Retire at 55 and live to 80

[Scottybdivin]

Interesting. I've been saying that for years. I watched two uncles work themselves to the bone building their businesses. At 65 & 66, both sold their companies and made a lot of $$ so they could travel together in their RV's . Both died within 2 years.

[wnytaxman]

I guess I'm the opposite situation. This is my 45th tax season and I'll probably work one or two more. Even in my early 70's I still find that I enjoy my clients, like the people I work with, and enjoy my work. I'll retire at some point in the not too distant future but I'm being cautious about it although my partners may want it to be sooner rather than later. I've seen too many people who retire too early and drop dead soon afterward.

I have an expression which I think has a lot of merit. It is "When you no longer have a reason to get up in the morning, eventually you don't."

[hoosierrun]

"An actuarial study conducted on some of the larger US Pension Funds including Boeing Aerospace, indicates that employees who retired at the age of 65, died within two years of retirement."

OUCH! I'm glad I made it past 67. I retired at 65, so I'm thinking this quote is from 15 or more years ago. I feel like I'm in pretty good shape for now.

I think you have a better chance of predicting your own longevity (versus actuarial tables) by having annual physicals including stress tests, blood pressure, cholesterol, ..... and so on, and going over the results with your Dr., or researching the results on line. You need to look at your family history and find out what caused the death of those in your family that are already gone. Genetic predisposition is a fairly good indicator if you know which family member you take after. If you have taken care of yourself, probably add a few years beyond the age of what parent you most likely take after (assuming they are already deceased) for your own guess of how long you will live.

I always remember being told, that saving for the future includes, not only saving money, but saving your health when possible. Both are pretty tough to do.

[Craig1960]

Neither one of my parents made it to retirement unfortunately, that and seeing so many others who saved all their life to die just after they retire made me do it differently. I spent a lot of money doing the things I wanted to from my late 30's to my early 50's while I was healthy enough to fully enjoy it.
Now I'm in my late 50's and will have to work well into my 60's if I think I'm going to live much past 70ish. I don't regret it at all and I still have the m/h and a couple of the toys that are all paid for so that I can enjoy them if and when I can retire. Besides the dw is 10 years younger almost and has no plans or retiring anytime soon. So I might as well keep working at something while I wait for her.

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by eddieelk

I was forced to retire at age 57 due to company being bought out. Stayed off for 2 years and got bored. Went back to work for 6 years, and got laid off, and retired again at age 65. Worked at Wallyworld in the summer for 5 years. Am now 81 and thinking about going back to work. My idea for someone 62 and thinking about retiring. Buy an old motorhome. You won't have time to stop working. I'm on my 4th one now, wintering in South Texas, looking for a problem with my 12 volt system. Thinking about heading to Southern California when I leave here. Can't wait the next problem to show up. Eddie Elk.

Mr. Eddie.... You, my friend, are a WISE MAN!!!!

[Dan McMartin]

I retired at 43. I've been retired for 8 years. I should live forever

Seriously, I saw a study done on NFL players. Despite their generally better than average physical strength and conditioning, football players tend to die younger than average and much younger than expected. Don't remember the details but one of the theories was that people had a certain amount of life in them, like a video game character. If you used it up playing football, working in stressful conditions, etc., you died younger, on average. If you had a relatively sedate life, you lived longer.

Now studies show healthy overweight people tend to live longer than healthy thin people. Probably not killing themselves at the gym to maintain a "healthy" weight.

Not hard to believe that working longer taxes your body and you die sooner. Stress is a serious health issue. It causes all manner of physical problems. That's why you get out as soon as you can. Life is short enough. Enjoy it while you can. As I always say, freedom is better than money.

[dexters]

You have to consider that if a person is working until 65 they may not have the option to retire early because they are poor. Being poor is probably the reason they die earlier then those that can retire earlier and may have had good health and health care all their lives.

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

I retired at 43. I've been retired for 8 years. I should live forever

Seriously, I saw a study done on NFL players. Despite their generally better than average physical strength and conditioning, football players tend to die younger than average and much younger than expected. Don't remember the details but one of the theories was that people had a certain amount of life in them, like a video game character. If you used it up playing football, working in stressful conditions, etc., you died younger, on average. If you had a relatively sedate life, you lived longer.

Now studies show healthy overweight people tend to live longer than healthy thin people. Probably not killing themselves at the gym to maintain a "healthy" weight.

Not hard to believe that working longer taxes your body and you die sooner. Stress is a serious health issue. It causes all manner of physical problems. That's why you get out as soon as you can. Life is short enough. Enjoy it while you can. As I always say, freedom is better than money.

If the above about weight is true, I'll make it to 100 for sure!

