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I think you are overgeneralizing on "that is why retirement is often a bad idea". Planning for the worst possible event in life as the main driver/worrying about how one is going to squeeze the last nickel when they are 90 which the vast majority of people won't see is silly over planning in my view, especially when it comes at the expense of one who wants to retire and has a good chunk of retirement assets/a plan to make it last. And that's coming from very much a planning type person like myself who wants his money to last a long time/knows how to do it as best as one can plan but nothing is guaranteed except death of course, even with the best of plans. And not to mention just as important to retire early enough when one has much greater odds of enjoying their retirement in good health and mobility.
Real life example. My grandmother made it to 93. She beat the odds/lived a long and until right up to the end, a very active/healthy life. She "retired" in her 20's, raised kids for part of her life, her husband died in his 70's, and she lived alone for several decades beyond that. She had her house paid off early/no debt and lived on measly SSN income and a very modest savings for decades and was one of the most happiest/active people I've met in my life. Simple things in life like volunteering, attending various events, etc. made her life very fulfilling to her. Especially in her 80's/early 90's, having a pile of money wasn't necessary for her happiness. Simple low cost/no cost activities were the most satisfying things to her.
So while I'd agree with you on the aspect that sure, for some people, retirement earlier in life or for some at any time in life isn't a good idea and it could be for various reasons. I've met many of them/heard their views on why it wasn't for them and perhaps yourself/a few people on this forum can relate:
Some aren't self starters to try new things in life......
some like the satisfaction of a paycheck/earning money......
some need to have a structure and aren't comfortable or can't figure out how to plan a day without someone telling them where to be.......
some fear change........
some have all/most of their self-worth tied to their job.............
Regardless of the reason, the point being if retirement is a good idea or a "Bad" idea is a most personal decision and shouldn't be generalized by anyone except the person making that choice. For me? I retired in my 40's. 6 years later it's still the best thing I've ever done and my wife agrees too. The days fly/time disappears doing what we want to do and we love the freedom. For my father and father-in-law it was the same....though they didn't retire early, their only regret in retiring was they didn't do it earlier. What we all have in common is we like our freedom/are very independent people/self starters so perhaps that is the key in why we are most comfortable being retired as we value our independence/like to not be tied to anything like a structured job.
Not to get too far off topic but as for your comment that our diets are "better"? Not by a long shot in regards to how people are choosing what to eat/how much. Far worse by a land slide.
Procedures/pills can't fix everything. Not even close. I think we'll start to see lifespans starting to shrink in the coming decades. And getting even worse in quality than what many elderly are living now....some might be living longer but many with not so good quality of life.
LOVE so many things in this post....We have become so conditioned to work , work, work that the idea of retiring at any age, especially young, scares the heck out of people....I'm very similar to your grandma in "simple life, simple pleasures". I don't need a lot, more importantly I don't want a lot of "things" in my life......
And yes, so true on the health front.....the answer is right on our plates....eat all or mostly plant foods, drink lots of water, less sugar, etc....
LOVE so many things in this post....We have become so conditioned to work , work, work that the idea of retiring at any age, especially young, scares the heck out of people....I'm very similar to your grandma in "simple life, simple pleasures". I don't need a lot, more importantly I don't want a lot of "things" in my life......
And yes, so true on the health front.....the answer is right on our plates....eat all or mostly plant foods, drink lots of water, less sugar, etc....
Thanks free866. I've noticed the same as you and that as every decade goes by, material things matter less and less and it's the "simple life, simple pleasures" as you say that mean the most. Experiences. Owned that/possessed that kind of thing.........what's next? My wife is the same as I which makes it all gel nicely. If there's any retirement planning aspect I overestimated it's how much we were going to spend and it's far less than we ever imagined and we do a great deal of traveling too. Certainly helps being retired and being able to pick and choose the best rates/best times to travel crowd wise when one has time flexibility.
Best to you for a long/happy retirement.....sounds like you have it all figured out nicely.
I think part of the problem with people excoriating Richard Branson stems from the thread title. He didn't actually write that we shouldn't retire, but rather that retirement shouldn't be the goal - happiness should be. I suspect that Branson is intelligent enough to realize that for some (many?) people, retirement is indeed a step toward the goal of happiness. It just isn't realistic to think that we can all love our work, and besides (as a few other posters have written), one can love ones work and also love being retired - it's not either/or, not mutually exclusive.
