Tick Tock, Tick Tock, TICK TOCK....

[SmoothFlying]

5 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

He worked there for 35 years because statistically 80% of retires died within one year after retirement.

I can certainly believe that. Reminds me of a true story my Dad related to me when he was a church deacon at 68 and I had been working at Delta for six years. I had gone to his house to visit him after getting off from work and he saw the Delta pin on my suit and asked me, 'What's that lapel pin a symbol of ?' I told him it meant I'd been with Delta for X amount of years. He said, 'Oh now I understand, I have a good friend, Charlie Watson, who was about my age maybe a little older and every Sunday he has a similar pin in his lapel and when I asked him what it signified he looked down at it and replied, 'Well Mac, that means I've worked for Delta now for over FORTY years'. My Dad said he was surprised because he had never heard Charlie mention retiring and asked him, 'Charlie, don't you think it's time to retired and enjoy life ?" My Dad said Charlie looked him straight in the face and with a voice barely above a whisper, said, 'Mac, what, would I do with my life ?' I told my dad,' That's a a man so tied up in his job that six months after he's FORCED to retired, he'd be gone'. I guess you sorta have to admire someone like that it is sad that many people do wrap their very being in one thing.

 

Mac

 

Mac.

 

[crzndeb]

I retired twice. I had told myself, early on that I would retire when I was 59. The first time, I was only 51, took a buyout and rolled it into an IRA....since I couldn’t draw on it until I was 59 1/2 without penalty, I did contract work in communications, and then my last 3 working years hired back on with a cellular company. Almost 40 years in telecommunications was enough for me. It’s been 11 years now since I fully retire, and I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Although I have been cruising since 1980, retirement opened up a whole new world of cruising. Since I travel solo, it’s become a bit more of a chore to schlep things around, but I tend to add more legs together, and only unpack once. I have a B5B (54 days) booked next year, that may not go. (Please open Australia and NZ)

I just turned 70 in May, and hopefully have some more cruising years ahead.

[BoozinCroozin]

39 minutes ago, SmoothFlying said:

 'Mac, what, would I do with my life ?' I told my dad,' That's a a man so tied up in his job that six months after he's FORCED to retired, he'd be gone'.

 

And this is how far too many people think. So many people I know at a club that have no direction in life. They know nothing about investing for retirement, plan on what to do, and all of them think they can retire on Social Security. They put $200-$500 a week into video poker machines. I put a 13 year plan in place when I got laid off: Move to a 15 year mortgage, find a job with a pension, manage my own retirement account, and cut back where we can but never give up those vacations. The last one we had to for 18 months because of covid. At least my daughter will be on vacation for all of July. Every thing has aligned as planned. My pension after 13 years will be about as much as my wife's after 30-years of teaching. My retirement account is in line to be able to afford vacation at least 1-week every month. We plan to retire in an active community, maybe rent a place in the mountains for 2-3 months over the Summers, and never deal with a winter again.

Edited June 27, 2021 by BoozinCroozin

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

The answer is to retire early - and  by easing into it.  I took early retirement after 32 years - with one bank as it morphed through a couple of mergers.  Then worked as a consultant for two other banks for the next three years - but for just three or (rarely) four days a week, then as an expert witness in litigation, while taking up substitute teaching and tutoring, and finally just volunteering as an ESL and adult literacy one-on-one tutor.

 

I think suddenly transitioning from a 40+ hour week (plus probable 2 plus hour daily commute time) to full-time couch-potatoing would be a sure recipe for sudden system breakdown.

 

The "couch potatoing" is the thing to avoid, IMO.  Though I have to admit I probably spend too much time on a certain cruise forum! Haha.     

 

I am fortunate to always have a lot of happenings.  I wake up every morning looking forward to doing something I enjoy.  True I have missed international travel during COVID, but I had so much else happening that I kept pretty busy.  Now that international travel & cruising is on the horizon,  I will need an even much bigger cup.  

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

The answer is to retire early - and  by easing into it.  I took early retirement after 32 years - with one bank as it morphed through a couple of mergers.  Then worked as a consultant for two other banks for the next three years - but for just three or (rarely) four days a week, then as an expert witness in litigation, while taking up substitute teaching and tutoring, and finally just volunteering as an ESL and adult literacy one-on-one tutor.

