What are you going to do when you retire?

[dark+matters]

I will write literary fiction, poetry, sci-fi, how-to's and screenplays like a mofo! I will have nothing more to lose at that point! lol

 

[rainman312]

I probably read and write as much as I possibly can. I'd increase my reading rate from ~35 books per year to around 60 per year. I'd also probably finish the 15 half-completed novels I've started to write, but I'd have to find them in my Documents folder first, which could be quite the task. Then again, by the time I retire, there's a decent chance humanity will have massacred itself in a nuclear war.

 

[EditorOne]

Interesting question. If left to your own devices, with a modest income, no responsibilities, no burdens, no obligations requiring you to work to earn more money: Would you be able to muster the initiative to do anything at all? Or would you just vegetate in front of a computer keeping your mind mildly occupied until it's time to die? Lot of potential in retirement, but you've been hearing about how you have lots of potential since you were 12.

 

[Reluctantly]

I think I'd engineer things for fun. Would be fun to build new things. Would also like to travel, perhaps sail as well. Mostly, I'd probably get involved with new tech, maybe go back to school and try to do research somewhere. Cause at that point, I could afford to make mistakes, so it's all in for fun.

 

[Architect]

I've spent a lot of time thinking about it. My role models have all been SP's and SJ's, both from childhood relatives, and the copious ones I've worked with. The SP's (each and every one) retire to play. Play golf, ski, waterski, etc. The SJ's usually do a lot of that, along with traveling and keeping their socializing up, and torturing their kids. It all used to puzzle me, before I came to a deep understanding of myself and MBTI, as none of it really made sense. Why doom yourself to a life of idle consumption? Now I know why.

Along the way I read the opinion that you can't tell when INTP's retire, because they keep on doing pretty much the same thing they did before retirement. Along with that is the observation that of the non SP engineers I work with, many of them keep on doing engineering. Most of them I'd say, at least the ones I consider real engineers. Many come back as consultants, for years afterwards. Just can't give it up. Finally I have (or had, lost touch) an INTP composer friend (at least I believe he's an INTP). He quit being a composition professor to get time to work. Once away from the pressures of the job he had time to really write some music.

Combining all this, I think the key isn't retirement, but figuring out how you want to express your interests and talents in the world. Once you do that, then retirement is probably a continuation of the same. Creative people shouldn't ever retire, nor INTP's in my belief. So in that sense I'm retired - or not - right now. I'm doing what I should be doing, just with some restrictions on what I work on. But those restrictions are very wide, and I get a lot of money and benefits for it. Not a bad deal.

 

[peoplesuck]

practice drawing till i can do hyperrealism from my imagination, then die
+l2piano

 

[Polaris]

Retire?

 

[dark+matters]

practice drawing till i can do hyperrealism from my imagination, then die
+l2piano

Drawing is awesome! Did you draw your avatar?

I had one art professor who could do that. Maybe not drawing in a hyperreal way from imagination, but he could paint, draw, etc. in a way that looked exactly like a photograph. He showed us a bunch of slides from his paintings from his MFA days and he had to tell us that they were not photographs or we wouldn't have believed it.

He sloooowly started to get so bored with hyperrealism, that he started sticking crazy little twists on reality in his pictures- closed rooms with shadows with no origin or light that came from nowhere. Metal that didn't follow the natural laws of metallic objects. Shapes and objects that looked real but were impossible in real life, etc.

Then he got bored with that and slowly but steadily got to the point where he just smears whiteout on canvas and stuff. LOL! He's way into abstract art and abstract art history now. I love that man. He is like... 80 and has the most unexpected sense of humor.

 

[dark+matters]

Interesting question. If left to your own devices, with a modest income, no responsibilities, no burdens, no obligations requiring you to work to earn more money: Would you be able to muster the initiative to do anything at all? Or would you just vegetate in front of a computer keeping your mind mildly occupied until it's time to die? Lot of potential in retirement, but you've been hearing about how you have lots of potential since you were 12.

Ahhh, yes. P. P for perceiver. P for procrastinator. P for promiscuous. P for phenylalanine! But P for potential... yes, I do believe we have allllll heard about this untapped potential we have.

I do wonder about whether or not I could muster up this initiative if I had all the time in the world. I wonder about it very frequently. Some can muster it up, but not many. I've gone on "sabatticals" to work on my own projects, but I spend most of that time worrying about what I'm going to do afterwards. I think I wouldn't be much more productive than I am now with my hobbies. I'd just get more anal retentive about my projects and perhaps procrastinate even more due to the increased anxiety.

I am hoping to find something like Architect described: something I don't want to truly retire from. I don't see myself retiring from writing, but writing is kind of like talking as an introvert. It's not really the same as knowing, when I go, that I have invested back into the generations that come after me in some small way. That I have relieved some tiny portion of their inevitable suffering. My dad, another NT, never came close to retiring really. His projects only intensified after his official retirement. I think it made him quite happy. I'm not sure about myself though. I believe I need to figure out a way to do what I want to do when I retire... now. Ugh.

My life as a function of time=Sum of net forces=infinite inertia=(F*d)=0

 

[Architect]

I am hoping to find something like Architect described: something

It helps if you've tried enough different things to assure yourself that they're not your path. c.f. The Maze Metaphor. If not then maybe pick the best candidate and have hobbies.

 

[SpaceYeti]

Play video games.

 

[Vrecknidj]

Suffer from infirmities, probably.

 

[Ariel]

My spouse wants us to go boating a lot. Should be fun! I also want to research oriental medicine, teach tai chi, read bunches of books, write a few books, and do some pro bono legal work.

