What If You Don’t Plan to Retire? Save Anyhow!
In my last post, I explained why your financial time horizon may be longer than you think, since you may be investing well into your 90s. The discussion was in the context of retirement, but in response to the article, reader kk brought up some excellent points, which I’ll summarize thusly:
What if you scrimp and save your whole life and then die in your 50s or 60s (as happened to kk’s parents)? Plus, retirement isn’t the only financial goal, especially since “retirement” will mean different things to different people.
These are all very important ponderables. In fact, even though I’m the retirement-planning guy at The Motley Fool, I have a confession to make: I don’t plan to retire. I think I would be like many of the ex-retirees I’ve met through the years; I’d find unlimited free time fun for a while, but after a while, I’d get kinda bored.
Here’s what Mitch Anthony, author of The New Retirementality, told me a few years back:
Disillusionment rates are sky-high for retirees. According to one survey, 41% say retirement was the most difficult adjustment of their life and most still struggle with the monotony, boredom, lack of purpose, and lack of intellectual stimulation that traditional retirement offers. There is a good reason these retirees are not happy — retirement is an unnatural idea. The concept runs contrary to the preservation of the human spirit.
Reasons to Save
So if I don’t plan to retire, why have I been shoveling money in IRAs and 401(k)s ever since I was 25 (and back then, I was just making $20,000 a year as a teacher)? Here are seven reasons why I continue to delay gratification:
- I might change my mind. Sure, as a newly minted 40-year-old, I feel like I could work forever. But will I feel the same when I’m in my 60s? I think it’s better to save now and plan on working, rather than being a burnt-out 65-year-old with no savings.
- I might not have a choice. Many older workers are forced into retirement due to health reasons, others as companies let go of older (and higher-paid) workers to save money. I want to have a big enough nest egg in case I can’t work well into my 70s and beyond because my body or my employer won’t let me.
- I want my wife to be taken care of. If genetics, family history, and personal hygiene matter, I will die in my 70s and my wife will live well into her 90s. (She’s quite a catch, so you might want to look her up in about 30 years.) I have mentally earmarked part of our retirement savings to be used to put an addition on any of our children’s homes so that my wife can live with them when she can no longer take care of herself, or just doesn’t want to live alone. I don’t have a lot of expectations for my kids once they’re adults; they can grow up to be whatever they want. But they better take care of their mother, and I’ll make sure there’s enough money to do so.
- Take a sabbatical. While I hope to work forever, I can see the value of taking a few months or even a year off once my kids graduate from college. Once my kids have fled the nest, I want to have enough money saved up to take a temporary break.
- The 2029 West Virginia cabin fund. Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig, author of Your Money & Your Brain, calls his 401(k) his “June 24, 2034 Villa in Tuscany Fund” because, he told me, “It is ridiculous to expect something like ‘I am going to save for my 401(k)’ to motivate a human being.” You need to make your financial goals more concrete. I like Zweig’s idea of a vacation home, though I’d prefer mine to be just one state over, rather than an ocean away. My wife and I could easily slip away for a weekend of mountainous reading and writing (although by then computers will communicate with our brains directly through routers implanted in our heads, and information will be simultaneously absorbed and excreted). As for seeing Europe, I’ll do that with…
- The 2029 international travel fund. One of our biggest financial goals is to be able to take an international vacation once a year. Maybe Zweig will let us stay with him.
- The work I want to do decades from now may not pay much, or at all. I could see myself returning to teaching one day, or devoting myself full-time to one cause or another. I want to have enough money saved up so that I can do what I want without a prohibitive drop in our standard of living.
But What About Now?
In her response to my last column, kk brought up a difficult issue: How much do you sacrifice today for a goal decades from now, when you may not even be around to enjoy it? That’s a toughie.
I’ll start by being the good financial planner and point out that contributing to IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and so on do provide advantages today in the form of tax breaks. But that’s pretty boring.