[hoosierrun]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

I retired at 43. I've been retired for 8 years. I should live forever

Seriously, I saw a study done on NFL players. Despite their generally better than average physical strength and conditioning, football players tend to die younger than average and much younger than expected. Don't remember the details but one of the theories was that people had a certain amount of life in them, like a video game character. If you used it up playing football, working in stressful conditions, etc., you died younger, on average. If you had a relatively sedate life, you lived longer.

Now studies show healthy overweight people tend to live longer than healthy thin people. Probably not killing themselves at the gym to maintain a "healthy" weight.

Not hard to believe that working longer taxes your body and you die sooner. Stress is a serious health issue. It causes all manner of physical problems. That's why you get out as soon as you can. Life is short enough. Enjoy it while you can. As I always say, freedom is better than money.

I think it is all the DHEA and other aspects of diet that make these football players succumb earlier. lol All that bulking up has got to be tough on your heart. Same with weight training for bulk. I am a believer in cardio and NOT bulking up. I try to jog/cycle 2 or 3 times a week and hang with a group that does the same. My running buddy of almost 20 years is 70 years old and just completed a 100 mile foot run in 33+ hours (over the allowed cut-off of 32, but they let him finish). I know he is one in a million, but a lot of old guys (and gals) have very low resting heart rates, so, except during cardio exercise, our hearts aren't working too hard.

When I'm out RVing I try to find some decent hiking trails and often find that my cardio workout is hiking up mountain trails. It is the best of both worlds!

Of course we all know.... when your number is called, it is time to go. I can certainly appreciate the fact that many try to do the things they like at a much younger age than most.

[nothermark]

I think the survey is stacked. From what I saw it depends on what one does for a living.
Professional people both earn more so they can save faster and get exposed to less body trauma as part of their job. Look at the lawyers and accountants as examples of people who often work well into their 70's or later because they are not breathing bad chemicals or breaking their bodies down with hard physical labor.

If you look into the blue collar labor area most work to full Social Security because they need the money both in their retirement fund and as a salary. They often retire with medical problems related to the work they do or did when younger.

Toss in the number of folks who have been pushed out in their 50's and it gets more interesting. Professionals who planned ahead often settle for whatever income level they are at and call it good. Blue collar workers are more likely to have to find anything they can to do the gap years so they drive bus or work at Walmart. That is why they retire later and die sooner. They are literally worn out.

[wildtoad]

And thus one of the reasons SS is in trouble. People living longer and retiring earlier. When created back in the 30’s, most people were expected to die before they actually collected the first check which of course left more money to support the few people who actually made it to 65. Same with pension systems from cities, states, and private companies. However, modern medicine and life styles let people live longer, and start drawing pensions after years of service versus age and they all go bankrupt.

Now me, I retired way early on ( 47 ) my own dime, and started drawing SS the moment I reached 62, to make sure I got my fair share. Now in 7 months I’ll dump this Obamacare policy and get Medicare.

[HRvindeb]

Originally Posted by rh3356

I am 61 and would like to retire in March at 62. What do y'all do for medical insurance until you reach 65? That is the only thing stopping me.

Retired 3 years ago at 59 and used cobra ( allows one to continue insurance from company for 18 months). $1410 a month and $72 dental coverage. Needless to say , that wasn’t going to work! Got busy with ACA (Obama care) the second year of retirement and managed to get premium down to under $500 a month . You’ll have to cut back on income to qualify for tax credit subsidy. Go to healthcare.gov and check it out. One bad thing, a lot of health care practices are backing out of accepting that particular insurance so keeping doctor that you prefer is limited .

DW is 65 this year so thankful she’ll be on Medicare in a few months. Get me on a single policy, which should be cheaper

Best to you, and hopefully you will figure it out. BTW no regrets retiring when I
did. It is great.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by HRvindeb

Retired 3 years ago at 59 and used cobra ( allows one to continue insurance from company for 18 months). $1410 a month and $72 dental coverage. Needless to say , that wasn’t going to work! Got busy with ACA (Obama care) the second year of retirement and managed to get premium down to under $500 a month . You’ll have to cut back on income to qualify for tax credit subsidy. Go to healthcare.gov and check it out. One bad thing, a lot of health care practices are backing out of accepting that particular insurance so keeping doctor that you prefer is limited .

DW is 65 this year so thankful she’ll be on Medicare in a few months. Get me on a single policy, which should be cheaper

Best to you, and hopefully you will figure it out. BTW no regrets retiring when I
did. It is great.

I retired early at 51, 12 years ago and had a very good Blue Cross Blue shield policy for $3600/year. Fast forward to now, BCBS not in my city and now have Kaiser Permenete, I have to find a new doctor. The plan sucks if I ever get sick.

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by Jayco1

Retire at 55 and live to 80

Work till you’re 65 and die at 67. Startling new data shows how work pounds older bodies.

September 10, 2013

While I don't disagree with the premise of the article I don't think an article from 2013 is "startling new data".