Just to be clear, lots of people who just stay at home and ‘potter around the garden’ also worked their assess off all their life, too.
Things don’t always work out for everybody, for a variety of reasons.
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or they would prefer to do that as thats their hobby, plus want to live near grand kids, or partner passed away and doesn’t like travelling by oneself.
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My Dad had some bad financial setbacks in his 50’s (got done over pretty bad by the recession we had to have’ so basically had to start from scratch in his 50’s.)
But he still managed to put away enough to get himself a caravan and do some big trips around the country. Didn’t get to play as much golf as he wanted, as a lifetime on the tools left him with a farked back and hips. And then he got bad cataracts in his eyes, so he couldn’t drive, so there went the caravan.
As much as it’s great to have wealth privilege in your retirement, the privilege you really want, is your health.
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My uncle had a great sense of humour. Back in the day when the Liberals were sending people to Manus Island, Nauru etc, he reached an age where he had to move to a retirement village. He told people he was being put in a Detention Centre.
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This is my lot. Everything starts to hurt.
Even if I won Tatts , I’d still keep working part time in some sort of manner. For various reasons, but partly because I’ve a notion that i need to keep moving or everything is gonna seize up 
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Absolutely and I have never done so much gardening in my life in the past months. I actually like it.
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Assembling some of the thoughts above, in here, and adding some of the things a genius (by IQ) friend of mine and I have discussed about retirement:
Most people have a cash figure in their minds they want to assemble before they retire. That figure is usually based on what they think will provide enough interest, when invested however they’re happy to invest it, to live on for the remainder of their lives.
I think that idea is flawed in some ways:
- Health is everything. Without it we can’t do anything we intended to do when we retire. You need to balance what you can financially do, with what you can still physically do
- Your retirement years are likely to have stages where you can still do many things, followed by times when you can’t do many things, so spending more earlier makes more sense than spending the same amount yearly for the rest of your life
- Unless you really love your kids, you aren’t required to still have your cash fund intact when you die. In other words, you don’t just have to live on the interest all your life. You can actually eat into the cash fund. Also, you’d do more for your kids by teaching them to manage their money well and invest early, than just gifting them money when you die.
As my friend points out, by the time most people reach retirement age, they have maybe 10-15 years of mobility left. They can do many things in that 10-15 years with a moderate/average Super fund, if they’re prepared to use some of their funds in the process.
I think it makes some sense to think about a semi-retirement phase of life, if you can find a way to make it work, where you can either work part time, or take larger chunks of time away from work, to do the things you always wanted to do in retirement, while still working. Whether that means finding a job where you’re able to take months of unpaid leave at times, or doing contract work, and taking time between contracts, or buying/creating a franchise/business that runs well enough without you to allow more chunks of time off. Perhaps even think about cost saving measures like short term renting your house while on holiday, to pay for some of your holiday expenses.
I think many/most people retire too late to actually enjoy the nest egg they thought they had to create, and never have a chance to do much of what they thought they would.
I also think part time/casual work ‘after retirement’ between times away, makes for a more fulfilling life than just jet-setting full-time. It creates a purpose, and keeps social connections you might miss when retired.
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100%.
No point working yourself into the ground while you promise yourself you will live it up in retirement if you are not healthy enough to enjoy it.
If people find themselves in the position to be healthy enough to fully enjoy as much free time as they can then that’s a win, whether that’s in ‘retirement’ or not.
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I know everyone tells us this nowadays, but few really listen.
We spend most of our lives trying to get to a destination - retirement, whatever that looks like for each of us.
In many ways it’s beneficial to sacrifice now for the future, but if you don’t also prioritise the journey, once you get to the destination, it’s all too brief, and you might regret that you didn’t make time to enjoy the journey more.
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Commonly referred to as the go-go, slow-go, and no-go periods.
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Eat out more, spend more, go out more! Yuck, I hate that now! If these are the silent rules of retirement I might just keep working. ( I jest of course!)
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Actually it is fun shopping with two of my granddaughters. They are 11 and 13, and we get to eat whatever we want without wife and mother dictating. And they get new clothes as well !
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Typically with affluence comes good health. (Some obese Australian billionaires are the exception of course).
Our hospitals and hospices aren’t filled with the wealthy. Money keeps you out of them.
And life expectancy is much higher in wealthier countries.
I’m expecting much higher user pays quality aged care. Noteably it will be the one area that’s means tested because it has to be.
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Been in the building game all my life. Give the business to my sons last year. Got a couple of new bits and pieces inserted under the skin where bits broke down. Tad over weight, love a cascade draught. Just started a volunteer driving job, community transport. Lot of people younger than me look a lot older and are ’ unlucky ’ in health. And quite a few admit to going downhill after having their drivers licence taken away for various health reasons. Happy and healthy in retirement is the key I reckon.
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And people say today’s ALP is out of touch!
I am not the ALP, and they are much wiser than me.