The truth is, you have to do a little of both — enjoy today, plan for tomorrow — and the exact balance will change throughout your life. I certainly hope I don’t have to wait 20 years to take my next international vacation, but with four kids and a Washington, D.C.-area mortgage, I have other priorities right now.
So much about financial planning is about how you want to spend your time as much as it is about how you spend your money. If you want to retire as soon as possible — I know people who’ve retired by their early 40s — then you have to do things very differently from someone like me who plans to work forever.
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There are 49 comments to "What If You Don’t Plan to Retire? Save Anyhow!".
I’m a believer. I never planned to retire either, but my job vanished at age 62 in a downsizing. Being financially nearly prepared for retirement provides a lot more choices than I might have otherwise. (But there are some issues, like health plan coverage, that are buggers.)
One observation from my previous career, covering personal finance for The Kansas City Star, where we walked about 300 families through money makeovers –
You may want to save for financial independence instead of retirement. The processes and numbers are the same, but your mindset is different. You’re setting a date by which you can decide whether you want to stay on the job or not.
My dad’s brother passed away last week, and his wife had passed away a year earlier. Long story short, my parents had to fly out to Montana and handle his estate. This meant funeral expenses, figuring out if he had a will, cleaning out his house, selling his house, etc. All of this, inheritance notwithstanding, was paid for out of pocket and totaled thousands of dollars.
Just another reason why you need to have money saved when you’re older: You never know when you’ll be called upon to tie up some loose ends!
Ahhhh, a topic most dear to my heart! 🙂
The #1 thing for me is that I want to retire by 40 if I WANT TO, but keep on working at 40 if still still love to work. Nothing is more satisfying than doing something for the pure sake of enjoyment than out of necessity.
When I did my MBA part-time, I never had so much fun learning, b/c I never had any pressure to get straight A’s like I did in High School because I already had a job.
Hence, like with work, if I were able to save a lot of money by age 40, and the boss somehow was being unfriendly and put tons of pressure, I wouldn’t care as much and focus on the things that I love to do.
At the end of the day, life is TOO SHORT to just do one thing all your life. I think working in the same field for 18-20 years is long enough, and I want to have the option at age 40 to do something I really want to do, irrelevant of how much it pays.
Best,
RB
I recently wrote about an article that said individuals didn’t make a difference in the environment by saving energy personally. I said save energy anyway, since it benefits you directly.
It’s always good to save. Save for retirement, for short term goals, for a down payment on a house, etc. I wish I was more responsible 5-10 years ago, and if there was ever advice I would give it would be to save early and with regularity.
I even wonder how this is a question in today’s economy. You could lose yor job, get sick, have another Madoff steal it or just see it dwindle in the market. Unlike many retirees, including my husband and some friends, while I plan to retire from my current paid job, I am not retiring from work or life. I have an intensive volunteer life in which I have always been the short term worker bee- because with kids(now grown) and a full time job and a commute there wasn’t enough time. I will now be able to have the time to be a planner/organizer as well and give more time on a regular basis in the areas of politics and community well-being(education, shelter and food). I have always felt that the life I have had requires me to give back- plus after 35 years- I am ready to leave this field.
Working as a nurse I’ve seen how suddenly and unexpectedly sickness can crop up on people. Sure, insurance may (or may not) pay for the treatment itself, but some sicknesses can mean a person will be unable to work for months or even years. At best this might take a family from two incomes down to a single income; at worst it will leave a family with no income at all. Even for a formally two-income family, the other spouse may have to give up alot of working hours to help care for the other one. This can happen to even very healthy people; it’s always best to be prepared
Retire on your terms, not on the terms of your company or some exogenous whacked out variable!
Andrea, 35 years in your field is more than enough! 20 years is darn enough, that’s why retiring at age 42 should be an option for all.
Rgds,
RB
Planning to work forever is certainly lifts a lot of burden from the task of retirement planning, however, unless you’re one of the few that loves every aspect of their job, that could be quite the agonizing proposition.
My plan is similar to that of RB (comment #3). I want to, while I’m still “young,” be able to take a step back from life, reassess, and be fully financially able to switch careers with little or no regard for money if I choose without changing my lifestyle. This is why I started early and continue to save with fervor for my “retirement.”