 

I think suddenly transitioning from a 40+ hour week (plus probable 2 plus hour daily commute time) to full-time couch-potatoing would be a sure recipe for sudden system breakdown.

This is all bogus.  80% of people DO NOT die within a year of retirement, and people who retire early tend to die sooner than people who retire at age 65.

https://www.elderguru.com/why-do-retirees-die-soon-after-retirement/

[navybankerteacher]

5 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

This is all bogus.  80% of people DO NOT die within a year of retirement, and people who retire early tend to die sooner than people who retire at age 65.

https://www.elderguru.com/why-do-retirees-die-soon-after-retirement/

The key difference seems to be what one does upon “retiring” - as well as what that “retiring” actually involves.

 

While I took “early retirement” from my primary career, I “worked” for many years - freelancing for pay, and even now I “work” as a volunteer several hours a week.

[cruisemom42]

10 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

This is all bogus.  80% of people DO NOT die within a year of retirement, and people who retire early tend to die sooner than people who retire at age 65.

https://www.elderguru.com/why-do-retirees-die-soon-after-retirement/

 

So many people base their decisions on what happened to immediate family or friends rather than actual statistics.

 

That said, I think I agree with your article that one's length of life has so many contributing factors that it is difficult to tease out which ones play a real role and which ones are just false correlations.  Genetics, overall health, activity level, weight, co-morbidities all play a role. 

 

For every person who quit work and died shortly thereafter (in my personal circle) I could probably name another that worked well beyond normal retirement age and lived a long, productive life.  It shouldn't be considered a "bad" thing if work is important to some people.  Work can be very fulfilling, as long as it is not the ONLY thing....

 

 

[zekekelso]

Have you talked to the Moirai yet about getting some sort of extension? Seems only fair. 

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

As for age being only a number. True, age is only a number but so is blood pressure. But too high of either tends to be "bad news"

 

Along with one's other numbers, i.e. A1C, Potassium levels, etc.  

 

9 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

BTW, if I had started this thread I would have not titled it "tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock". My title would have been; "pop-snap-crackle, pop-snap-crackle", the sounds my knees started to make when I hit 60

 

70 was the year that my body began to let me know:  "don't forget about me".  

 

6 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

while taking up substitute teaching and tutoring, and finally just volunteering as an ESL and adult literacy one-on-one tutor.

 

I think suddenly transitioning from a 40+ hour week (plus probable 2 plus hour daily commute time) to full-time couch-potatoing would be a sure recipe for sudden system breakdown.

 What a career you have had!  I applaud you for substitute teaching.  Even as a regular staff member, when I was asked to substitute for a colleague, students sometimes did not respect my position, but they learned that  I knew how and could discipline.  

 

Your last paragraph confirms what my PCP told me when I retired.  I started doing more traveling, but I also increased my volunteer work for my Church, my Alma Mater, my involvement in my Homeowners Association, in political campaigns.  There were days when I was more busy than I had been when I was working.  

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, tip said:

We know that things will be different.  Flying will be more difficult and we shall have to bring the walker and plan on renting a wheelchair on the cruise.  We have been to all of the ports more than once and have decided that staying on the ship is something with which we can live.

 

I want to encourage you to try to fulfill your plan.  Walking the distances that are needed in airports and at cruise terminals is something that I cannot do anymore.  Wheelchair assistance in every case.  Don't hesitate to request it.  

 

The last cruise that my traveling companion was able to take required that she use a scooter.  That was a learning experience for us both.  She also stayed on the ship at most ports, but, at St. Thomas, the Nieuw Amsterdam was docked at Havensight.  Lots of shops; flat surfaces; she ventured forth and all went well.  She was able to get off her scooter to walk into some of the shops; most would not have accommodated the scooter.  Strongly recommend that you consider booking a small suite or larger in order to accommodate the scooter.  We had a Signature Suite and it was satisfactory.  A Neptune Suite would have been even better.  

