We plan for the money. We don’t plan for the Monday morning when no one needs you to be anywhere.
Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Brigham Young University, published a landmark meta-analysis in 2015 involving over 3.4 million participants. Her finding: social isolation increases the risk of premature death by 26%, and loneliness by 29%. Those numbers rival the health impact of smoking fifteen cigarettes a day. We treat smoking as a public health crisis. We treat retirement loneliness as a personal failing.
Though the traditional retirement age in the U.S. typically falls between 62 and 67, many Americans continue working beyond that point. As of 2024, slightly more than 22% of adults aged 65 and older are still employed, either full-time or part-time. Though the traditional retirement age in the U.S. typically falls between 62 and 67, many Americans continue working beyond that point. As of 2024, slightly more than 22% of adults aged 65 and older are still employed, either full-time or part-time. – https://financebuzz.com/working-in-retirement-data
So I’m not the only Old Guy who is still working past age 65.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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
When envisioning retirement, many men imagine traveling, playing with grandchildren and driving that sexy convertible they can finally afford. The reality? For those over 70, 94% of adults watch television every day, with nearly 10% spending more than nine hours a day staring at the shows.
Men die earlier, with an average life expectancy of 73.5 years, according to a 2021 study. That’s about five years earlier than women in the U.S. One study found that men who considered themselves “traditional” men — unemotional and self-reliant — were more likely to ignore medical problems, and suffered worse health outcomes than women. And the problem gets worse as they get older. About 74% of men 55 and older go to the doctor for an annual check-up, compared to 43% of men age 35-54 and 26% of men age 18-34. Why So Many Men are Bad at Retirementhttps://getpocket.com/explore/item/why-so-many-men-are-bad-at-retirement?
This is an interesting article. Just more reasons why I’m not retired.
“Our perceptions of working after age 65 have changed over time, and these data suggest that most older adults who are still able to work after the traditional retirement age derive health-related benefits from doing so,” said poll director Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., a primary care physician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and associate professor of internal medicine at U-M. “As we learn more about how loneliness, lack of social connection and isolation intertwine with physical and mental health in older adults, the role of work is important to consider.”Michigan Medicine – University of Michigan. “As more Americans work later in life, poll shows positive health impacts, especially for those over 65.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250211141049.htm (accessed February 12, 2025)
National Poll on Healthy Aging Team. The Intersection of Work, Health, and Well-Being. University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging. January/February 2025. Available at https://dx.doi.org/10.7302/25186
The four phases of retirement described by Dr. Riley Moynes are psychological, not financial. When I eventually retire I know I’ll need to find meaning and purpose for whatever years are left.
One of the nation’s most beautiful historic shopping arcades was restored as 48 affordable micro-lofts, rents starting at $550 per month, and 17 small retail spaces in Providence, Rhode Island. The Micro Lofts at the Arcade Providence, completed in 2012, helps keep young professionals and artists downtown and is a major step in revitalizing the city. Micro Lofts at the Arcade Providence – https://www.cnu.org/what-we-do/build-great-places/micro-lofts-arcade-providence
If I were a lot younger, single, had a job in a CBD and not set in my Old Man Ways I would consider micro-living. I might even try a repurposed recycled wind turbine.
all images courtesy of Vattenfall and Business in Wind
lifeunderwriter.net 
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