Am I in the minority about this here?

Most of us like to keep busy but not necessarily with paid work. We don't all sit on our bums waiting for Death to call once our working days are over. I'm sure I'm not the only one who helps with charities. One of the advantages of being retired is that you can help with agencies which depend on volunteers.

Yeah, my wife is always talking about volunteering for stuff if she can't work. I'm too lazy for that, you have to pay me, lol.
 

Good on you and your wife, Hyperion. More power to you both.

Traditionalist here. Took social security retirement at 62.

What has me wondering though, with more individuals and couples like you opting to work from home. Will this eventually drive up the SSA retirement age for those unable or unwilling to do that?
 

I was caregiver to my wife for 12 years after she was brain injured. I had to keep working to have her medical treatments covered. After she passed away I kept working as I had nothing better to do.
I met my present wife, wwanted to travel, so I retired so we could.
 
working peeps. Are we oddities?
My brother is 70 yrs old and still works part-time (I assume it is part-time since he finds a lot of time to play tennis, golf, and go on biking trips in Europe), but he has the sort of work that he can choose to work with a client and he only has to create plans and the client has to do the work of implementing them (but my brother only gets paid if the plan is successful at growing the client's business). So he has control of his work and gets to enjoy the success of it. Plus it can be done like yours, at home, or wherever he is, and at the time convenient for him.

I retired almost half a year earlier than full retirement age because although I loved the work I did, I had no control of anything and had the frustration of seeing management frequently sabotage the work with stupid decisions and/or complete lack of effort at doing their own job, plus the whole irritation of the way corporations take advantage of employees and then insult us by distrusting us. But also, probably more so, because I started feeling my age by my mid 60s.
 
You're under no obligation to retire based upon what other people think.

All I can tell you is I decided to retire about four years early after experience about five early deaths of friends and relatives in a few short years. As of today I have outlived them all, and I am glad I had the extra time. I spent most of that time on traveling and grandkids
. :)
 
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I had three distinctly different careers, totally enjoyed each one, and never thought about retiring until about 64. I couldn't imagine doing nothing, then at 67 I decided it was time. About 8 months later, I was asked to work as 1st Deputy Clerk for our town, so I did for a year. Since then, I've volunteered for the Historic Assn, on the Board of Friends of the Library, work as a voting inspector for 5 years now at various local and federal elections and am still looking for other volunteering projects.

You'll know when it's time to retire. It will feel right. Until then, enjoy what you are contributing to the work force. It sounds like you are a smart guy. Your wife, too.🙂
 
Me? I started thinking about retirement when I got my first job at 17. I hung on til 62 and then I bade a not-so-fond adieu to the working world and never looked back.
I tell people (some might even listen, or pretend to), that the only reason I started working in the first place was so I could quit. Came back to Canada from Saudi Arabia at the end of 1988 and that was me done.....46.
 
Thanks so much for the replies from everyone. I'm really enjoying hearing about everyone else's experiences.

Part of my story that has led up to me wanting to continue and not looking at retirement yet, is that I got a late start. Really a pretty late start in life.

For most of my younger days, I was very unfocused. I was all over the place and could not make up my mind what I wanted to do. I wasn't happy with anything I tried and as a result, I found myself passing 30 years of age and I had no real success in my life. I remember working for my grandfather who was a housing contractor. I didn't want to go to college, I played with some bands, and basically goofed off a lot. My grandpa would look at me some days, and just shake his head, that boy is never going to amount to nothing! So I finally decided I wanted to do something, went back to school and got a degree in Compsci and started developing business solutions. I had a couple of full time gigs and I hated it, lol. I was till in that rogue mode of mine. So then I went independent contractor and that's when I started working full time remote, about, well almost 15 years ago.

Then I met my current client and they finally talked me into taking a full time job with them. It's only 35 hours a week (on paper only, lol) and they know I take on other clients. All that matters is that I complete the projects they want and it came with lots of benefits. It took us about 2 years to negotiate while I continued to work for them as a contractor and finally they got me to give in, been 10 years now. Then I met my wife. I really wanted the health insurance since my wife and I were getting older, the old newlyweds, lol.

So I feel like I am just starting to enjoy the success of basically about 20+ years of hard work and I don't want it to stop, yet. If I can just pick the right numbers on the next billion dollar mega lottery thing. then I can go back to fulltime goof off...
 