[SmoothFlying]

4 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

BTW, if I had started this thread I would have not titled it "tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock". My title would have been; "pop-snap-crackle, pop-snap-crackle", the sounds my knees started to make when I hit 60

Ohhhhhhhhh believe me, I SURELY could have gone the 'pop-snap-crackle-pop' route because in 2013,(just three years before I retired) leaving the breakroom on my way to my work area my left knee suddenly folded up under me, like a taco, almost throwing me too the floor if I hadn't grabbed a nearby ladder. Took me completely by surprise, no warning pain, no nothing. Took me awhile to get my leg too the point where I could put pressure on and finally able to walk. I was off the next day and went to my PCP (Primary care doctor) he took my left outstretched knee, flexed it up and down several times, asking me, ' Hear grinding sound coming from your kneecap??' I replied, 'How could I NOT!' Plus the burning. He said, 'That's bone-on-bone, you have no cartilage between your kneecap and lower leg and need to have a specialist see if either shots OR a kneecap replacement's needed. To my lasting shame I chose to ignore it ( because I was so close to retirement and didn't want to take sick leave and have it on my record) and retired without having something done to correct it. Which was a dumb thing too do because I knew it was work related. So now I'm dealing with knee pain and see how foolish my actions were.

 

Mac  

[rkacruiser]

2 hours ago, SmoothFlying said:

my left knee suddenly folded up

 

It ain't funny, is it.  

 

My problem started with an injury that I suffered when I was walking down the steps of the stadium at the Sound and Light Show at Luxor.  Needed the show's employees help to get me to my bus and with the tour companies employees help to get me up the gangway at Safaga where the Amsterdam's staff was waiting for me with a wheelchair.  Off to the medical center where pain medicine was administered and ice the knee for the rest of the night.  Next morning, I saw the ship's doctor, expecting to be disembarked at our next port and sent home, but the doctor was very competent and with continued care, I was able to continue my cruise.  

 

Arthroscopic surgery was the result which led to improvement, but, I keep "tweaking" it and it is not so OK.  

[DirtyDawg]

My pop-snap-crackle is from arthritis . Once Covid is over both knees will be getting replaced. The funniest place I notice the sounds is when I am golfing. When I start my back swing and start to bend my left knee it lets out with a huge "pop" sound that freaks people out, especially if it's the first time we have played together.  🏌️‍♂️

[navybankerteacher]

18 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

So many people base their decisions on what happened to immediate family or friends rather than actual statistics.

…

 

 

Of course, most people rely upon their own experiences rather than global fact — and they are more aware of what happens to people they know/knew rather than the inexperienced majority.

[cruisemom42]

39 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, most people rely upon their own experiences rather than global fact — and they are more aware of what happens to people they know/knew rather than the inexperienced majority.

 

But it can lead to poor decision making.

 

In my mother's case, she was convinced that she would die relatively young because her own mother only lived to 67 (cancer). She opted to take her SS and pension payouts early. She is still alive and will be 89 in September....but she left a fair amount of money on the plate....

 

Or this: my grandmother was convinced that she would be an early widow because three of her husband's four brothers all had early heart attacks. They made a number of decisions based on this scenario (including early retirement) which didn't come to pass. He lived to 91.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2021 by cruisemom42

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

But it can lead to poor decision making

 

 

Maybe the most famous case was Mickey Mantle. He was sure he would die young by age 40 of cancer based on all the male relatives in his family. And he lived his life with total disregard to taking care of himself. The reason all his male relatives died young was that they worked in coal mines and constantly breathed coal dust. That is not anywhere near how Mickey Mantle earned his livelihood on a baseball field.

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

But it can lead to poor decision making.

 

 My grandfather died at 49. My father died at 59. I'll be exiting at 69. 

 

That's what Mrs. Dawg's plan is anyways. 😉 

[Mary229]

I spent my preretirement years crisscrossing the USA and Canada.  I spent 2020 filling in some small gaps now I am ready to cruise.  Frankly we are tired of driving and planning the minutiae.  I want to board my ship and only think about the great ports I will be visiting.  Just this morning I turned over even my transfers to my TA, I just want true leisure travel punctuated by bursts of exploration. And yes, I worry about my poor genetic lineage.  That said, my father traveled his entire life.  I remember helping him schedule his dialysis for his last cruise through the South Pacific. So I guess I have bad genes teamed up with a lot of determination.  I need to get through 2021 to sell off my business then I will be onboard a ship as often as possible 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

But it can lead to poor decision making.

 

...

 

 

Simply being human almost guarantees poor decision making.

