What Age to Retire?

[motto (RIP)]

What scared the bejesus out of me was a pamphlet supposedly originating from Boeing that circulated through the airline industry. This showed if an employee retired at age 55 they would die on average at the age of 82. However, if they continued on until age 65 they would on average only last 18 months before meeting the grim reaper. At Lockheed the figures were similar except it was 17 months for an employee who went on to 65.
These figure were supposedly arrived at using actuarial tables but I cannot vouch for that or the accuracy of the data but the statement was made that for a Boeing employee, every year worked beyond age 55 shortened their life by 18 months.
I retired from Qantas 9 years ago at age 59 after 41 years in the airline industry. Mostly on shift work which is not good for your well being. We shall see.

David

I will add that just before retirement I was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease, fortunately slow onset. Also shortly after retirement I had a triple cabbage - Three way Coronial Arterial Bypass Graft - after the stents failed within a couple of months of implant. I owe a huge debt to modern medicine. Without it my life would have been effectively over at around that time.

[maple_leaf_eh]

A relative had health problems force his retirement from the public service. He'd done shifts, worked in offices, been on project teams, and had many differing responsibilities, but all within the single pension scheme. His reward was the shock of not having a steady place to go in the mornings and the change of self-identity. However, he always had other irons in the fire. Some he had to give up due to the exertion required; others filled in the extra time. What does he do now? Three pursuits, two paid and one purely humanitarian. And, he still worries about his taxes.

I intend to keep doing what I like as long as I stay fit and engaged. What to do afterwards is daunting, but the pay and benefits where I am are the reward for low pay and uncertainty many years ago.

So, on the legal level, in Canada there is no longer a mandatory retirement age. There are some fields which have successfully instituted realistic job performance standards, such as police, firefighters and military. Others have holdover rules, like judges having to retire at age 75 and commercial pilots at age 65. But many industries rely on older workers and third (or fourth) career'ers, like my neighbour the former college professor who became a priest in his 70's!

[rob love]

I have to disagree with Stuart on only one point: Hoarding. Hoarding is the art of buying a lifetime supply at a reduced price for use or barter later on.

As a Manitoban, I cannot pass on a deal, even if I am not going to use it for 10 or 20 or 30 years.

[rob love]

Stuart

Well, we were agreeing until your parts list makes it obvious you are talking about Iltis.

Re leapfrogging on projects, I have two points to that. First is that when opportunity knocks, you don't ask it to come later when you maybe have more time. Sure, some vehicles can be found anytime.....Iltis, Jeeps, 3/4 tons, deuces.....but others come along rarely such as armour or artillery. Hard to pass on those even if the stable is full.

Second, I like to leapfrog on projects. I find with a new project, it can be a few years of hunting for the spares. The project waits it's turn, and when I do get to it, I surprise myself with how much I have accumulated for it.

As to financial independence, I came home from Bosnia with the greeting of an imminent divorce. Hoping to retire at some point, and realizing there is no freedom with a mortgage over your head, I made the decision to liquidate my collection of vehicles and firearms. Within 6 months, I had the mortgage paid off, and paid her off as well in a lump sum (although still faced with a decade or so of child support, from which there is no escape).

I was left with only one rifle which did not sell, and one CMP compressor trailer which also did not sell. It is now 13 years later, and believe me when I say they both have more company with them than they did before the sell off.

So my take from all that is that the biggest liability is the banks, who constantly drain you if you let yourself get in that position. I like to pay cash for the majority of my purchases, and the mastercard gets paid in full every month. My largest expenses now are the house and land taxes, and the costs of my vehicle insurance.