How would you feel about working till you're 70 years old?

I guess my take on working until 70 is a little different.

I fully intend on living until at least 100.

I really like the idea of working as long as I can. I'm 47 now and don't believe I've ever longed for a day of retirement. I've tried to invest wisely and all that, so it isn't about the money.

In my ideal, at some point I would get a job where I could cut down on my hours, but keep enough to still get benefits.

Then, when I could collect full social security benefits at 70, I'd do something that only involved a few hours a week, that 20 to 25. That way it wouldn't effect my benefits.

When I read stories in Money or the newspaper about those over a certain age having to work, they always suggest the way to go is to get some kind of "consulatant" position.

Oh yeah, like everyone who needs to work after a certain age had some fancy schmancy career where now they can be a consultant.

Me? when I'm 70 or older, I'd be really happy making a few bucks working part time down at an animal shelter, or doing part time office work, or a cashier at a book store.

It would get me out of the house, give me a focal point to schedule my day around and be a social outlet.

Otherwise quite frankly, I'd end up sitting around the house and get old.

I could be a greeter at WalMart.

I could just see it....

Here's a cart m'am <tipping steton>

Oh, thanks I don't need one.....

Take the cart m'am <shakily pulling out his colt from under his swillmart vest>


OK!

Have a great walmart day m'am.

"Welcome to Wal Mart where today you can save a couple of bucks by buying cheap **** made by a 12 year old for sixty cents a day who will never learn to read or write, have proper health care or a life expectancy past 48. Enjoy your savings you cheap c*cksucker, and have a nice day".

I've been rehearsing my greeting for when that day rolls around for me.

That would be a Smith & Wesson from under a Scully lambskin vest.

One of the potential members of the group is a woman that plays bass trombone.

i'm glad my company seems to have a stable pension plan (worked for a life insurance company that knew how to sstash the money away safely - so i hope !). unfortunately many pension plans are going broke because companies made bad investments or simply did not put sufficient money into the fund. it's no different than stealing money imo !
ina heighbouring town a plant just closed down after 40 years in operation(they just closed over the weekend without advance notice to the workers !) . they structured their debt in such a way that the parent company (in the united states and being a subsidiary of a german company) has first dibs of any assets.
workers that have worked for 30+ years have been told that there is no hope of any pension !
pensioners have been advised that they'll be lucky if they'll be able to get a reduced pension from now on - or none at all!
i think the laws protecting workers are simply not adequate - the owners and management leave with money in the bank, and the workers are left to fend for themselves.
(i think it's called "free market" and capitalism, isn't it ? i think it stinks to high heaven !) . hbg

Unfortunately as you must know pensions as we knew them about ten or twenty years ago are a comparatively recent thing. There were no pensions in the early auto industry for example and no benefits other than the paltry hourly wage for the factory worker.

Unions worked very hard and workers sacrificed a great deal to see pensions become a real part of the work career. There eventually came a time though when unions simply took it for granted that corporations would continue their generosity and demanded it when they were reluctant to. Unions actually shot themselves in the foot, killed the "Golden Goose" so to speak with outlandish demands many of which were actually satisfied.

I was extremely happy to see all the government employed Air Traffic Controllers get fired back in the early 1980s. Unfortunately that really marks the beginning of the downward spiral union influence has had ever since. Unions are no where near as formidable as they once were.

As the Administration quietly continues it's grand scheme of privatization people will depend more on their own private retirement schemes. The will have to because there just will not be any offered by employers.

laborers will be much as they were in the early part of the last century with no employer pension plans regardless of the industry they work in. The same with health care.