And who knows, maybe I’ll eventually get sick of my new dream job. Having that savings available provides so many options. I may not know what option I’ll choose in 20 years, but I at least know that I’ll have all of them on the table.
We’ve been aiming at financial independence (FI) for 10 years or so. I think FI has always been a more tangible goal than retirement.
We’re frankly pretty comfortable despite the recession. Even with the ongoing concern of losing our single paycheck, we sleep at night, because of our savings cache.
There are few circumstances in life(I can’t think of any!) that having money set aside hinders…money almost always buys you options and peace of mind, and that might be a much more worthwhile goal than ‘retirement.’
Many of the people in my family have lived to ripe old ages – well past the time when they could work. Depending on the job it may not be possible to work past 75 or 80. We hear all the time about people working into their late 70s, 80s and sometimes 90s, but that is not the norm. Look at your family history – if they drop dead of cancer or heart disease in their 60s than live it up and spend the money now. But if they live consistently into their 90s and you are in great health then plan on working as long as you are able, but know that you will need maybe as much as 20 years saved for retirement.
I save out of fear. It is a fear I know, because I was laid off in 2001 and I know what it’s like to go for months without knowing when (if!) you’ll work again. Ok, my presentation is a little melodramatic, but don’t criticize until you’ve walked that path.
Scenario: It’s 2023 and I just became eligible for social security of $1,110 per month – taxed down to $962. My health has deteriorated to the point where I cannot take a manual labor job that has me on my feet all day, and the economy is (once again) in a recession. As I look out my window at the snow and hope the cell phone rings to schedule a job interview, I wonder where the money is coming from to pay the $1,200 heating bill, the $450 electric bill, the $1,850 mortgage, taxes, and insurance, the $795 transportation cost, the $195 for our shared cell phones (had to drop cable and landline phone), and my $1,250 food bill. Seems like a lot, but one of my kids (with our grandson), and my wife’s mother have moved back into my 2,200sf house because they cannot afford their own places anymore. My $995,000 in savings only generates $4,200 per month (since I cannot afford to take stock market risks anymore), but thank goodness the double digit inflation ended in 2020 (now you understand why the costs are so high above) after the Fed was finally abolished and the U.S. stopped all deficit spending after the horrible experiences in the 2011-2019 era.
Can’t happen? Ok, you bet on that, and I’ll save.
It’s all good! (Said the grasshopper.)
Time to save! (Said the ant.)
with our youngest, a senior in college playing Div. 1 baseball, my husband and I decided we’d put “saving for financial independence” on the back burner to attend all his games next season. We simply realized this may be it to enjoy his baseball.
Last season my husband missed nearly all the games. He missed tough season losses, a miraculous conference tournament championship and an NCAA bid for post season play!! It was awesome! (I was there!)
This is where one remembers “why are we here anyway?” My Uncle who died at 50, not only left behind a very young wife (I know, I’m 50 now too!) but a myriad of plans for retirement fun…
I come from a heritage (Greeks) who successfully come to this country, open hamburger stands and work like dogs to retire at 40, only to find their kids are all grown up and not interested in the worn out dad they never got to know. Thank heavens that wasn’t my dad!!! We were plenty rich. Dad was home every night at 5. He took a shower and came out to play with the whole neighborhood till dinner, which he never missed.
Balance is key. When all is said and done it’s the relationships along with good health that make “retirement age” so wonderful. My dad lived to 86, mom to 79. They never needed a penny from my bro and I to assist with old age. And guess what? They left 6 grandkids with nearly a million dollar inheritance. All while being a blue collar worker and stay-at-home mom!
” . . . (although by then computers will communicate with our brains directly through routers implanted in our heads, and information will be simultaneously absorbed and excreted)”
Hee hee.
I love this idea . . .instead of saving for something as generic as “retirement” to instead put a face of something on your dreams. Solid plan!
