Memoir

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

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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

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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

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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

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“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

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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

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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.

Tsundoku (guess the disease)

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“All those books you haven’t read are indeed a sign of your ignorance. But if you know how ignorant you are, you’re way ahead of the vast majority of other people.” Jessica Stillman

Tsundoku is the Japanese word for the stack(s) of books you’ve purchased but haven’t read. Its morphology combines tsunde-oku (letting things pile up) and dokusho (reading books). The Japanese call this practice tsundoku, and it may provide lasting benefits — https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/do-i-own-too-many-books/

Diet and Healthy Aging

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In the journal Nature Medicine this week there was an important open-access publication about a large combined cohort of over 105,000 health professionals prospectively followed for 30 years. Only 9.3% reached the age of 70 years with “healthy aging” —without 11 major chronic diseases and no impairment of cognitive or physical function or mental health. Our Diet and Healthy Aging Eric Topol, MD – https://erictopol.substack.com/p/our-diet-and-healthy-aging

Dr. Eric Topol’s assessment of this study is well balanced and thoughtfully written. His bio is here: https://www.scripps.edu/faculty/topol/

Healthy aging in this study is described as reaching age 70 without developing any of 11 major diseases: cancer (except for non-melanoma skin cancers), diabetes, heart attack, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

My Half-Birthday is coming up soon. I’ll be 70.5 years young. The biggest take home lesson for me is this:

Beer is better for you than pizza.