Too bad.

what perhaps disturbs me most is that corporations are encouraged by the government to set up pension plans for the employees and take advantage of tax-provisions for it, only to turn around later to steal the money from the employees - and the population (taxpayers) by absconding with the money without paying taxes.

there of course professions/jobs in which it is up to the employed to take care of his/her own pension, but often the pay for such jobs is a fair bit higher than for employees with pension benefits. corporations often want it both ways, they want to pay lower wages and promise pension - only to abscond with the pension money anyway.
of course, not all corporations operate that way. it just doesn't seem right that managemeent of these
"bad apple" corporations usually can manage to strip the assets of a company and leave the worker with nothing or very little.
if ordinary citizens would commit such crimes, they would usually be invited to spend some time weaving baskets in a federal institution.
a prominent canadian lawyer (mr. greenspan) was interviewed on tv some time ago, and was asked if there are different laws for the rich and the poor ? "oh no" , he said , "the laws are the same, but the rich can afford better lawyers".
hbg

My mother just celebrated her 92nd birthday and she still works 4 days a week, four hours a day at her job as an administrative assistant at a university. And she still drives herself to work in her brand new red car.

She has worked there for 46 years, and, until she turned 70, she worked full time. At 70 she was forced into part time status and lost all her benefits including sick time, vacation time and medical insurance. I don't think that kind of blatant age discrimination could happen now, and it was certainly very unfair then. Older workers do not deserve that kind of shabby and degrading treatment. It is inexcusable.

Right now my mother really must retire because of health problems and she is genuinely distraught about that prospect. She loves her job. It gives her a sense of purpose and a feeling of usefulness.
She gets up in the morning, gives a lot of thought to what she'll be wearing to work, takes great pains with her hair and makeup, and goes out the door looking very stylish, professional, and quite attractive. And being around college age people so much of the time has kept her feeling young and in touch with today's world. Her work has given her life great meaning, particularly since my father died, and it has certainly helped to keep her mentally alert and on her toes. She is very well liked and she knows that her contributions have been very appreciated, and she can look back, with very justifiable pride, on what she has accomplished. For her, being able to work has been her reward.

If one is in reasonably good health and mentally sharp, why not work as long as you can, if that's what you enjoy doing?

Not everyone is interested in playing golf or gardening or playing bridge, or even traveling, and, for many people, trying to structure their days and find diversions and interesting companions is difficult and even stressful. Growing old ain't easy, and retirement ain't always what it's cracked up to be. If work is pleasurable and rewarding it may be far better than other alternatives. For my mother that has certainly been the case, although she is, admittedly, a most remarkable woman and definitely atypical in many respects and, until recently, she did enjoy reasonably good health and a high energy level. But I suspect there are many others like her out there, particularly widows whose children have long since grown and moved hundreds or thousands of miles away, whose friends have died or moved away, and whose lives might be extremely lonely or empty if they didn't have some sort of work, and the social contact and structure it brings, to keep them going. Work is often a blessing, and we should try to remember that. Not everyone does look forward to retirement. For some, retirement might be a curse and those people should not be pushed out of the work force if they can adequately continue to perform their jobs.

We often see work as the antithesis of pleasure or play, but that isn't always the case. Certainly, if you hate your job, are bored in your job, or if you lack the stamina or ability to do your job well any more, it might, indeed, be quite burdensome to have to continue working, and retirement might seem a welcome relief. But many people enjoy working and many others need "work" in some form, be it volunteer work, charity work, social activism, or a part time late in life job you do for the satisfaction and social contact it brings you.

A successful retirement often takes "work", and a lot of planning, particularly if you want to avoid social isolation and boredom. Having a lot of money helps, but not always. I think most people do better when they have goals and some sense of being needed and valued. Some folks can find these things in retirement, but, unfortunately, many cannot. We need to keep growing and learning and stretching ourselves, particularly as we age. We need to be involved in something, we need to keep busy, and we need a little excitement. Accomplishing those things isn't always easy, particularly if you retire at 65 and have at least 20 years stretching ahead of you. Retirement is a challenge, and, the longer the period of retirement, the greater that challenge is.

People often say to my mother, "You're still working?" and give her an incredulous look. At 92 what else do they expect her to be doing? For her working has been the easy part. Retirement's going to be very tough.

Everyone should at least have some idea about retirement. Some people love their jobs and work right to the end. I think the worst thing that can happen is to have no choice in the matter but to work when you would rather not in your old age.