Thanks for this excellent post. I always say it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
I expect to live to be at least 90 though I expect I could beat 100 if I’m particularly unlucky. While I would like to keep working till I drop dead, I can’t count on it. For one, I might not be able to; I might get sick or disabled. For another, while I don’t mind working I don’t want to be dependent on a paycheck. I would like to be able to work fewer hours, or work for a non-profit, or work as a volunteer. While I’m not particularly interested in repeatedly travelling the world, as my grandmother does, I would like to be able to take longer vacations; maybe two weeks a few times a year. All this makes saving now a darn good idea.
In addition to that, my husband is much older and much poorer – he makes less money, carries old debt and has no savings. We don’t know his family health history – he’s adopted – and he doesn’t take that great care of himself at the moment, but he could still live a long time, with a decent risk of being unable to work. I must be prepared for that as well, as chances are he won’t be.
“How much do you sacrifice today for a goal decades from now, when you may not even be around to enjoy it?”
That question is kind of like Pascal’s wager. You remember, the one where it is better to believe in God because you have more to lose if you don’t. In this case, it is better to plan on living a long life. If you do live to be 100, you will have the money to live in comfort and have some determination over your life, rather than the State. If you die the day after you retire, have you really “lost” the money? You are dead and YOU don’t care about the money, right?
I have been thinking a lot about this lately, not just in the context of money but also in the context of time. There are lots of things that I’ve been meaning to do “someday” and someday hasn’t come for most of them. Sometimes you have to make a point to be more conscious about how you spend your time or your money.
Regarding both the best thing to do is set up a system that is as efficient as possible. With money that might be bringing your lunch, clipping coupons, or just making sure you have a frugal mindset. With time it might be cutting out the television (or just watching shows that really interest you). But you have to be willing to flip the coin and spend your time and money doing things that are enriching and important (at least to you).
Moderation in everything, even moderation.
65 is a made up retirement age. Why is it not 45, 50, or 55?
What if you try and save for 35 years, and suddenly you die at 57? Farah Facet and MJ died in their 50’s…. what’s the point. Life wins, you lose.
Work hard while young, and retire on your own terms.
Rgds,
RB
Paul in cAshburn, living out of fear is a sad place to work from. I did it for many years and I refuse to go back there again. It is not a happy place to live from or live into. We need to plan for the best, because planning for the worst begets exactly what you’re expecting. Good luck on your journey.
I’m with Paul on this one. The above scenario is highly likely.
My husband is the only person left in his office right now. We do not know from one week to the next when/if we will lose our single pay check. After 20yrs of constant corporate restructuring and the uncertainty that that brings, we have learned that you have to be able to roll with the punches. We long for a more secure position, but are fully aware that the only people who can provide that are us. That is why we save.
I have to add emphasis to eleni’s comment about balance being a key to a happy life…no matter what age you eventually attain. Another is doing something you are passionate about. Remember that old adage that says, “If you love what you do for a living, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
If you stop loving it and are just chasing the paycheck, it’s time for a change. Given the current market, you may have to look quite a while longer – but by all means, start looking.
I am 66, working ~ 50 hours each week – and don’t ever intend to retire. I have had no fewer than four different careers (scientist, corporate management, entrepreneur with several businesses, and financial advisor for the last decade). I’ve enjoyed each for some period of time and found something new once any path got too familiar, boring, idiot-ridden or just plain unchallenging. Do I still put money aside for when I need it? You bet. Have I chosen to use some of these funds for things I’ve wanted along the way? You bet. Could I die tomorrow and leave it all behind? Again, you bet. Am I in the least concerned about that? No.
Truly, I think the stress relief provided by a healthy stash of savings more than offsets whatever goodies you may give up or defer.
Example: while we have never deferred a vacation, we generally try to travel the frugal way–not in the best hotels, picnics over restaurants, etc.
In Germany we have to retire at the age of 65. Now with people living well into their late eighties, the government plans to gradually move the retirement age to 67, and this almost caused a revolution! The actual retirement age is about 57, which means people worked for maybe 30 years and expect to get a pension from the government for 30 years, too. The idea of saving for your retirement is not very popular around here.