I know and knew of people who don't want to retire either because they love what they do or feel they'd be bored and useless if they retired. You've got the best of both worlds, so I can understand why you're not ready to do it yet. I couldn't wait to retire and did so at age 50. I loved my interactions with patients as a state public health rep but hated the BS sometimes encountered by our regional manager. In addition, my mother was aging and I had health issues.
 
More power to you Hyperion. I spent 35 years in the workforce working my butt off to raise two children on my own. After they were grown I worked my butt off to have an early retirement. I retired in 2007 at the age of 49 with no regrets. Different strokes for different folks.
 
Thanks so much for the replies from everyone. I'm really enjoying hearing about everyone else's experiences.

Part of my story that has led up to me wanting to continue and not looking at retirement yet, is that I got a late start. Really a pretty late start in life.

For most of my younger days, I was very unfocused. I was all over the place and could not make up my mind what I wanted to do. I wasn't happy with anything I tried and as a result, I found myself passing 30 years of age and I had no real success in my life. I remember working for my grandfather who was a housing contractor. I didn't want to go to college, I played with some bands, and basically goofed off a lot. My grandpa would look at me some days, and just shake his head, that boy is never going to amount to nothing! So I finally decided I wanted to do something, went back to school and got a degree in Compsci and started developing business solutions. I had a couple of full time gigs and I hated it, lol. I was till in that rogue mode of mine. So then I went independent contractor and that's when I started working full time remote, about, well almost 15 years ago.

So I feel like I am just starting to enjoy the success of basically about 20+ years of hard work and I don't want it to stop, yet. If I can just pick the right numbers on the next billion dollar mega lottery thing. then I can go back to fulltime goof off...
You got a late start at what you want to do with your life. Now you know, there's another 10 years or so at this side of your work line. We'll wait for you to catch up.👍
 
Well, there's many 60+ people out there still punching a clock. Some don't have a choice in the matter and have to retire . Enjoy your day and the money, there's some who envy you.
 
I had three distinctly different careers, totally enjoyed each one, and never thought about retiring until about 64. I couldn't imagine doing nothing, then at 67 I decided it was time. About 8 months later, I was asked to work as 1st Deputy Clerk for our town, so I did for a year. Since then, I've volunteered for the Historic Assn, on the Board of Friends of the Library, work as a voting inspector for 5 years now at various local and federal elections and am still looking for other volunteering projects.

You'll know when it's time to retire. It will feel right. Until then, enjoy what you are contributing to the work force. It sounds like you are a smart guy. Your wife, too.🙂
Exactly!!
 
I'm 62 and I have no plans to retire. My wife is still working too and she's older than me and also does not want to retire. We both work from home. I have my office, she has hers and what I really like is that I can work when I want and even where I want.
GRANNY1.jpg
96 year old Irene Astbury opened her shop in 1981 and is still working there more than 40 years later
granny2.jpg
Brian Wilson, 90, has been driving trucks since King George VI was on the throne, but took on his first job delivering for Esso in 1953.

1680124551968.jpeg
Dr Alan Merson never wanted to become a doctor, but with 57 years working in the same practice he is now thought to be the UK's longest serving GP. The 83-year-old followed his father into medicine and qualified in 1948 - just as the NHS was born.
Dr Alan Merson has worked as a GP in the NHS since its inception and more than 60 years later he is still there.
 
i should of retired aged 60, 7 yrs ago, until, the government put it up to 67, i should of retired last year.
but because of personal reasons , it looks like i ll be working harder for the foreseeable future ...
im a carer @Hyperion
 
Keep working because once you retire it's hard to get going again. If you do, chances are, you'll start nearer the bottom and be paid much less. Also, Social security is going broke and nobody is dealing with it. So stash your cash. Finally, when it's time you'll know it, and you won't be asking the likes of us.
 
I'm 62 and I have no plans to retire. My wife is still working too and she's older than me and also does not want to retire. We both work from home. I have my office, she has hers and what I really like is that I can work when I want and even where I want. Right now, 10:30pm, I'm working on some stuff so that a client can test something in the morning and I just thought of an idea and want to give it a try. So much better than a legacy office in some building in a city. If I had to go to an office like that, I might think of retiring in a few years, but since I can work any time and from literally anywhere in the world, I have no plans to retire.

