[IgnoranceIsBliss]

The older members of society in the US still have enormous political power. They are the coveted demographic group because they are almost guaranteed to turn out on election day.

Therefore, this "loyal voter" demographic won't be easily slighted. Just look at one of the trends that you see in areas with large senior populations: demands for age-specific exemptions from school taxes. Yes, the oldsters don't want to pay for the schools.
We have that in my town now. You get partial exemption starting at age 60-something and total school tax exemption in your 70's.
I also saw this when I lived in Florida. Developers were proposing to build large new housing developments for ages 65+. They were demanding to be exempted from school impact fees that were typically assessed on all new construction.

Well, following that mindset, I don't use Medicare (healthcare for ages 65+), so maybe I shouldn't have to pay for it! I really see a generational struggle shaping up. At least today's retirees were able to count on working 30 stable years at IBM and then collecting a nice pension. The younger generation won't even have that luxury. We have no job security and we have to do the work of 2 employees due to cut backs and downsizing.

So don't be so quick to write off the older folks. They will demand their fair share.

[vision-master]

Health care insurance premiums (Medicare + Plan C & D) for seniors can easly run $200 to $300 Month now.

[Zardoz]

Apparently, we're not supposed to live as long as we do now. It seems that modern life, and modern medicine, are keeping us alive for twenty or maybe even thirty years longer than what would be "normal". We're in such bad shape in our "golden years" because we're living on artificially-induced time.

A few thousand years ago, how many people lived to be 80?

Surf through these and you'll find some eye-opening stats. We've greatly increased our life spans just in the last hundred years or so:

Life expectancy Wikipedia page

CDC life tables

1850 to 2004

Prehistoric lifespan blurb

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') neolithic tomb at Isbister (The Tomb of the Eagles) on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, produced the remains of 342 people. The age profile of the bones showed a population where children outnumbered adults three to one. The most commom age of death was early adulthood, between 15 and 30. Only 1.5% of people were over 40, and very few lived to reach the age of 50. Old age, rather than life, began at 40.

[vision-master]

One of my grandfathers worked the iron ore mines for 30+ years and smoked 7 packs of Camels per day. He lived to 78.

On the other side, my grandfather had 13 kids during the depression and no work. Served in WWI and Lived to 84.

[RedStateGreen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', 'S')o that gun will serve two purposes, defense when needed, and ending it all when I can no longer control my bodily functions.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RedStateGreen', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', 'S')o that gun will serve two purposes, defense when needed, and ending it all when I can no longer control my bodily functions.

[RedStateGreen]

My father in law worked 35 years as a truck driver, then retired and worked as a handyman until he was 83 or 84. He's kind of gone downhill since then, he has osteoporosis and broke four bones in his back, and his 55 years of smoking finally have caught up to him.

My mother in law, on the other hand, probably shouldn't be alive. She's had cancer four times now.

My dad never got to retire, he died of a stroke at 57. My mom is 78 now and will probably outlive all of us. Her parents both lived into their 90's and had fairly good health.

[InverseBetaDecay]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'I') second that, Vision Master. I've deteriorated dramatically since hitting 50, three years ago. Turns out that that year had more than merely symbolic meaning. Like you, I was always somewho looked far younger than his age. Well, since 50 the years have been catching up FAST.
The earlier comment by Retired Guy, about the delusion of thinking you can work forever (e.g., to make up for wrecked 401k balances) also rings very true. It depends on the work. Despite all the comments we read about people "loving" their jobs, most work is a grind.

[Chuckmak]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Heineken', 'S')o will .38-caliber-type retirements.

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('InverseBetaDecay', ' ') I've worked six day weeks most of my life, it takes a toll.

[Kristen]

I think euthanasia should be an allowed process, if the person is willing to do it. At ages like 80 and beyond, do you really want to be couped up in a cell at a nursing home getting treated horriibly by the staff. Of course that is a shame on the younger generation too. I personally would never send my mom to a nursing home, (My father is in a physc ward already) and watch her suffer because of age.

I also think its sad that the older members of society are treated with such disrespect. I worked at a Bakers Square from 16 - 21 and most of the customers there were from the nursing homes across the street. They are so full of knowledge and just needed a listening ear. I also heard all of the gruesome nursing home abuses and was appalled, but not at all surprised.

As far as me retiring, there won't be too many jobs left for me to retire too. I've been on unenjoyment for four months and have applied everywhere. only two interviews this far, I'm totally doomed to homelessness and death.

[nobodypanic]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Kristen', 'I') think euthanasia should be an allowed process, if the person is willing to do it. At ages like 80 and beyond, do you really want to be couped up in a cell at a nursing home getting treated horriibly by the staff. Of course that is a shame on the younger generation too. I personally would never send my mom to a nursing home, (My father is in a physc ward already) and watch her suffer because of age.

I also think its sad that the older members of society are treated with such disrespect. I worked at a Bakers Square from 16 - 21 and most of the customers there were from the nursing homes across the street. They are so full of knowledge and just needed a listening ear. I also heard all of the gruesome nursing home abuses and was appalled, but not at all surprised.

