Will retirement day ever arrive?

Dunroamin

HeatherintheHills wrote: »

I was talking to my father (in his 80s) about our working lives and he was shocked to realise how much more stress my siblings and I have had to deal with than his generation. I personally have a life shortening condition now and years of stress contributed a lot to my ill health. I may live beyond 70 but my chances of being well enough to enjoy those years are negligible.

If your father's in his 80s he'll have lived through the Depression, 6 years of world war, many years of the Cold War and various recessions. Most of these events weren't alleviated by the benefit system that we know today.

Our parents' generation may not talk about stress but they lived through events that make modern day problems look insignificant. To say that our lives are more stressful than those of our parents shows a lack of understanding of what previous generations have gone through (and survived).

HeatherintheHills

Dunroamin wrote: »

If your father's in his 80s he'll have lived through the Depression, 6 years of world war, many years of the Cold War and various recessions. Most of these events weren't alleviated by the benefit system that we know today.

Our parents' generation may not talk about stress but they lived through events that make modern day problems look insignificant. To say that our lives are more stressful than those of our parents shows a lack of understanding of what previous generations have gone through (and survived).

I'm not underestimating the problems my parent's generation lived through at all! My father lived through some terrifying times, but as he pointed out to me, so have I. Two major double dip recessions (mid 70s and now), Black Wednesday and its repercussions and I've also lived through the cold war. I've also spent a lot of my life living in London and had to get used to IRA then Al Qaeda bombings, sometimes close enough for me to have felt, seen and be injured by (fortunately only slightly). Where I live now the chances of me being caught up in something like that are negligible, and the relief that knowledge brings me turned out to be far greater than I had expected.

I should have made clear that it was job stress we were discussing. Holding down a job these days does take a lot more out of a wider range of people than used to be the case. We are the first generation to have fully experienced the changes brought about by computerisation, greater competitiveness in the work force and the ever increasing target culture in business.

We do not yet fully know what price we will pay for that in terms of the health of our generation. But it does begin to look as if there will be a price to be paid.

Dunroamin

HeatherintheHills wrote: »

I'm not underestimating the problems my parent's generation lived through at all! My father lived through some terrifying times, but as he pointed out to me, so have I. Two major double dip recessions (mid 70s and now), Black Wednesday and its repercussions and I've also lived through the cold war. I've also spent a lot of my life living in London and had to get used to IRA then Al Qaeda bombings, sometimes close enough for me to have felt, seen and be injured by (fortunately only slightly).

Not really comparable with the Blitz though, is it? Speaking as someone who lived in London when the IRA was active, it hardly impinged on everyday life.

I should have made clear that it was job stress we were discussing. Holding down a job these days does take a lot more out of a wider range of people than used to be the case. We are the first generation to have fully experienced the changes brought about by computerisation, greater competitiveness in the work force and the ever increasing target culture in business.

My dad had a place to go on Opportunity Knocks in the days when it was a really big thing. He couldn't go because he wouldn't have had a job to come back to if he had done.

We do not yet fully know what price we will pay for that in terms of the health of our generation. But it does begin to look as if there will be a price to be paid.

At least we have the NHS. My parents' generation only had it for the second part of their lives.

I'm sorry, I disagree with you pretty thoroughly but I think we're taking this too far OT, so I'll butt out.

jason1231972

I'm only 40, but am dreading retirement. I'll have lots of things to keep me busy (and am trained in several trades that I'll probably still tinker with 'til the day I drop), but fear I'll lack the motivation and discipline to actually make a daily routine for myself. So, I say bring on a long working life...(though I'm sure I'll have change my mind in 20+ years!!)

Rich1976

jason1231972 wrote: »

I'm only 40, but am dreading retirement. I'll have lots of things to keep me busy (and am trained in several trades that I'll probably still tinker with 'til the day I drop), but fear I'll lack the motivation and discipline to actually make a daily routine for myself. So, I say bring on a long working life...(though I'm sure I'll have change my mind in 20+ years!!)

I know what you mean. Part of me would love to retire ( normally when i've had a bad day or due to office politics etc) and I am saving for retirement, but then another part of me thinks 'what would I do all day everyday for X amount of years?'
I do have outside interests but am sometimes doubtful that would be enough to keep me going. It's easy to plan a weekend or a 2 week holiday but when you have to do it everyday and I try and make each day interesting it may get a bit tough.

I know people who have retired and have said it's easily the best job they've had but then there are other people who are a bit of a lost cause and enjoyed retirement to start with but are now volunteering or gone to work part time in ASDA.

desert_rose

Oh, I long to retire. I wouldn't get bored at all and have it all planned as its my favourite daydream at the moment.

Seeing friends and family, walking the dog, signing up to a few classes I've never had the time to join, spending time wandering around old houses and beautiful gardens, turning over at seven thirty and giving myself an extra hour in bed on a Monday morning.

Not bothering to scrape ice off the car first thing in the winter as it'll be gone by mid day...

Need to do the lottery this week...

molerat

Retirement comes when you want it to and not on some arbitrary date set by the government. Still got 7 years until my "pay rise" as I call it at 65 and 6 months but another deferral will not cause any major problems as I retired over 3 years ago at 54 and 11 mths and planned for life without government help.

POPPYOSCAR

desert_rose wrote: »

Oh, I long to retire. I wouldn't get bored at all and have it all planned as its my favourite daydream at the moment.

Seeing friends and family, walking the dog, signing up to a few classes I've never had the time to join, spending time wandering around old houses and beautiful gardens, turning over at seven thirty and giving myself an extra hour in bed on a Monday morning.

Not bothering to scrape ice off the car first thing in the winter as it'll be gone by mid day...

Need to do the lottery this week...

We love being semi-retired it has given us the time to pursue hobbies and interests that we never had time for before.

We intend to fully retire when our daughter finishes her education
and then we intend to spend more time away.

POPPYOSCAR

molerat wrote: »

Retirement comes when you want it to and not on some arbitrary date set by the government. Still got 7 years until my "pay rise" as I call it at 65 and 6 months but another deferral will not cause any major problems as I retired over 3 years ago at 54 and 11 mths and planned for life without government help.

Yes, we have saved hard in order to be in the comfortable position we are now and it has been worth it.