Memoir

Random Thoughts on Unretirement – 01.10.26

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

“We have to understand that anything in the past takes you out of the present moment. Anything in the future takes you out of the present moment.”

Zen Master Daigneault

To readers who are visiting this blog for the first time my posts on Random Thoughts About Retirement and Unretirement are written by an Old Guy who is old enough to be retired but isn’t retired and is still working. I had another birthday and the older I get the more I think about retirement. Back in 2023 I was thinking about what retirement for me would look like (see More Random Thoughts on Retirement – June 2023). But decisions such as this take serious thought and consideration. At first I thought I wanted to retire to a quiet life of blogging and writing my Future Best Seller titled The Man Who Had No Hobbies. After much thought I decided to add a short term goal to my retirement plan. My new short term goal is to avoid unretirement.

My RSS feed feeds me headlines on unretirement.

According to a new report from T. Rowe Price around 7% of retirees are looking for work in retirement, while 20% say they’re already working part time or full time…The two main reasons for coming back into the workforce are a tale of opposites. While 45% chose to work for social and emotional benefits… a slightly larger percentage — 48% — felt they needed to work for financial reasons.

Unretiring: More retirees are going back to work because they want to — or need to — https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unretiring-more-retirees-are-going-back-to-work-because-they-want-to–or-need-to-123203300.html

And this.

Once an eagerly awaited milestone, retirement is currently undergoing a transformative reevaluation. Traditionally seen as a well-deserved period of rest and relaxation, the dream of early retirement is now being challenged by a new perspective – that of embracing lifelong work. This paradigm shift reflects the changing nature of work, increased life expectancy, and the desire for personal fulfillment.

Rethinking Retirement: The Case for Embracing Lifelong Work — https://due.com/rethinking-retirement-the-case-for-embracing-lifelong-work/

The reality is many won’t have a choice. The following chart illustrates retirement savings as of 2019.

Americans are having trouble financially preparing themselves for life after work. A recent Federal Reserve report found that nearly a quarter of U.S. adults have absolutely no retirement savings or pension. Even though the level of preparation increases as people get older, concern about inadequate savings is still readily apparent across all age groups, even older people in their 60s.

A Quarter Of Americans Have No Retirement Savings — https://www.statista.com/chart/18246/share-of-americans-who-have-no-retirement-savings/

OOPS. I’m glad I didn’t click the Publish button. The savings situation appears to be worse than I thought. The study below was an analysis of data from 2010!

The study broadly examines how American households are faring in relation to retirement savings targets recommended by some financial services firms. It uses the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances to analyze retirement plan participation, savings, and overall assets of all U.S. households age 25 to 64, not just those with retirement account assets. This is important because some 45 percent, or 38 million working-age households, do not have any retirement account assets.

The average working household has virtually no retirement savings. When all households are included— not just households with retirement accounts—the median retirement account balance is $3,000 for all working-age households and $12,000 for near-retirement households. Two-thirds of working households age 55-64 with at least one earner have retirement savings less than one times their annual income, which is far below what they will need to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

The findings confirm that the American Dream of retiring comfortably after a lifetime of work will be impossible for many. Based on 401(k)–type account and IRA balances alone, some 92 percent of working households do not meet conservative retirement savings targets for their age and income. Even when counting their entire net worth, 65 percent still fall short.

The Retirement Savings Crisis: Is It Worse Than We Think? — https://www.nirsonline.org/reports/the-retirement-savings-crisis-is-it-worse-than-we-think/

So how will you afford retirement without any savings? Don’t look to Social Security. Here’s some numbers on average Social Security payments. The full chart at the source website goes up to age 100.

As of December 31, 2021, the average Social Security payment for all retirees was $1,658.03 a month, according to the Social Security Administration’s Annual Statistical Supplement for 2022. For men, the overall average was $1,838.08. For women, the average was $1,483.75 — a difference of $354.33 per month.