 

[EditorOne]

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?....184763320081.243450.803085081&type=1&theater

Retirement product. I'm not going to tackle chairs, but tables, "I got this."

 

[Cognisant]

Float in a jar as a lump of wrinkly, fatty, grey matter.

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

I'd don't think I'll ever actually retire. I'm self-employed and do consulting work. I think I'd get bored.

 

[Jennywocky]

^^ Kind of like that, although I would retire simply to work on projects of my own choosing. I don't ever expect to NOT be doing something.

 

[Analyzer]

I wonder is this concept will become obsolete especially in the US where people the under age of 30-40 will probably never get the entitlements that their parents received. Retirement is essentially only valid for people who have pensions and are waiting to stop "working" once they a hit certain age. Doesn't apply to everyone. Also, will the future of work be the same?

 

[TBerg]

Humans survive through interdependence. I hope to find something that will allow me to continue to engage with something "out there" among others.

 

[Architect]

I wonder is this concept will become obsolete especially in the US where people the under age of 30-40 will probably never get the entitlements that their parents received. Retirement is essentially only valid for people who have pensions and are waiting to stop "working" once they a hit certain age. Doesn't apply to everyone. Also, will the future of work be the same?

Retirement is for anybody with money, as it always has, you don't have to have a pension. A professional job and a 401k is enough and not too hard.

 

[Jennywocky]

I wonder is this concept will become obsolete especially in the US where people the under age of 30-40 will probably never get the entitlements that their parents received. Retirement is essentially only valid for people who have pensions and are waiting to stop "working" once they a hit certain age. Doesn't apply to everyone. Also, will the future of work be the same?

No idea, but yeah, our "retirement" is much different than our grandparents (or older) in the US. Lifespan is much longer, so you need more money; health tends to be better, so you can work longer in life; you need more money in the later years, so you can't retire earlier; also, you need to have been investing in your own private plans along with any social security or pensions you might have waiting for you.

So I'm getting used to the idea that there is no "oh, I can leave the job market now and do my thing." I'll have to work, and work longer. I invested some when I was married and then lost half my retirement in the divorce. So I really don't have as much saved as I should have by now. I've upped how much I take out of each paycheck, since, since I do get some matching funds.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I wouldn't retire as long as I could profit from doing interesting things.
Best if I could safely retire anytime and work at my leisure, I would probably start experimenting and taking risks more then, which would be great.
Oh the dreams of a wage slave.

 

[Analyzer]

Retirement is for anybody with money, as it always has, you don't have to have a pension. A professional job and a 401k is enough and not too hard.

Yeah saving money(including investments) is the biggest factor, but I think economic conditions play a big role in how retirement occurs. The nature of work is not static.

No idea, but yeah, our "retirement" is much different than our grandparents (or older) in the US. Lifespan is much longer, so you need more money; health tends to be better, so you can work longer in life; you need more money in the later years, so you can't retire earlier; also, you need to have been investing in your own private plans along with any social security or pensions you might have waiting for you.

So I'm getting used to the idea that there is no "oh, I can leave the job market now and do my thing." I'll have to work, and work longer. I invested some when I was married and then lost half my retirement in the divorce. So I really don't have as much saved as I should have by now. I've upped how much I take out of each paycheck, since, since I do get some matching funds.

I'm on the same boat. Not sure if you have ever read "The Richest Man In Babylon" but it suggests to always take out 10% "tax" from your income for your own savings before anything else. So basically pay yourself first. I've heard other financial people say this is as well.

Of course it's easier said than done.

 

[Architect]

No idea, but yeah, our "retirement" is much different than our grandparents (or older) in the US. Lifespan is much longer, so you need more money; health tends to be better, so you can work longer in life;

Also the base standard of living and productivity has greatly increased. This means you get more for less nowadays (which is different from getting what you want for nothing, this is getting what you need for less.). Also with increased health (not just care but preventative knowledge) means that you can live your later years in better health for less. Of course you have to actively take care of your health, as you do for your finances, something which many people are bad at.

you need more money in the later years, so you can't retire earlier; also, you need to have been investing in your own private plans along with any social security or pensions you might have waiting for you.

Actually I'd disagree. Early retirements - really early - have been rising the past 40 years for the first time in history. Consider Bach who retired when he died, basically penniless. He couldn't stop working because it was hand to mouth. His works are so scattered because they were dispersed to his family as their inheritance. Now, with some dedication you can retire by the time you are 50 without too much difficulty, and many are doing that.

More recently, comparing my father and myself, he retired at 59 as a pharmaceutical executive, but me as a lowly engineer will have 2-3x his retirement at 59 considering health care, private ammunition (401k/IRA) and pension (which we both have).

I think the disparity is that people commonly have an idealized vision of retirement that never existed.

Yeah saving money(including investments) is the biggest factor, but I think economic conditions play a big role in how retirement occurs. The nature of work is not static.

The ideal scenario is to retire at the beginning of a boom period, say in 1980. Of course there are many scenarios, you can run Monte Carlos on the US stock market over the last 100 years. It's on a one year basis, looking at portfolio survivability given a drain rate (how much you eat) versus investment returns, including tax drag and such. Last I did it was Retire Early Calculator, some searching should find it.

 

[StevenM]

I've got some doubts about health being better. I'm predicting health and well-being is going to go on a decline for many in those years to come.

As for myself, I'm guessing I'll either be already dead, or on my way there. It would just suck if it was caused by this ^ self-fulfilled prophecy.

I fear that a lot of planning, sacrifices, and work has to be done if I'm going to evade this supposed fate.

 

[TheManBeyond]

perpetuate a mass murder