[lenquixote66]

On 6/26/2021 at 11:56 AM, SmoothFlying said:

As the BIG life clock speeds faster and faster towards...well we all know, it's final destination😱. Especially since we older (70 +) cruisers have had almost two years taken away from what limited time we have left. IF, you fit into this segment of cruising do you find yourself hoping, 'Just ONE more, just give me one more year of decent enough health too take a cruise and enjoy it. I've noticed that I've had this very same thought in the past year and a half as we've lost 3-4  cruises, and I was just wondering.. Was I the ONLY one ? Perhaps it's just the rantings of an old man.

 

Mac 

I am old and not healthy.I still want to do one more cruise.

[shipgeeks]

We are in our late 70s, and plan to cruise many more times.  We are both healthy.  Fortunately, the main attraction of cruising, for us, has always been just being on a ship at sea.  Ports are a low second, and climbing walls and such are not even a consideration.

What we have given up is cruising to or from anywhere that requires a flight of more than three hours.  Our transatlantic cruises, with the horrible flights home, are a memory.  We have both lived in, and travelled to, many distant and interesting places, so it doesn't bother us that we don't expect to get to Egypt or China.

My job ended the day the lockdown began, and I have chosen not to go back.  The nice thing is that we can now cruise any month of the year, not just December, January and April.

[BoozinCroozin]

On 6/27/2021 at 2:14 PM, Toofarfromthesea said:

This is all bogus.  80% of people DO NOT die within a year of retirement, and people who retire early tend to die sooner than people who retire at age 65.

https://www.elderguru.com/why-do-retirees-die-soon-after-retirement/

You are correct. However, when a company publishes this information (not the link you provided), people that have worked at a company for 35-40 years do it out of fear. What the company my dad worked at never said was that everyone who died while employed were calculated in that number. Those people added a negative value to the average based on what their retirement age would have been. A quick example, a person died in a car accident with 20 years to go until they retired, 4 other retirees died 1, 5, 14, 20 years after retirement. The average is (-20 + 1 + 5 + 14 +20) / 5  = an average of 4 years after retirement. It wasn't until they were required to release how that information was gathered that the fear of retirement went away and the use of 40 years for retirement instead of 30 years. It was all tactical to keep long time employees working. 

[SmoothFlying]

On 6/26/2021 at 2:17 PM, Tapi said:

I’m half your age and the same thoughts cross my mind.
 

After I was involved in a serious accident two years ago and I spent 4 months in and out of hospitals, I don’t want to take life for granted anymore. 
 

 

I've found that it usually takes a life threatening experience to make a person who's barely thirty to realize they REALLY need too 'stop-and smell the roses' Usually younger people are too busy thinking 'Hey, I've got DECADES to even think about those situations, why worry now.' They're concerned w/jobs, or a family (if they have one by them) ad if not even more important, having FUN. It's usually not till they hit the big SIX-O they reality smacks them in the face, then they're shocked and mutter, 'WHERE did my life go !' Maybeeeee I need to settle down and start a 401k or something for retirement'. But by then the locomotive of life 'the light at the end of the tunnel' is roaring at them. And before you know it 65-70 can be upon you in a blink of eye. I know, because it seems like it was only yesterday I WAS 65 and now, at 70+...

 

Mac

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, SmoothFlying said:

I've found that it usually takes a life threatening experience to make a person who's barely thirty to realize they REALLY need too 'stop-and smell the roses' Usually younger people are too busy thinking 'Hey, I've got DECADES to even think about those situations, why worry now.' They're concerned w/jobs, or a family (if they have one by them) ad if not even more important, having FUN. It's usually not till they hit the big SIX-O they reality smacks them in the face, then they're shocked and mutter, 'WHERE did my life go !' Maybeeeee I need to settle down and start a 401k or something for retirement'. But by then the locomotive of life 'the light at the end of the tunnel' is roaring at them. And before you know it 65-70 can be upon you in a blink of eye. I know, because it seems like it was only yesterday I WAS 65 and now, at 70+...

 

Mac

From another 70+---I used to be in the don't trust anyone over 30 generation, and now I have to get my head around that we have a son who is 40+.

[winemama]

we are 68-72 and covid put a real dent in our cruising, but we made it through.  Like everyone else, we really realize  how lucky we are.  We both don't want to cruise till 2023, and we decided to do a WC, thinking who know anything anymore