“Take a sabbatical”
That’s why I save
Great post! I’m in the #6 and 7 category. At 48 I’m officially leaving work next year to travel around the world on my motorcycle. I am able to do that because of diligent savings and investing (particularly with MF advice!). I expect that to be a 3 to 5 year adventure. When I come back I plan to move into #7 and do that as long as I’m able.
I should note I had a fire in 2000 and lost everything. As a result of that experience when I started to rebuild my life I did so with a very minimalist approach. I realized that things come and go easily, I only need the basics (nice basics but basics) to enjoy life. This has freed me to focus on what’s really important (and really fattened my saving account). No longer am I owned by my possessions – held hostage to buy, manage, maintain stuff!! It’s amazing how much energy we waste in life letting our stuff rule us.
My goal all along has been to save enough that it wouldn’t matter how much I made I could do what I loved instead of just working to make ends meet. I’m very confident that in my journeys around the world that I’ll discover just what kind of work I should be doing for that phase of my life. Can’t wait to get started!
To me all savings are about having options. I avoid debt, too, because servicing debt limits my options. I try to navigate a well-lived life on the assumption that I hope to keep this life as long as possible. All my savings and spending contribute to this in some way. If I can avoid misery, now or later, I do. Spending my life now doing something I hate with the only pay-off being an uncertain retirement (which come to think of it sounds a lot like the Presbyterianism in which I was raised) would be miserable. Spending all my money now and having no options but to keep working forever sounds miserable, too. Living luxuriously would feel frivolous and wasteful to me so I don’t have many urges to live beyond my means. I could probably work a little harder and spend a little less to ramp up my savings, but the free time and moderate vacations are worth more to me right now. I guess this is “balance” but it feels like common sense.
@funkright #19:
Don’t worry, I’m not all about fear, my post was dramatic to make a point about how future inflation is a big danger to all savers (but perversely rewards spenders). I strive for moderation because you never know when it’s your last day… but I will err on the side of caution until I see how our national spending binge turns out. We’ll talk in 2023. 🙂
Thanks for the information
I’ve came out of retirement a few times so I can relate to your first point
Jane (20) “We long for a more secure position, but are fully aware that the only people who can provide that are us.
Linear Girl (26) “If I can avoid misery, now or later, I do.”
Love it. I shall continue to save, to avoid future misery and provide for my future security. I shall continue to spend, in moderation, to avoid current misery and provide for my current happiness. Thus, I have both the mortgage currently and the “mountainside shack fund 2034” cd ladder.
I’m 37, and plan to semi-retire in my early 50’s. My mortgage should be paid off by then, and my retirement savings built up. I currently work in the corporate world, but my type of work translates well to freelancing. I plan to go out on my own as a freelancer, working about 20 hrs a week. The part-time income will be the financial bridge that carries my husband and I into our 60’s, when our government pensions and his private pension kick in. Will I keep working past that point? Beats me! But I’ll have the choice – if I want to fully retire, I can.
When I tell people my plan a lot of them say “I don’t know what I’d do with myself all day!” I seriously don’t understand that statement. I have a long list of things I’d like to do, all I need is more time. Take courses, travel, do more volunteer work, devote more time to my hobbies . . . filling my time will NOT be a problem!
So, that’s my goal for saving. And if things don’t go as planned – if either of us gets laid off, if something happens to my husband’s private pension, if, if if . . . we still have our savings & investments, and the flexibility to adapt.
Having Savings = Having Choices.
That is why I save.
In the current financial “culture”, it seems to be all about retirement, tax savings, estate planning, etc, but I have to agree that the real purpose of saving, retirement or otherwise, is to expand options later in life, even if we aren’t sure what those options might be just yet. Might sound kind of spacey, but we have to give a wide berth to the force known as Life, that can take us in unexpected directions.