As far as me retiring, there won't be too many jobs left for me to retire too. I've been on unenjoyment for four months and have applied everywhere. only two interviews this far, I'm totally doomed to homelessness and death.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('retiredguy', 'B')yron100,
I would estimate that in my old organization about 25% of the employee were pure dead weight. Their positions could be eliminated with no effect to the organization. However, managers like numbers...
Heineken,
Dead on about turning 50. I felt different that very day. Each year after that I've noticed a decline in my energy level and I am a VERY active person. Some days I have to force myself to do things.
I've seen my share of nursing homes over the past ten years and don't plan to end my life in one of them. Sort of like waiting for a bus you never want to arrive in a Greyhound station.
That is no way to stay alive.

[Heineken]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('InverseBetaDecay', 'J')ust thought I'd break my silence, been lurking most of these years. It's strangely comforting to read these forums & realize other people also see the world situation clearly and are trying to cope.

[Zardoz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('nobodypanic', '.')..remember, you aren't alone. there are millions of people just like you.

[GeneralGreen]

retirement for the masses. is a new concept via the past 100 years..before that only the rich or former soldiers received a pension.
Also most people never lived past 60 in the 1700s ..esp men.
most families were use to 6 kids of which 1-2 died in childhood..
I am 33 and if I live to see 60 I'll be happy...I have no interest to live on 100 pills a day in an old folks home shitting the bed...Sorry but I wouldnt want to be a burden to my kids..if that were the case..I'd soon like they did long ago..go to the woods with a bottle of Rum on a cold winter day drink and never wake up.
These old people will be nothing but burdens int eh days ahead..they will bankrupt the system more and want and depend on the youth "who they gave over to day care" to take care of them...
4+ Billion people are going to die off in the next 25-30 years...Most elederly esp cripples will be in that category

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

FYI: freezing to death isn't such a bad way to go. You get very cold, then you get nice and toasty warm then you get sleepy, and go to sleep, then you die. And if you do it right, you will stay nicely preserved so you can feed some of the wildlife for a couple of the winter months.

I think we should have a choice how and when we die (except for accidents and hereditary heartattacks etc that make the choice for us.) But the native indians had it right. do it ceremonially, leave your stuff to whom you want, and leave your family, willfully, with honour and dignity when you choose to.

I used to volunteer in an old folks home. they came in and over the course of about three years, their minds left. Imagine going senile in highschool (with all the petty one-ups-man and bickering etc) and that is what you ahve to look forward to. watching a formerly happy, robust person piss themselves (or worse) after you have gotten to know and care about them really sucks.

I think one of the reasons nurses etc stop caring is their coping mechanism. Its tough to see the light in a care givers eye die.

[IslandCrow]

In a bid to keep people working longer, the Finnish retirement system was recently changed. The retirement age was 65, but most people took early retirement (in places, like the paper mills, the Unions put a lot of pressure on people to stop working as soon as possible, ie in mid-50s). Now the retirement age varies from 62 to 68 with the carrot to stay working being that wages earned in that period contribute a lot more to the pension than wages earned before.

This is having an effect of keeping people in their jobs longer. I know, that if I am able (God willing) I am planning to working to the upper limit. I also fully expect that the upper limit for retirement will rise again before I get to being 68 years old.

BUT there is the nagging question: "Will the firm I work for last that long?" So despite good intentions to keep working, I probably will have to 'retire' in the near future. I am working on trying to reduce costs so that I could afford this early retirement if I was forced into it, but I am not sure how I would manage, and count each extra month in work as a blessing.

[retiredguy]

The one, over-arching benefit of retirement, is that it gives one control over one's time.

What one does with that precious gift is all-important.

One could sit on one's a$$ and watch the tube all day. Or spend every day whacking a golf ball.

But some of us are using this gift of time to develop new skills and to take direct responsibility for providing one's basic needs. By that I mean growing one's own food, harvesting wood for heat, etc.

And, most importantly, providing assistance where possible to neighbors, friends, and family. The non-monetary returns from doing the latter can be truly amazing.

Sure beats the heck out of sitting in a cube wishing one were elsewhere 50% of the day.

To prepare for the future, we really need to redefine the "job."

[eXpat]

Mervyns tells employees they can't withdraw all their 401(k) funds
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')ervyns has temporarily stopped workers from freely withdrawing money from their 401(k) plans, the latest blow to employees who are losing their jobs as the bankrupt retailer shuts down all its stores.

The decision raises questions about workers' access to their retirement funds, a critical safety net with the stock market in turmoil and the economy mired in its worst recession in decades.

In a notice to employees this week, Mervyns said it was temporarily blocking employees from cashing out their 401(k) funds.

"Due to the current economic climate, not all of the 401(k) funds are available for immediate liquidation," the company said.

The retirement plan will continue to make minimum distributions to retirees age 70½ or older and allow so-called "hardship withdrawals," which enable workers to take out cash for financial emergencies, medical expenses, foreclosures or other emergencies before retirement.