I call my current commute, the bathrobe commute. I wake up, go get my coffee, or if I get up first, make the coffee. Go walk down to my wife's office and take her a cup of coffee, give her a morning hug and kiss and get ready to face all the crazy clients I have to deal with. But I'm not ready to call it a quit just yet. Maybe in 10 years if I can work up some sort of part time gig, OK, I hope I can still do it! but retirement is just not for me, not yet.

My wife actually retired from 20 years of teaching, got her law degree, did that for a while and then retired again. And just about 6 months ago, she wanted to go back to work, so she did. 2 golden age, so they say it is, working peeps. Are we oddities? I don't know. If anyone else is planning to stay working, I'd love to hear about it!
I am now 72. I retired at 63, not because I wanted to, but the company I had worked for a long while shut down our operation where I lived. To stay with them I would have had to accept a move to the West Coast or maybe Mexico. My wife and I did not want to relocate anymore so I accepted a generous retirement package they offered (My wife is a homemaker; she wants me to retire). I had not planned on retiring until I was 66. I too loved my work. But over the years I had developed a number of fun things that I did when not working. I started writing again, something I did when I was younger. I also started oil painting again and coaching kids in sports. Both of these helped me dig in and start rediscovering with myself and my wife things that, over my lifetime, I really enjoyed doing other than working and going to school.

What I learned through that process is that many of us over the span of our work lives, lose track of those 'other things' that we really enjoy. Additionally, before I retired, I needed to think about evaluating what things I have always wanted to do, that I have not been able to do over my work life. I did that process as I approached my forced retirement date. I could have probably found a job when our company shut down, but I was the General Manager and finding a new GM job at the age of 63 would have been a bit of a long shot. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are a lot of things I still want to do or do more of before I die! So, I jumped into retirement....

It was one of my best decisions...I am busy all the time and enjoy life every day. My wife works with me on home projects, and I help her cook so we continue to find things we do together. Recently we began playing pickleball. What a kick that is for us...I have done painting during the winter and some writing also (I know my grammar and spelling is really bad...but my wife is a great proofreader). I also have started.
learning to play the guitar, folkstyle. That has really been relaxing and challenging.

Enough said, you have to prepare for retirement. You cannot work until you drop at your desk, make a plan and start preparing for your last chapter, make it your best ever!
 
Since you can work when you want and have control over your time, you have a huge advantage over most of the population who often have to show up based upon somebody else's command. So do whatever works for you and Good Luck!
 
I'm 62 and I have no plans to retire. My wife is still working too and she's older than me and also does not want to retire. We both work from home. I have my office, she has hers and what I really like is that I can work when I want and even where I want. Right now, 10:30pm, I'm working on some stuff so that a client can test something in the morning and I just thought of an idea and want to give it a try. So much better than a legacy office in some building in a city. If I had to go to an office like that, I might think of retiring in a few years, but since I can work any time and from literally anywhere in the world, I have no plans to retire.

I call my current commute, the bathrobe commute. I wake up, go get my coffee, or if I get up first, make the coffee. Go walk down to my wife's office and take her a cup of coffee, give her a morning hug and kiss and get ready to face all the crazy clients I have to deal with. But I'm not ready to call it a quit just yet. Maybe in 10 years if I can work up some sort of part time gig, OK, I hope I can still do it! but retirement is just not for me, not yet.

My wife actually retired from 20 years of teaching, got her law degree, did that for a while and then retired again. And just about 6 months ago, she wanted to go back to work, so she did. 2 golden age, so they say it is, working peeps. Are we oddities? I don't know. If anyone else is planning to stay working, I'd love to hear about it!
If I can make it until age 65, then I would retire from my job. My legs/knees already hurt but cycling seems to help. My employer will force me to retire anyhow at 65 as they do everyone that age. We may go into doing Foster Care again and growing vegetables, raising chickens, maybe having a seasonal "farm-stand" outside our house part of the year. We would surely sell out as it's a long drive to any local town with any real grocery stores. This is a small seasonal Tourist town, more relaxed so we could probably even sell to the visitors. The County wouldn't likely want any paperwork if it's just a few days a week and even then, everyone knows everyone so just close up the farm stand and they'll just come to the house anyway
 


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