But on that note it’s worth bringing into the picture the other half of retirement planning, which is expense management. For most people, the idea that we’ll retire and live the lives we do now (or even higher) without working anymore is a pipe dream. That isn’t even retirement in the true sense, it’s being wealthy, which (dose of cold reality here) won’t happen for most.
By saving, we’re not only accumulating money for later, but we’re also living beneath our means, which we’ll need to learn if we do want anything like traditional retirement, which itself might be forced on us. Better to have it (savings) and not need it(for what ever reason), than to need it and not have it.
The way I figure it, Global Warming will turn the Earth into an inferno that no one will survive. So retire young.
Also, there is a chance an Asteroid will hit in 2037. There goes my chance a Social Security.So I need to retire young.
@A. Smith: you are on the right track. With your mortgage paid off when you retire, you can live rent-free. Your retirement savings will go a lot further.
I don’t understand the people who say they don’t know what they would do with themselves all day either. My experience is that people instead say: “When did I find the time to work???”
It’s important to save because everyone deserves to retire in comfort and dignity. You don’t want to continue working longer than you are physically able.
MiKe C – Retire young, retire rich. Nobody on their death bed wished they could work more.
Rgds,
RB
Richby30… makes my point. If you love what you do for a living, you don’t want to stop.
That in no way means life should be unbalanced. If you work 60,70 or 80 hours each week, you really need a life! That’s not love; that’s compulsion.
I believe that it is crucial to save for at least a goal, if not retirement. Having money creates options for yourself. If everything works out well and you are able to work at a job that you love for as long as you want, perfect. Use some of the extra money to treat yourself, or do some donating to charities you are passionate about.
Robert has it right when he says it is just as much about how you want to spend your time as how you want to spend your money. After retiring at 35 (13 years ago) his points about balancing enjoying life now and later are dead on.
Where Robert runs a bit astray from reality is his position on saving now. It could be due to his age or financial needs with current mortgage and 4 kids, but the real compelling vision is freedom to live our life unencumbered by financial issues. Life is too short to spend working all the time. Work is valuable as a creative expression and tangible connection, and there are many other compelling things to do with one’s time.
I write this from Chamonix, France on a six week family vacation while the kids are out of school. It is the lifestyle and freedom that is compelling. Happiness and life fulfillment is what it is all about.
Todd
I believe that it is crucial to save for at least a goal, if not retirement. Having money creates options for yourself. If everything works out well and you are able to work at a job that you love for as long as you want, perfect. Use some of the extra money to treat yourself, or do some donating to charities you are passionate about.
Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!
Robert, Great post, made me think about all the “money messages” we get around the topic of retirement.
My dad lived the “don’t retire, don’t wait” life and he started traveling and exploring his curiosity in his 40’s and never stopped. As one of his 5 children, he took me to some amazing places and shared his experiences with me. My older siblings unfortunately have stronger memories of the missed little league games.
Owning a business was one of the things that made my dad’s choices possible. Not much talk about that mentioned here. For those who don’t plan to retire, I think the autonomy that comes with being the boss makes work more desirable.
My story, in my 20’s I “worked myself into debt” with low paying jobs and high expenses. In my 30’s I got out of debt, and started saving for retirement while working for a company who’s compensation plan was modest paychecks and awesome bonuses. Learning to live on that paycheck made it possible to save the bonus and finally start the retirement next egg. Got married and bought my house around 40, was laid off at 44, and opened my insurance agency at 45. Without that turnaround decade in my 30’s, I would not be able to do what I’m doing now.
Whoever signs your paycheck, the concept of “working for yourself” is the first step toward the financial independence that many call “retirement” A planner I know simply calls it “financial freedom day” which is that day when passive income replaces paychecks and you are free to pursue your own interests – be they work or play. Great provocative post.
This was a fabulous post. I think #3 was the most romantic thing I have ever read, and #s5 & 6 are what it is all about for me. Thanks for posting and making me smile 🙂
Love Ruth’s comments (#40). My life parallels much of your description. Stoopit and broke in my 20’s to debt free and owning my home outright by 36. I have enough of an emergency fund for my family of five to live off of for a year, and about $800 a month residual income from investment properties.