Here’s the Average Social Security Check for Men vs. Women — https://www.gobankingrates.com/retirement/social-security/average-social-security-check-men-women/

I’ve previously advised everyone to Save as Much as You Can Because Whatever You Manage to Save Will Never Be Enough – Random Thoughts on Retirement. Now here’s my second piece of sage advice: keep working so you don’t have to unretire.

Whether people unretire or simply stay in the workforce longer, some of the largest financial benefits of additional years of work are delaying retirement account withdrawals and delaying claiming Social Security benefits. These actions essentially shorten the amount of time your assets will need to support you in retirement. Even a few additional years of income have a positive effect on the probability that you won’t outlive your funds.

“Unretiring”: Why Recent Retirees Want to Go Back to Work — https://www.troweprice.com/personal-investing/resources/insights/unretiring-why-recent-retirees-want-to-go-back-to-work.html

Whew. Long post. Longer than I anticipated. If you made it this far, congratulations!

Double OOPS. Hit the publish button too soon. Postscript.

Economic Satisfaction Declines With Age – https://www.statista.com/chart/35656/us-respondents-who-view-their-financial-situation-positively/

Note the survey respondents’ age stops at 64.

Random Thoughts on Retirement (or why I continue to work)

/ SupremeCmdr / 10 Comments

Congress needs to get serious about tweaking various aspects of Social Security, but this time to improve the financial aspects of the system, and not to make them worse, as it had done in January.Social Security Fiscal Year 2025: Trust Fund Balance, Income, Outgo, Deficit, and Interest Rates https://wolfstreet.com/2025/11/18/social-security-fiscal-year-2025-trust-fund-balance-income-outgo-deficit-and-interest-rates/

The Boss (SWMBO) and I talk about this often. Once the W2 income stops and we have to rely upon a small corporate pension, savings, and a shaky Social Security promise we’ll have to get conservative on our spending. No more Stratocasters. Less purchases for wardrobe enhancements. Gas station beer instead of craft brews.

Time will tell.

SWMBO – She Who Must Be Obeyed

Yikes.

Remote Work – Not The Norm

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

Nearly One in Five Americans Works From Home Regularly – https://www.statista.com/chart/35389/regular-remote-and-home-office-work/

I started writing my journal in 2005. One of the best things about keeping a journal is the ability to verify if memories from the past are accurate or the made up, mashups your brain creates as memories. Here’s my entry on Monday July 24 2006:

A 4:00 PM meeting with the Division head with an HR rep present is never a good thing. I immediately thought to myself:

“This is gonna suck.”

And it did, big time. I got whacked today.

And that’s how my WFH life began. When my work from home situation arises in conversation most are surprised to learn I’ve been WFH this long. I’m surprised how long I’ve been working from home!

I am convinced due to having a low stress working environment, better diet (NO office snacks/free food/lunches out), no commute, along with a host of other variables I just might be increasing my lifespan. I do know I get plenty of sleep on a regular routine basis.

Short sleep duration (< 7 h per night) was associated with a 14% increase in mortality risk compared to the reference of 7–8 h, with a pooled hazard ratio of 1.14 (95% CI 1.10 to 1.18). Conversely, long sleep duration (≥ 9 h per night) was associated with a 34% higher risk of mortality, with a hazard ratio of 1.34 (95% CI 1.26 to 1.42). Sex-specific analyses indicated that both short and long sleep durations significantly elevated mortality risk in men and women, although the effect was more pronounced for long sleep duration in women. Both short and long sleep durations are associated with increased all-cause mortality, though the degree of risk varies by sex. Imbalanced sleep increases mortality risk by 14–34%: a meta-analysis – Ungvari, Z., Fekete, M., Varga, P. et al. Imbalanced sleep increases mortality risk by 14–34%: a meta-analysis. GeroScience 47, 4545–4566 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-025-01592-y

Scary Charts – 09.13.25

/ SupremeCmdr / 2 Comments

Interestingly, older workers (65+) earn around $3,000 more than those in the 25 to 34 bracket, reflecting a group of late-career professionals who continue to command strong wages. Charted: Median U.S. Salaries by Age Group https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-median-u-s-salaries-by-age-group/

Late-career professional. There seem to be a lot more of us now.