The opposite extreme (denigrating people who loved their work) sometimes appears in this Retirement Forum. It's sad to think that some people can be so bitter about their work lives that they feel called to insult others for whom it was meaningful and gratifying. I remember a poster writing something along these lines, "Nobody cares about your so-called "career"." Jealousy showing big-time.
I think part of the problem with people excoriating Richard Branson stems from the thread title. He didn't actually write that we shouldn't retire, but rather that retirement shouldn't be the goal - happiness should be. I suspect that Branson is intelligent enough to realize that for some (many?) people, retirement is indeed a step toward the goal of happiness. It just isn't realistic to think that we can all love our work, and besides (as a few other posters have written), one can love ones work and also love being retired - it's not either/or, not mutually exclusive.
The opposite extreme (denigrating people who loved their work) sometimes appears in this Retirement Forum. It's sad to think that some people can be so bitter about their work lives that they feel called to insult others for whom it was meaningful and gratifying. I remember a poster writing something along these lines, "Nobody cares about your so-called "career"." Jealousy showing big-time.
True enough Richard Branson didn't say that we shouldn't retire but he is intelligent enough to know not to open mouth and insert foot to knee which he did. Yes we all say things we don't actually mean. With him though his words fall the wrong way because of his extreme wealth. People look at him and see a person who has no cares or worry about money in retirement. That rubs raw salt on perceived low wealth they have.
ER you are absolutely right that there is a reverse on working folks who want never to retire because they love their careers. I would be one who did love what I did for work. I know I won't be able to go back to my former job so I have been taking out my frustration by hitting golf balls. It is not a great trade off as soon I wont be able to do that. I have put my name in some places to see about part time work but I don't know if I can fit that work in my daily schedule. I am just looking ahead to the winter months here.
When I was a contractor working for this law firm, they have a list of retiring partners who are supposed to be retired but still working part-time for the firm. They are a resource hog for the firm, I understand they've made some great contribution to the firm but most of them have been out of the loop with technology so they use the firm's services like their own personal Geeksquad. It puts a huge constraint on the support staff having to support both workers and retired partners who are more difficult to support.
I know it's not common in many firms but this is an example that when it's time to retire like in sports team you have to retire to not hold back the team or company. Even if you were once the great contributer.
True enough Richard Branson didn't say that we shouldn't retire but he is intelligent enough to know not to open mouth and insert foot to knee which he did. Yes we all say things we don't actually mean. With him though his words fall the wrong way because of his extreme wealth. People look at him and see a person who has no cares or worry about money in retirement. That rubs raw salt on perceived low wealth they have.
I'm not understanding why people feel Branson an extremely wealthy person can't have a good message applicable to all incomes. Why is having wealth deemed to be bad?
He in an interview, made some good points, seems that point isn't targeted to people already retired, but this point is good to know, maybe we retired people can admire the perspective, imparting this concept to children and grandchildren.
Reading through this thread is sad, why do people feel it okay to castigate a rich person, substitute the term poor into the comments, people making the comments might be appalled.
An angry, bitter person's time is better spent examining and changing their attitude, seeking fulfillment and finding the contentment that is available to them.
When I was a contractor working for this law firm, they have a list of retiring partners who are supposed to be retired but still working part-time for the firm. They are a resource hog for the firm, I understand they've made some great contribution to the firm but most of them have been out of the loop with technology so they use the firm's services like their own personal Geeksquad. It puts a huge constraint on the support staff having to support both workers and retired partners who are more difficult to support.
I know it's not common in many firms but this is an example that when it's time to retire like in sports team you have to retire to not hold back the team or company. Even if you were once the great contributer.
I am a 59 year old attorney. As recently as when I was at 56 (and after that we merged into a firm with a full-time techie) I was the go-to person for technical help, for 28 year olds. And many firms are indeed trying to diversity to a younger age. I lost my job because of that.
But don't coiunt on the younger ones always being early for work or in good condition.
When I was a contractor working for this law firm, they have a list of retiring partners who are supposed to be retired but still working part-time for the firm. They are a resource hog for the firm, I understand they've made some great contribution to the firm but most of them have been out of the loop with technology so they use the firm's services like their own personal Geeksquad. It puts a huge constraint on the support staff having to support both workers and retired partners who are more difficult to support.
I know it's not common in many firms but this is an example that when it's time to retire like in sports team you have to retire to not hold back the team or company. Even if you were once the great contributer.
Send them a bill for the Geeksquad work. They know stuff that young lawyers don't.
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What we all have in common is we like our freedom/are very independent people/self starters so perhaps that is the key in why we are most comfortable being retired as we value our independence/like to not be tied to anything like a structured job. 
