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Is it just me or do you see an abundance of stories in the media, over the last year, either trying to scare people out of retiring for assorted reasons or encouraging people to work till you drop? Here's another one by vice chairman of corporate and investment banking and chairman of the financial strategy and solutions group at Citigroup Inc. and a former director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration.
This one foregoes the usual financial boogeyman tactics (financial guys usually write the articles) and instead throws out the possibility that retirement is bad for your health. In case you miss the point the title of the article is RETIREMENT WILL KILL YOU
"Our common perception is that retirement is a time when we can relax and take better care of ourselves after stressful careers. But what if work itself is beneficial to our health, as several recent studies suggest?"
Well, in a country still struggling with high unemployment (and some areas are higher than others - I am in one of the higher unemployment areas) . . . it seems to me that retirement often creates openings for younger workers or for workers to move up . . . leaving lower level jobs available for new graduates. Of course, since 2008, many companies have used retirement of workers as a way to downsize. But my point would be -- when folks retire - TYPICALLY - that leaves room for others to move into their positions.
So I can't imagine that it is a good thing for job hunters when folks at retirement age do NOT retire.
Politics aside, I think the underlying premise makes sense. Anytime we go from activity to inactivity we increase the risk of damaging our health and well-being. When you have too much time to think about things that you normally would not when you are busy, the mind is wide open for depression.... especially when one is bombarded by the constant 'bad news' that we are subjected to on a daily basis.
What I take from this article is not so much that we should stay employed but that we should find activities that keep us busy after we retire, things that keep the body active and the mind engaged with others because, after all, we are social animals.
I think the results of the studies they cite about retirement/work/effects (done by economists) would probably be similar had the studies been made of active vs. inactive retirees by some health groups. The message would be the same... stay active and stay engaged and hold off the effects of the deleterious aging process as long as possible.
Is it just me or do you see an abundance of stories in the media, over the last year, either trying to scare people out of retiring for assorted reasons or encouraging people to work till you drop? Here's another one by vice chairman of corporate and investment banking and chairman of the financial strategy and solutions group at Citigroup Inc. and a former director of the Office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration.
This one foregoes the usual financial boogeyman tactics (financial guys usually write the articles) and instead throws out the possibility that retirement is bad for your health. In case you miss the point the title of the article is RETIREMENT WILL KILL YOU
"Our common perception is that retirement is a time when we can relax and take better care of ourselves after stressful careers. But what if work itself is beneficial to our health, as several recent studies suggest?"
Editors, producers and publishers lack originality. They are like this about many things and clearly have a follow the herd mentality. They were joking about that and the jobs report before it was released on Friday. They were all being pushed to make it the mother of all data releases and when it was it wasn't. The online media is not all about clicks and if it gets clicks one time it will be repeated until the clicks diminish. WE as boomers are a large population bulge that has continuously been sought out by advertisers etc. As we become internet savvy and use it as a source of news etc topics that might be of interest to us will become more and more. Retirement is a major topic of interest for us so we will see more and more on it. Unfortunately much of it will not be original and much of it wll be a repeat of a repeat of. Just like topics in this forum, some are more popular than others and the topic of being able to retire along with SS are near the top.
I don't see anything wrong with the article, and the author attempts to be objective. We're all free to agree/disagree, but "scare tactics?" I haven't noticed an increase in frequency of these articles, but then I don't pay attention to anyting that doesn't interest me.
I also think the underlying premise makes sense. The key is being active whether retired or not. Inactivity (among other things) can lead to boredom and depression, especially for someone who has enjoyed the structure and/or camaraderie of the work world (though some/many don't realize it until they've pulled the retirement trigger.
And for anyone (yes, its a minority) who enjoys their work for whatever reason, they're very lucky/smart. I may pursue a second career if I could find a job like that. Work is a noble choice too...and retirement isn't automatic nirvana.
Politics aside, I think the underlying premise makes sense. Anytime we go from activity to inactivity we increase the risk of damaging our health and well-being. When you have too much time to think about things that you normally would not when you are busy, the mind is wide open for depression.... especially when one is bombarded by the constant 'bad news' that we are subjected to on a daily basis.
What I take from this article is not so much that we should stay employed but that we should find activities that keep us busy after we retire, things that keep the body active and the mind engaged with others because, after all, we are social animals.
I think the results of the studies they cite about retirement/work/effects (done by economists) would probably be similar had the studies been made of active vs. inactive retirees by some health groups. The message would be the same... stay active and stay engaged and hold off the effects of the deleterious aging process as long as possible.
Entirely right, according to many medical authorities. It's important to stay physically active, mentally active, and emotionally engaged. I don't know which of the three is most important, and I don't know if it's even known which of the three is most important.
Some people just vegetate in retirement, and I think those are the ones providing the statistics for articles about retirement being dangerous for one's health. But for others who remain active, retirement can lead to better health, especially if leaving work means leaving extreme stress behind.
Some people just vegetate in retirement, and I think those are the ones providing the statistics for articles about retirement being dangerous for one's health.
You can see them in groups at McDonalds (and other ultra low cost places) early every (weekday) morning. They order as little as possible, and sit around and tell tall stories and complain (often about things they know little about other than yesterday's sound bites) for hours day after day. I know because they're usually not quiet about it either...since they're saving the world I guess.
You can see them in groups at McDonalds (and other ultra low cost places) early every (weekday) morning. They order as little as possible, and sit around and tell tall stories and complain (often about things they know little about other than yesterday's sound bites) for hours day after day. I know because they're usually not quiet about it either...since they're saving the world I guess.
Mickey D's and Waffle House are often low cost social gathering points for folks on limited incomes and often unable to afford other social public activities. Their low costs menus are key for many low income folks of all ages. Your observation of them is very accurate and when traveling they can be interesting to observe.
It doesn't necessarily follow that people who retire will be "doing nothing" any more than they were "doing nothing" after work or on the weekends.
Just Google retirement boredom, it's not at all uncommon...
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