I know a number of people who have worked their entire life and have very little to show for it. I have been living in a senior community for just over 10 years now and I was absolutely shocked to find out how many people still work and how many people are still paying rent rather than owning their house. It may have been due to a lack of ambition, perhaps I was not smart enough whatever but from the time I was very young I place far more emphasis on security than I did wealth. I chose the military as a career years before I was old enough to be eligible to join. I did as I was told, I kept my nose clean, I put in my years and as a result I ended up in retirement years in far better shape than I had ever imagined I would. I also got a Bachelor's degree and an MBA out of the deal as well.

What is most important to me is NOT having a boss. Next to that is owning my own home and being absolutely free to do what I please in life. I am a modest person and although I am not rich I have a good retirement income and no financial problems. Medicare is excellent and satisfies all my medical requirements.

I see a very real dangerous trend today amongst people that serve in jobs like police, fire and military. People are asking and receiving higher hourly wages at the expense of retirement income. The current administration attempted to privatize Social Security. I am convinced those approaches will almost certainly end in a disaster if they ever come to pass. I have met entirely too many people that save nothing. It can be simply because they cannot afford it or more likely they just "blow it." And what I believe is equally as bad is the fact that few people really know how to manage their own money. Yes it is their fault but human nature has much to do with it as well.

Neither of my sons is as security conscious as I was and I am today. They both also make more money than I ever did. One is a carpenter and the other is a superintendent in manufacturing who does not look at the need to be absolutely dedicated to his company for life.

Time will tell but what strikes me today is the large number of people that really are not lucky enough to work for large old time firms that provided good pensions when the worker turned 65 if not sooner.

That's an incredible innings, firefly! Good for her!
What do you think your mother will do in her retirement?

Pension plans? Are you guys serious?! There are no pension plans anymore unless you're senior level management! The big companies have all gone to 401ks, and their matching funds and vesting are becoming tighter. The days are gone when companies took care of their workers. You have to take care of yourself now. They're too busy taking care of their top level management and their stockholders/owners.

Anybody in today's market who expects to spend a lifetime working faithfully for one company that will in turn provide him or her with a good retirement...is a fool.

Save all you can, work for a company long enough to get fully vested, then look for a higher paying job at another company. That's the way it's done these days. Loyalty be damned. Companies have no loyalty toward their workers anymore. It's all lip service, designed to get more work out of their employees. Nothing else.

I'd rather be the popcorn/hotdog lady.

Like Wilso, I started saving for retirement early. I have no idea how long I'm going to continue working but I would consider something much less stressful than what I'm currently doing once I finish paying for my children's college educations (about 9 years from now).

Mr B is the type to want to work until he can't so we will have his income to live on as well. Selling our house and down sizing to a smaller home should net us a significant nest egg.

Our needs are simple and our tastes aren't extravagant. I think we'll be ok.

Firefly, your mom sounds like my kind of lady..

I was talking to a neighbor from down the block the other day...he's 94 and was telling me how he himself never had a credit card, but how one of his "kids" has gotten into all kinds of trouble because of them.

he said "don't think that I'M going to bail him out!"

I can relate to that. I didn't have a checking account until I was in my thirties. American Express was the first credit card I got in 1981 when I was around 45.

I can't imagine what life would be like today without a bank check-card and a credit card. Checks will soon be obsolete and they already are with many businesses. I bought my last Mercedes-Benz with a credit card. No joke.

These young folk in their seventies are so careless with debt! Love it!

There is no way anyone could work my job until age 70. The physical demands of it are just too great. It might be OK for people who's work involves sitting on a comfortable chair in an air conditioned office. For those who's work is physically more demanding, it's much tougher.

I think it's a tough situation. I agree with you Wilso that some people really can't afford to work into their seventies if they have manually demanding jobs. That's why I believe programs like Social Security are so important. They provide a "safety-net" for workers who need extra help. That's also a reason I think that changes to healthcare for older citizens is so important. We need to be paying attention to the needs of our society.