unequivocally decree in essence 'there's clearly something wrong with anyone who can retire and chooses not to.' That's nonsense.

 

[Music Lover]

I am probably overly reactive on the point, I have read quite a few posts unequivocally decree in essence 'there's clearly something wrong with anyone who can retire and chooses not to.' That's nonsense.

If someone loves what they do, then not retiring may make sense. But, if they hate their job or are only working because they have nothing better to do, then there is something wrong.