Three in four workers (75 percent) plan to work for pay in retirement, compared with just 29 percent of retirees who report they have actually worked for pay in retirement. In fact, the RCS has consistently found that workers are far more likely to plan to work for pay in retirement than retirees are to have actually done so. 2025 Retirement Confidence Survey – https://www.ebri.org/retirement/retirement-confidence-survey

But if you’re working for pay in retirement how can this be considered retirement?

Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/09/11/trump-tariffs-grocery-prices-rise-cpi

FYI, the BLS statistics are BS. Real world eyeball prices at the market tell me so.

Like coffee. Coffee prices in the US has surged more than 20% in the last year.

US coffee prices surge as tariffs take effect – https://www.semafor.com/article/09/12/2025/us-coffee-prices-surge-as-tariffs-take-effect

Ooh…not just coffee.

Here’s the inflation breakdown for August 2025 — in one chart – https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/11/inflation-breakdown-for-august-2025.html

I guess I’ll keep working in “retirement”.

Sunday Musings – 08.31.25

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

“Page by page, chapter by chapter, the story unfolds. Day by day, year by year, your own story unfolds, your life’s story. Things happen. People come and go. The scene shifts. Time runs by, runs out. Maybe it is all utterly meaningless. Maybe it is all unutterably meaningful. If you want to know which, pay attention. What it means to be truly human in a world that half the time we are in love with and half the time scares the hell out of us—any fiction that helps us pay attention to that is as far as I am concerned religious fiction. The unexpected sound of your name on somebody’s lips. The good dream. The odd coincidence. The moment that brings tears to your eyes. The person who brings life to your life. Maybe even the smallest events hold the greatest clues.”

Frederick Buechner https://www.frederickbuechner.com/our-shared-story

Clearing Up Myths About Older Workers

/ SupremeCmdr / Leave a comment

In 2001, only about 1 out of every 7 U.S. workers was 55 or older. By 2021, the number jumped to almost 1 out of every 4 workers (a 93% increase). That’s almost twice the proportion of older workers as before.3 Older workers are staying on the job longer for various reasons, ranging from financial needs to the joy of work.  More people are working past the age when they might have retired. They might be responding to the increase in the Social Security full retirement age, needing money or health insurance, or simply enjoying their jobs and being around their friends at work.⁴ Clearing Up Myths About Older Workers While Understanding and Supporting an Aging Workforce — https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2023/09/25/older-workers/

I just learned I have a high level of Crystallized intelligence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence

I’ve Been in Physical Therapy For Over Three Months

/ SupremeCmdr / 2 Comments

Less is more.

We’ve turned the idea of “exercise” into something so loaded these days, only to be validated by a specific kind of intensity. Just uttering the word exercise now can ignite an all-or-nothing mindset, filled with protein obsessions, endless wearable fitness trackers, or even a costly membership to an elite wellness club. I Won’t Be Shamed — Physical Therapy Is Still Exercise – https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/physical-therapy-still-a-workout-49448831

I used to be a runner. Quite a few years ago my knees told me not to run anymore.

I joined the Y and did the elliptical and treadmills until my knees complained some more. I moved my exercise routine to the resistance machines. Then Covid hit, I cancelled my membership and the months turned into years away from the gym.

I found some resistance bands in the house and started some simple exercises at home. I rejoined the Y and started back with the resistance machines.

Earlier this year my employer offered access to online virtual physical therapy. I took advantage of this benefit from https://www.hingehealth.com/ and have been in physical therapy now for over three months. Less pain (especially my cervical spine, the result of a near fatal encounter with a car), less stiffness, better flexibility, and gradually improving strength. The beauty of the program is availability on demand and it is 100% HEP (home exercise program). Sessions are 10-12 minutes long and you don’t have to leave the house.

Less is more.