Richard Branson says we shouldn't retire (pension, friend, years, family)
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That's why Branson doesn't think retirement should be the goal. "Instead, I think happiness should be," he wrote.
"I've never thought [of] work as work and play as play; to me, it's all living and learning. The way I see it, life is all about striving and growing. I never want to have made it; I want to continue making it
Retire or don't retire - whatever you do - be happy.
1) My father told me, not long before he died at 95, that he didn't think anyone should ever retire. He was forced into retirement at 65 (was the law back then where he worked - government). My mother died when he was 66. So he spent almost 30 years in retirement without the person he most wanted to spend it with. He filled his life well despite that - but I was actually surprised to hear him say that .. he never mentioned it when he retired.
2) I was 'laid off' (as was my late husband) at 55 - from very well paying jobs (which in fact is why we were laid off - we cost the company too much - they didn't care about what we brought to our jobs, etc. .. the bottom line was more important), and neither of us was successful after that at finding another job which suited our qualifications and experience so we eventually gave up and settled down to being retired - till he died 4 years later. Little spoken about but the layoff at 55 is actually a really big problem these days. So it is nice to say .. don't retire .. but sometimes one doesn't have much choice, at least to leave one's current well paid position even if one does an excellent job and is a model employee. People running their own businesses of course may not confront this issue.
3) When I was laid off, it seemed almost no time at all before my presence was needed to care for my father. Great .. didn't mind doing it at all .. but that was hardly good for my career and it made getting another decent job at 63 once my father (and husband) passed on, nigh on impossible. It is one thing to have temporary periods of not working on one's resume when one is young and fancy free but quite another to compete for professional jobs at age 63 after doing a fairly long stint of caretaking and losing touch with your network and inside information that might aid one in getting back into one's career at that late date, particularly in an age when many companies are paring down.
4) Now I am too far from 'current' with the industry I used to work in, and not able to move anyway (still dealing with two places in two countries as it is) at 66 and living most of the time in a small town where only the locals (and only a few of them) have jobs at all and those who do work at very low paid part time service industry jobs as it is (unless you are a fisherman - which is not one of my well honed skills). I could try to 'freelance' I suppose but again I would be fighting for occasional jobs with many who are younger and more flexible than I am.
5) I would actually like to work again - and honestly I don't even mind doing menial jobs that are not really what most of my career was made up of - after all .. we go from being in diapers as babies to often having to be in diapers in old age .. so there is a 'bell curve' here. But, that said, see above .. probably not going to happen. My only real option is 'craft' perhaps .. and I intend to get my butt in gear soon to play around with that again. Maybe I could make a buck or two as well down the line.
6) So .. Richard Branson's comments are nice but way too idealistic. I don't think he is much in touch with the real world. I wish we all had 'options' as he has - we just don't, at least not all of us.
Of course he says that. After all, the supply of proles to do all the grunt work for the billionaires is drying up. Aging demographics = fewer proles / old billionaire.
There is actually a lot of evidence that people are less happy after they retire. I don't think he is saying anything about money but that having a purpose and reason to get up at a certain time, etc makes you happier than retirement even if it's a wealthy retirement. I don't really get why so many seem to think this statement reflects lack of understanding of not being rich,it has nothing to do with that.
His philosophy is akin to Buddhism, enjoy where you are and not some far off "end goal" that you think will make you happy (retirement), that happiness should be found in the moment you are in, not given up in the present in order to achieve some end destination (retirement).
There are many people who put off happiness in the present for that "someday" of retirement, he is simply saying that shouldn't be the goal we trade our present for.
I completely agree with Branson. I never want to be "Done". As long as I can walk around a house with a tape measure, I'll never close my business. Oh sure, I'll slow down the pace and not work as much as when I was younger, in fact I already have somewhat. I don't need the money anymore. But to be "Done" sounds like a horrible thing to me. I would never spend my life doing something that I couldn't wait to stop doing. I don't understand that at all.
1) My father told me, not long before he died at 95, that he didn't think anyone should ever retire. He was forced into retirement at 65 (was the law back then where he worked - government). My mother died when he was 66. So he spent almost 30 years in retirement without the person he most wanted to spend it with. He filled his life well despite that - but I was actually surprised to hear him say that .. he never mentioned it when he retired.
That would just about finish me. I have waited 40 years to be able to just hang out with my best friend and wife. If she passed away before we got a few years under our belts in retirement well......
2) I was 'laid off' (as was my late husband) at 55 - from very well paying jobs (which in fact is why we were laid off - we cost the company too much - they didn't care about what we brought to our jobs, etc. .. the bottom line was more important), and neither of us was successful after that at finding another job which suited our qualifications and experience so we eventually gave up and settled down to being retired - till he died 4 years later. Little spoken about but the layoff at 55 is actually a really big problem these days. So it is nice to say .. don't retire .. but sometimes one doesn't have much choice, at least to leave one's current well paid position even if one does an excellent job and is a model employee. People running their own businesses of course may not confront this issue.
Retiring at 55 and only having 4 years in retirement really sux. See my above comment
3) When I was laid off, it seemed almost no time at all before my presence was needed to care for my father. Great .. didn't mind doing it at all .. but that was hardly good for my career and it made getting another decent job at 63 once my father (and husband) passed on, nigh on impossible. It is one thing to have temporary periods of not working on one's resume when one is young and fancy free but quite another to compete for professional jobs at age 63 after doing a fairly long stint of caretaking and losing touch with your network and inside information that might aid one in getting back into one's career at that late date, particularly in an age when many companies are paring down.
No one hires us old people. Lose your job at mid 50 and your done unless you find something quick or your a lawyer or doctor or nurse. Your just done.