I am at the stage now where I am not sure I want to retire. I would much rather get paid for doing what I love…writing, and songwriting/performance. That’s why I have been diligent about paying off my debt including my home and building up residual income to take care of the dry spells.
I also can reasonably expect that my job might be obsoleted at any point as I work in the financial sector. For me, it is not as much of a worry as it is for those who do not live below their means. They may never be able to retire.
Todd (#38) & Ruth (#40)–You’re both on to something here. I’m going to get beat up for saying this, but a lot of the obsession with saving for retirement in particular, is as “insurance” against an unsatifying life/career or a job that is so dreary that we dream of the day we can walk away.
Having a compelling career, one you enjoy so much that it isn’t like work, and not drudgery in any way, largely eliminates the need to salt every last penny away toward Career Independence Day.
We should save for retirement, if for no other reason than to smooth out the rough edges that life is bound to hit us with, but living a life with purpose and passion is truly a life worth living, and unfortunately not prominent in a culture that’s still largely rooted in the mentality of the industrial revolution.
I really like this approach, because the purpose behind saving money is to spend it. Who does nothing in retirement? seriously, you are going to spend the money, so having financial goals for the span of your lifetime is a good way to plan your savings.
Thank you Robert! Finally! A finance writer who doesn’t think the worst sin in the world is to end up living with your kids. I love that you have built in a provision for your wife to live with your children if you should pass first (and she no longer wants to, or can, live alone). I have been so disappointed, no, completely aggravated, to constantly read in financial magazines, etc. that, “The last thing you want is to have to depend on your kids!” That philosophy has only cropped up in maybe the last 30 years. Thousands of years of human history have had multiple generations living in the same home – which can have some wonderful advantages (your kids could actually get to know their grandparents?!)
I talked about this post with my wife. The key is to have the financial independence to work when I WANT to work, how I WANT to work, and with whom I WANT to work. By the time I reach retirement age, I do not want to be in a situation to need to work in the traditional sense.
My long-term vision for “retirement” planning is to use any income I have from part-time working (hopefully university teaching, a little consulting, and some board work) to cover the fun events like vacations, college football trips, and conferences. The 401K and Roth will cover basic living expenses (which will not include any mortgages, since we plan to pay off our home well in advance).
Given today’s free agent economy mindset, there really is no reason for anyone who still wants to work to just retire. I just attended a conference where Dr. Robert Schueller (age 83) and Zig Ziglar (82) spoke. I figure if they are still out there earning money, anyone can do it.
Great advice. The choice of not retiring might not be yours– health as you rightly pointed out.
Thank you for mentioning/ promoting West Virginia. It is such a wonderful, peaceful home.
I have been wondering about this for a long time, but I thought that I must be forgetting something.
Surprisingly, this article has convinced me that I really DO NOT need to bother saving for retirement. What do you think? Point by point:
1. What can I say about this? I don’t think I will change my mind. People kind of expect to see old professors.
2. I’m a tenured professor at a state university in a warm southern state with a salary of almost $150k/year. I have a FUN part time business that I love that makes about $50k/year and which is growing quite rapidly. The 50k is totally fun money. I spend an average of a day a week on it.
3. My wife is much younger, but she is an RN and knows how to run the part time business if anything happened to me. I have LT disability insurance. I probably have 6 months of accrued sick leave.
4. Professors already get PAID sabbaticals every 7 years. Plus three months in the summer and almost a month at Christmas.
5. We are planing to put some of the part time money toward a second apartment in a in another country. (We already know where…)
6. I live abroad all summer every year already. I teach some classes abroad and some online. My part time business can (mostly) be managed by internet.
7. I’m already “back to teaching…” and I love it.
8. Our state retirement system contributes about 10% of my income (an additional 10%) to a 403B. I contribute nothing additional… because I don’t want to retire. I plan to leave the account to my wife/children someday.
So does this mean that I really don’t need to save for retirement?