A real problem or just bragging?

KathyB1968

KathyB1968

New Member
Location
Washington DC area
I sometimes read things from people who complain that other people tell them they are "too young to be retired." [Not here, other places online] They act as though this is a serious problem.

I can't help but think, is this an actual problem? Or are these posters just bragging about retiring earlier than most people or looking young for their age?

Has anyone had someone say that to them? And did it feel like a lighthearted comment or something more mean spirited?

I am having a hard time thinking it would be anything more than lighthearted teasing. Or the senior equivalent of telling a middle aged woman she doesn't look old enough to drink.

Do people actual say "you are too young to be retired" in a mean or hostile way? Maybe out of jealousy?
 

I stopped working at 51 and some members of my family scolded me for wasting what they felt should be my most productive years.

Strong work ethic? 🤔

For me, continuing to work at something I didn’t enjoy for something I didn’t need was just another form of waste. 😉

Listen to the advice of others but in the end make your own decisions and live your own life.
 

KathyB1968 said:
Do people actual say "you are too young to be retired" in a mean or hostile way?
Click to expand...
When I was younger, I was out of work when I lived in a certain place. When people asked me what I was doing, I had to tell them that I wasn't employed.

One relative I knew well told me those exact words. She meant, 'get off your ass and get a job.' It was just the nicer, more passive aggressive way of saying it.
 
My supervisor and co-workers thought I was crazy when I told them I was retiring at age 50 and flat out said I couldn't do it. They had worked for the state longer than I did, though we worked in the same office for a long time. I switched from municipal to state payroll, at the urging of my supervisor, after 14 years in the office. Obviously the state paid much better. When they said I couldn't retire, I think part of it was disbelief and the other was out of concern that I'd be making a big financial mistake. But due to my particular set of circumstances, I never had a financial problem even though I lost 12% of my full pension by taking early retirement.

Of course that also meant that I stopped paying into social security much sooner than many people and had to wait 11 years to collect (I retired one month before my 51st birthday).
 
KathyB1968 said:
I sometimes read things from people who complain that other people tell them they are "too young to be retired." [Not here, other places online] They act as though this is a serious problem.

I can't help but think, is this an actual problem? Or are these posters just bragging about retiring earlier than most people or looking young for their age?

Has anyone had someone say that to them? And did it feel like a lighthearted comment or something more mean spirited?

I am having a hard time thinking it would be anything more than lighthearted teasing. Or the senior equivalent of telling a middle aged woman she doesn't look old enough to drink.

Do people actual say "you are too young to be retired" in a mean or hostile way? Maybe out of jealousy?
Click to expand...

KathyB1968 said:
I sometimes read things from people who complain that other people tell them they are "too young to be retired." [Not here, other places online] They act as though this is a serious problem.

I can't help but think, is this an actual problem? Or are these posters just bragging about retiring earlier than most people or looking young for their age?

Has anyone had someone say that to them? And did it feel like a lighthearted comment or something more mean spirited?

I am having a hard time thinking it would be anything more than lighthearted teasing. Or the senior equivalent of telling a middle aged woman she doesn't look old enough to drink.

Do people actual say "you are too young to be retired" in a mean or hostile way? Maybe out of jealousy?
Click to expand...
I've been married for 30 years to someone 14 years older than I am. I always knew the plan was to retire together. Now he is 70 and I am 56, traveling and enjoying life. I've gotten the "you are too young to be retired", I laugh it off because I don't think it is malicious. It's a fact! I wish to be 62 and collect SS but I also need to live life with my hubby because who knows what tomorrow brings
 
jujube said:
As long as they're not telling me "You're too young to be dead", I'll take anything as a compliment.
Click to expand...
One evening l took a cab to pick up medication for my dad. The first cab driver said to me that l was good looking and l must have been really pretty when l was young. The cab driver on the way home just said l was pretty. Who do you think got the better tip? I took both as compliments. Take em' where you can get 'em,
 
71 now, but retired @ 53. When I said I'd never work for someone else again and was retiring, don't think many believed me. Maybe their unsaid thoughts were ... in no particular order ... 1) He can't afford to retire 2) He's too young to retire 3) What is he thinking, impossible 4) He'll get bored 5) Good luck with that 6) Yeah, okay, right 7) Makes no difference to me what he does 8) Better him than me to try it 9) Good Luck !!!

Been 18yrs ... so far so good. I don't travel the world anymore (career related) or buy a brand new vehicle every few years. Heck I usually drive much less than 100 miles a month anyway. Some times in retirement have been tougher than most other times but I could say the same thing about times when I was working. No regrets.
 
People can be, and often are, so judgemental. What concern is it to anyone the age at which you chose your retirement? My wife's stock answer to intrusive, rude and impertinent questions has always been: "And your problem is?"

Those with nothing better to do now have the internet and along with it, social media, the likes of Facebook, which has given them an anonymous platform from which to spew their bile about the lives of others. Chances are they are jealous that they can't retire at fifty, which would give them yet more time to berate those of whom they disapprove.
 
People who are extremely annoyed at someone for being unemployed will very often find various ways to persecute the person they disapprove of. Especially if they are in a position to do it, such as being the apartment complex property manager, or being some disgruntled maintenance workers who have access to your stuff because they have the apartment keys.

Once such individuals tag the person as lazy, all kinds of cunning chastisements will ensue. In fact, manager and maintenance workers might even become a team in that endeavor. Others, such as nurses, or public transportation bus drivers will also express their displeasure or disapproval in various direct or indirect ways available to them. They can also be motivated by political rhetoric which demonizes certain types of individuals as being detrimental to the nation's economic progress. Seeing that type of individual unemployed can arouse a murderous hatred motivated by a strong sense of patriotic duty to set things straight.

 
Last edited:
A friend says he will work til 70 and says he loves his job. But also, he never acquired much in Social Security nor any pension, and his current job includes free housing in the San Diego area for him and his much younger wife that has health problems. He has never said anything about me retiring at age 63 however.

Some people have some personal necessity behind their comments.
 
Sometimes, although not any more, I thought that my life was upside down. Retirement should have come first when I had more strength and energy, not when I was too old to benefit from it. Ideally, retirement would end when you are 65, and you have to work after that.
 
Aunt Bea said:
I stopped working at 51 and some members of my family scolded me for wasting what they felt should be my most productive years.

Strong work ethic? 🤔

For me, continuing to work at something I didn’t enjoy for something I didn’t need was just another form of waste. 😉

Listen to the advice of others but in the end make your own decisions and live your own life.
Click to expand...

This the difference between working for what you want and working for what you think other people think you should want. Congrats for making your choice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top