4) Now I am too far from 'current' with the industry I used to work in, and not able to move anyway (still dealing with two places in two countries as it is) at 66 and living most of the time in a small town where only the locals (and only a few of them) have jobs at all and those who do work at very low paid part time service industry jobs as it is (unless you are a fisherman - which is not one of my well honed skills). I could try to 'freelance' I suppose but again I would be fighting for occasional jobs with many who are younger and more flexible than I am.
5) I would actually like to work again - and honestly I don't even mind doing menial jobs that are not really what most of my career was made up of - after all .. we go from being in diapers as babies to often having to be in diapers in old age .. so there is a 'bell curve' here. But, that said, see above .. probably not going to happen. My only real option is 'craft' perhaps .. and I intend to get my butt in gear soon to play around with that again. Maybe I could make a buck or two as well down the line.
6) So .. Richard Branson's comments are nice but way too idealistic. I don't think he is much in touch with the real world. I wish we all had 'options' as he has - we just don't, at least not all of us.
Richard Branson is a no body who has money. His comments are crap.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocnjgirl
There is actually a lot of evidence that people are less happy after they retire. I don't think he is saying anything about money but that having a purpose and reason to get up at a certain time, etc makes you happier than retirement even if it's a wealthy retirement. I don't really get why so many seem to think this statement reflects lack of understanding of not being rich,it has nothing to do with that.
His philosophy is akin to Buddhism, enjoy where you are and not some far off "end goal" that you think will make you happy (retirement), that happiness should be found in the moment you are in, not given up in the present in order to achieve some end destination (retirement).
There are many people who put off happiness in the present for that "someday" of retirement, he is simply saying that shouldn't be the goal we trade our present for.
Look if a person isn't happy not working and can find something great. If they can't they can't. They have to do something but it doesn't always entail work. It could be as simple as just picking up trash along the street. Get up and do something but if want to retire then please let's do that. I am very happy I am retired. I can now work on my golf game. I dropped my handicap 4 points in the span of 4 weeks.
There's no "cookie cutter" plan for retirement. It's not a "one size fits all". The best retirement is the one where you wake up every day, contented, and happy in what you do. If this involves working still, working part-time, or hanging out on the tennis and golf courses, it's your choice. The important thing is to be comfortable with the choice you have made. I'm happiest when I'm working. So, for me, my happiness in retirement comes from my still being able to work, and that work continues to come my way. It's different for everyone!
1) My father told me, not long before he died at 95, that he didn't think anyone should ever retire. He was forced into retirement at 65 (was the law back then where he worked - government). My mother died when he was 66. So he spent almost 30 years in retirement without the person he most wanted to spend it with. He filled his life well despite that - but I was actually surprised to hear him say that .. he never mentioned it when he retired.
2) I was 'laid off' (as was my late husband) at 55 - from very well paying jobs (which in fact is why we were laid off - we cost the company too much - they didn't care about what we brought to our jobs, etc. .. the bottom line was more important), and neither of us was successful after that at finding another job which suited our qualifications and experience so we eventually gave up and settled down to being retired - till he died 4 years later. Little spoken about but the layoff at 55 is actually a really big problem these days. So it is nice to say .. don't retire .. but sometimes one doesn't have much choice, at least to leave one's current well paid position even if one does an excellent job and is a model employee. People running their own businesses of course may not confront this issue.
3) When I was laid off, it seemed almost no time at all before my presence was needed to care for my father. Great .. didn't mind doing it at all .. but that was hardly good for my career and it made getting another decent job at 63 once my father (and husband) passed on, nigh on impossible. It is one thing to have temporary periods of not working on one's resume when one is young and fancy free but quite another to compete for professional jobs at age 63 after doing a fairly long stint of caretaking and losing touch with your network and inside information that might aid one in getting back into one's career at that late date, particularly in an age when many companies are paring down.
4) Now I am too far from 'current' with the industry I used to work in, and not able to move anyway (still dealing with two places in two countries as it is) at 66 and living most of the time in a small town where only the locals (and only a few of them) have jobs at all and those who do work at very low paid part time service industry jobs as it is (unless you are a fisherman - which is not one of my well honed skills). I could try to 'freelance' I suppose but again I would be fighting for occasional jobs with many who are younger and more flexible than I am.
5) I would actually like to work again - and honestly I don't even mind doing menial jobs that are not really what most of my career was made up of - after all .. we go from being in diapers as babies to often having to be in diapers in old age .. so there is a 'bell curve' here. But, that said, see above .. probably not going to happen. My only real option is 'craft' perhaps .. and I intend to get my butt in gear soon to play around with that again. Maybe I could make a buck or two as well down the line.
6) So .. Richard Branson's comments are nice but way too idealistic. I don't think he is much in touch with the real world. I wish we all had 'options' as he has - we just don't, at least not all of us.
My story is pretty similar to yours. I wish you luck!
I'm 67, went on Social Security earlier this summer, work seasonally at a theme park -- with exposure to a fascinatingly-diverse group of young, enthusiastic, international "summer interns". Got furloughed (or at least, scaled down) after Labor Day, but it won't be long until I'll get bored and start looking again (and I can afford to be choosy). I've learned and mastered some of the fine points of managing a somewhat peripatetic lifestyle.
Retire completely?? For now at least, I'm having too much fun.
Easy to pontificate with 5 BILLION dollars in your pocket! This guy has no idea what real life is like. Money made him a free man decades ago.
I have been seeing a great idea on FB recently about making a life for yourself that you don't want to retire from. That would be wonderful but for most, not possible. It requires getting and keeping a job you love that pays well. And that's not easy!
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I don't understand that at all. 
