Survival strategies

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.

Get Your Jab

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Seven mutations appeared in a strain of H3N2 seasonal flu and led to a “fast increase” in reports of the mutated virus, says Prof Derek Smith, director of the centre for pathogen evolution at the University of Cambridge. New flu virus mutation could see ‘worst season in a decade’ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2dr8gzdz1wo

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

Concerning Trends in Retirement – More Less Than Random Thoughts

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  • Lack of sufficient savings
  • Inflationary pressures
  • Rising credit card debt
  • Half of respondents said they had saved less than what was needed for retirement.
  • When we asked an open-ended question about why they rated their satisfaction with retired life as they did, inflation was a major reason.

The ‘Concerning Trends’ in Retirement Now – https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/concerning-trends-in-retirement-now

I’ve decided not to retire. Wait, let me clarify my statement.

I’ve not changed my mind about my decision not to retire five years ago.

I love double negative sentences.

 Fewer than twenty percent of older people worldwide enjoy a retirement pension that is enough for them to live off. Although countries like China and India are now also developing their pension systems, the prospect of most older people receiving pensions totaling 60 to 70% of their final salaries remains a long way off.

The invention of retirement – https://www.swisslife.com/en/home/blog/interview-matthieu-leimgruber.html

The majority of our friends are retired. I’m always asked when I’m going to retire. My quick answer was always “Don’t know”. I’ve since modified my response to “Two to four years”. This has been my answer for the past two years. Might still be my answer next year too.

https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/the-90-rule-of-retirement-live-long-and-prosper

Nearly 40% of Americans ages 55 and older were employed in 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — a striking shift that’s even more dramatic when you look at the oldest workers. Today, 2.8 million men over 70 are working in the U.S. — part of an extraordinary long-term transformation in which employment among Americans 75 and older has quadrupled since 1964. More Americans are ‘unretiring’: 5 money factors to weigh before joining them – https://www.aol.com/finance/retirement-planning/article/unretiring-is-trending-5-money-factors-you-should-consider-first-153926242.html

I think I’ll retire in two to four years.

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”.

Work Until You Die – Scary Charts 09.07.25

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It is a common misconception that prices come down when inflation cools, when in reality a period of high inflation leaves a legacy of high prices. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. consumer prices have increased 22.7 percent since January 2021, with some categories seeing even steeper price increases than that. Food prices have are up 25 percent, rents have increased almost 27 percent and transportation prices are up 28 percent. And yet, nominal wages have only grown 21.8 percent since January 2021, leaving many people worse off than they were almost five years ago. Cost of Living Is the Biggest Challenge Americans Face https://www.statista.com/chart/35054/biggest-challenges-faced-by-americans/

Retirement Savings Survey: 50% of people don’t think it’s realistic for the average American to expect to retire comfortably – https://wallethub.com/blog/retirement-savings-survey/133047

The second survey is small with just over 200 respondents. The methodology statement is vague so it’s hard to tell if the findings are truly representative of a larger population.

Maybe the survey got an overwhelming number of pessimists.

Then again, maybe not.

Yikes.

Would You Pay $700.00 a Month to Live in One of These?

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Brownstone, by virtue of renting cheaply in a city with sky-high prices and a dearth of new housing, has received thousands of applications for its $700-a-month pods over the past few years, Stallworth said. He thinks there’s at least “10,000 people probably interested in being in San Francisco at any time” and pointed to the tens of thousands of applications that Y Combinator, a local startup incubator, has received in recent years.(Startup founders make up a sizable share of the Mint Plaza building’s residents, Stallworth said.) Startup behind $700-a-month bed ‘pods’ wants to put 10,000 more in San Francisco – https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/startup-bed-pods-san-francisco-21029460.php

I keep telling The Boss all I’m trying to do is to make our retirement income last as long as we last.

Rejected. Again.

How To Reduce Your Risk of Developing Diabetes

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The researchers, from 23 universities in Spain and Harvard Chan School, split 4,746 PREDIMED-Plus participants into an intervention group and a control group and followed their health outcomes for six years. The intervention group adhered to a Mediterranean diet; reduced their caloric intake by about 600 calories per day; engaged in moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking and strength and balance exercises; and received professional support for weight loss control. The control group adhered to a Mediterranean diet without calorie restriction, exercise guidance, or professional support. Participants ranged from age 55 to 75, were overweight or obese, and had metabolic syndrome, but were free of T2D at baseline.

The study found that those in the intervention group had a 31% lower risk of developing T2D compared to those in the control group. Additionally, the intervention group lost an average of 3.3 kilograms and reduced their waist circumference by 3.6 centimeters, compared to 0.6 kilograms and 0.3 centimeters in the control group. Scientists found 3 simple tweaks that cut diabetes risk by 31% – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250829022835.htm (accessed August 29, 2025).

Guess I’ll cut out beer.

Random Thoughts on Retirement and Longevity – Can Remote Work Delay Retirement?

/ SupremeCmdr / 1 Comment

The mortality impact is interesting

The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that those who worked just a year beyond retirement age had a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18 years the research covered, regardless of health. Could Remote Work Delay Your Retirement? – https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/could-remote-work-delay-your-retirement

If you only eat “superfoods” will you have a long life?

“There is no single secret to living a long, healthy life.” Salvatore Di Somma, MD. Sanford Burnham Prebys. “A long and ongoing look at the secrets of human longevity and healthy aging.” ScienceDaily – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250505171023.htm

Coffee

All coffee types decrease the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in chronic liver disease: a UK Biobank study

Kennedy, O.J., Fallowfield, J.A., Poole, R. et al. BMC Public Health 21, 970 (2021) – https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10991

Movement is medicine

Being consistently physically active in adulthood is linked to a 30–40% lower risk of death from any cause in later life, while upping levels from below those recommended for health is still associated with a 20–25% lower risk, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It’s never too late: Just moving more could add years to your life — https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250711224321.htm

Whiskey

University of California neurologist Claudia Kawas and her team have been studying the lifestyle habits of people who live until their 90s. The group has been researching people of this age group for some 15 years – and they have found that those who drank two units of alcohol every day were less likely to die prematurely.“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas said. – Whiskey makes you live a longer, healthier life — https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/whiskey-live-longer-healthier

Loneliness

Now, however, new research is calling into question this long-held belief and, surprisingly, found that loneliness may not be quite the threat that we all once thought it was. In fact, the problem may be one of confusing cause and effect. The Surprising Truth About Loneliness and Longevity — https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/the-surprising-truth-about-loneliness-and-longevity

Loneliness is pervasive in home care settings across the 3 countries; however, its association with mortality differs from reports for the general population. Loneliness was not associated with an increased risk of death after adjusting for health-related covariates. The causal order between changes in health, loneliness, and mortality is unclear. For example, loneliness may be a consequence of those health changes rather than their cause. Cross-National Evidence on Risk of Death Associated with Loneliness: A Survival Analysis of 1-Year All-Cause Mortality among Older Adult Home Care Recipients in Canada, Finland, and Aotearoa | New Zealand — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152586102500204X