Why work in retirement?
- Thread starter Retired & Loving It!
- Start date
Paladin1950
Baseball Fan Forever!
- Location
- Mohawk Valley, NY
I still work, but just 4 hours a day. Why stay home and twiddle your thumbs and wait for arthritis to creep all through your body? Through all of the years working in nursing homes, there were so many women crippled up with arthritis, because they didn't stay active and keep working later in life. Here in the US, Social Security was never meant to be your only source of income.
palides2021
Well-known Member
- Location
- MidAtlantic, USA
I have worked from home ever since I became a homeschooling mother and author. I have become comfortable being at home. There are so many things to do in a day. If I ever get bored, I start writing again. I have entertained the thought of going to work outside the home, having to get up early again, facing people with their different agendas and personalities, etc and it just doesn't appeal to me anymore. I worked hard all my life. Being financially fit and out of debt has helped me maintain this lifestyle. I don't think I ever will retire from life.
Been There
Senior Member
I volunteer at the VA one day a week because we have so many volunteers they don't need all of us. I wanted to do two days a week. I move patients from their room to wherever they need to go for a test and then take them back to their room. Some days, I just hand out mail to the patients.
horseless carriage
Well-known Member
Dr. Melissa Freeman has been a doctor in the New York area for over 60 years, and even at the age of 92, she still treats between 150-200 patients a year.
In a recent interview on the American ABC TV program, Good Morning America, Dr. Freeman revealed the mindset that has allowed her to continue living life in the manner that she does.
Doctor Freeman.
Overall, 255,000 Americans 85 years old or older were working over the past 12 months. That's 4.4 percent of Americans that age, up from 2.6 percent in 2006. It’s the highest number on record.
They're doing all sorts of jobs, crossing guards, farmers and ranchers, even truckers, as my colleague Heather Long revealed last week. Indeed, there are between 1,000 and 3,000 U.S. truckers age 85 or older, based on 2016 Census Bureau figures.
At 92, Jean Miller is still taking coats at Vidal Sassoon, while immunologist Ivan Roitt, 87, is a department head: meet the workers with no plans to clock off. Not The Retiring Type.
The thread asks, why work in retirement? For some it's a financial necessity but for many it's a stimulus. I applaud both those who have said goodbye to the demands of the alarm clock. Equally, I am impressed that so many actually enjoy the stimulus of work and the company of their colleagues.
In a recent interview on the American ABC TV program, Good Morning America, Dr. Freeman revealed the mindset that has allowed her to continue living life in the manner that she does.
Doctor Freeman.
Overall, 255,000 Americans 85 years old or older were working over the past 12 months. That's 4.4 percent of Americans that age, up from 2.6 percent in 2006. It’s the highest number on record.
They're doing all sorts of jobs, crossing guards, farmers and ranchers, even truckers, as my colleague Heather Long revealed last week. Indeed, there are between 1,000 and 3,000 U.S. truckers age 85 or older, based on 2016 Census Bureau figures.
At 92, Jean Miller is still taking coats at Vidal Sassoon, while immunologist Ivan Roitt, 87, is a department head: meet the workers with no plans to clock off. Not The Retiring Type.
The thread asks, why work in retirement? For some it's a financial necessity but for many it's a stimulus. I applaud both those who have said goodbye to the demands of the alarm clock. Equally, I am impressed that so many actually enjoy the stimulus of work and the company of their colleagues.
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
- Location
- Los Angeles Suburbs
Over time DH & I realized some aspects of our small business were becoming too much physical work, unduly expensive to maintain (maintaining a large warehouse, for instance) and just plain un-fun. Even so, our long-term financial plan required some earned income until we turned 70 (we're less than 6 months apart).
Dramatically reduced health care premiums thanks to Obamacare, our kids all being self-sustaining and out of the house, and our Social Security strategy meant we didn't need to bring in as much as before. Still, unless we wanted to dramatically downsize our lifestyle, dip heavily into savings for living expenses, or claim his SS before he turned 70, we needed some outside income.
So six years ago we streamlined the business by ditching our less-pleasant customers and not taking on new ones, closing the warehouse, continuing with the aspects of our business that we most enjoyed, and mostly working from home. It's brought sufficient income that we didn't need to touch our savings or change our SS plan.
We'd planned to retire in 2022, but have decided to continue for the time being. The work is stimulating and we don't want to leave our loyal customers in the lurch. With inflation and a possible recession around the corner it's hard to justify deliberately walking away from a solid income stream, especially with three kids and three grands. One never knows what life has planned for us.
If DH & I pay more taxes than expected because of our earnings plus the bump in income from both SS checks, that's ok, too. It might not be the prevailing opinion but paying taxes doesn't annoy me or break my heart.
I was taught that taxes are the price of living in a society where we work together and help others when they need a hand up.
Dramatically reduced health care premiums thanks to Obamacare, our kids all being self-sustaining and out of the house, and our Social Security strategy meant we didn't need to bring in as much as before. Still, unless we wanted to dramatically downsize our lifestyle, dip heavily into savings for living expenses, or claim his SS before he turned 70, we needed some outside income.
So six years ago we streamlined the business by ditching our less-pleasant customers and not taking on new ones, closing the warehouse, continuing with the aspects of our business that we most enjoyed, and mostly working from home. It's brought sufficient income that we didn't need to touch our savings or change our SS plan.
We'd planned to retire in 2022, but have decided to continue for the time being. The work is stimulating and we don't want to leave our loyal customers in the lurch. With inflation and a possible recession around the corner it's hard to justify deliberately walking away from a solid income stream, especially with three kids and three grands. One never knows what life has planned for us.
If DH & I pay more taxes than expected because of our earnings plus the bump in income from both SS checks, that's ok, too. It might not be the prevailing opinion but paying taxes doesn't annoy me or break my heart.
I was taught that taxes are the price of living in a society where we work together and help others when they need a hand up.
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Moon Rat
Member
I worked from the time I was 14 and still in school. After school came the military and college, then get a job. Worked for a medical equipment company for 8 years, then decided to go into my own business. I had a horrible accident and was lucky to survive , so I decided to enjoy my life without having to work. Most people work because they need money. I don’t, so why commit my time to making more money? I’ll just end up giving it away anyway, so I will be making money to give to other people. Besides my son, my only other heirs are my church, my high school Booster Club for scholarship money and my one niece.