Why do people want to save for retirement?

[KTP]

Reading some of the other threads I see constant recommendations for people to start saving early (specifically that guy who was debating if he should save for retirement or save to open a pizza place (his passion...to each his own I guess). Then I saw an article that said retirees could need upwards of $500,000 just to cover medical costs in retirement.

This got me thinking on the subject. Why do people spend 60% or more of their lives saving up for the last 20%? By retirement I mean those who plan to retire at the traditional age of 65 or thereabouts. Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool. I mean I am not going to change my plans or anything and stop saving, but it does make you wonder...

[PrincessPerky]

well someone has to change the bedpans and wipe the drool.

And in our culture no one would dream of doing that for their own parents.

So save up and pay, or sit in your filth...oh wait you could also get the govt to pay for it all......

Actually I think the hope is to retire young enough to enjoy the free time, and not quite need that whole drool problem yet.

[Andrew Jackson]

Reading some of the other threads I see constant recommendations for people to start saving early (specifically that guy who was debating if he should save for retirement or save to open a pizza place (his passion...to each his own I guess). Then I saw an article that said retirees could need upwards of $500,000 just to cover medical costs in retirement.

This got me thinking on the subject. Why do people spend 60% or more of their lives saving up for the last 20%? By retirement I mean those who plan to retire at the traditional age of 65 or thereabouts. Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool. I mean I am not going to change my plans or anything and stop saving, but it does make you wonder...

Its a good question.

It certainly doesn't make sense to save so much that during most of your life you can not afford to have fun. However, you are only currently allowed to put what $5,000 into an IRA? Of course I know a lot of people can put away more than that with 401K and other things. In fact I think small business owners can put save quite a bit more for retirement if they choose. As long as you have a decent paying job $5,000 shouldn't break you. One should still be able to live a good life.

[Snodog]

I don't know what else I'de save for.

More stuff = more hassles and I'm lucky enough to have low-cost hobbies so I don't need to spend money to have fun.

I just turned 41 and the goal is to retire in 10 or so years.

Nothing I would sooner buy than free-time, nothing else is even close.

[am_vanquish]

Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool.

I save for retirement so I can buy Apple's latest & greatest iPan as my bedpan. Also, I might just buy an app to wipe my drool instead of having a nurse.

All kidding aside, I want to do cool things when I get "older" (retirement's not necessarily the right word). I know that by saving now & letting compound interest do it's job, I'll have more resources to do cool stuff later than I would if I did random things now on credit.

[disneysteve]

Why do people spend 60% or more of their lives saving up for the last 20%? By retirement I mean those who plan to retire at the traditional age of 65 or thereabouts. Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool.

I certainly hope none of us will be having our bedpan changed and drool wiped when we are 65. My mom is a very healthy and active 79-year-old and is living comfortably on SS and the money that she and my father saved and invested during their working years. My MIL is 69 and still working full-time at least partially because my FIL died young and they weren't great savers. My uncle, who is in his mid-80s, just got remarried 2 weeks ago. My aunt died 2 years ago. He is still active and full of life. My oldest patient is currently 96 and was living alone until a few months ago when she finally gave in and moved in with her daughter. I have several other patients, male and female, in their 90s and lots of patients in their 80s, most of whom are still quite functional. I have numerous patients in their 70s who still work. In fact, my mom was working part-time until about 3 years ago, not because she needed the money but she enjoyed it and it gave her something to do.

So why wouldn't you save for retirement? I don't want to have to work until the day I die. And if the day comes when I'm no longer physically able to work, I want to know that there is a nice nest egg there for me to live on in my later years.

[jIM_Ohio]

Reading some of the other threads I see constant recommendations for people to start saving early (specifically that guy who was debating if he should save for retirement or save to open a pizza place (his passion...to each his own I guess). Then I saw an article that said retirees could need upwards of $500,000 just to cover medical costs in retirement.

This got me thinking on the subject. Why do people spend 60% or more of their lives saving up for the last 20%? By retirement I mean those who plan to retire at the traditional age of 65 or thereabouts. Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool. I mean I am not going to change my plans or anything and stop saving, but it does make you wonder...

At age 65, few people will need bedpans
maybe at age 95 they will

those 30 years in between can be lots of fun if
a) you have the time to enjoy them
b) you can fund your enjoyment

time and funding vary by individual.


That article was probably written before congress just passed the current bill, and my understanding is this is the one (and only) portion of bill which makes sense- allow early retirees earlier access to healthcare.

[asmom]

Reading some of the other threads I see constant recommendations for people to start saving early (specifically that guy who was debating if he should save for retirement or save to open a pizza place (his passion...to each his own I guess). Then I saw an article that said retirees could need upwards of $500,000 just to cover medical costs in retirement.

This got me thinking on the subject. Why do people spend 60% or more of their lives saving up for the last 20%? By retirement I mean those who plan to retire at the traditional age of 65 or thereabouts. Sometimes it almost seems we are all saving up a ton of money just so someone can change our bedpan and wipe our drool. I mean I am not going to change my plans or anything and stop saving, but it does make you wonder...

I'm a nurse and I specialize in geriatrics. It makes me sad that so many people have such low expectations of their elder years. You do not have to spend the last 20 or 30 years of your life drooling and using a bedpan. I regularly talk to people in their 80s and 90s who are active and enjoy full lives. In fact, if you are financially secure the chances of enjoying better health are improved. Crazy but true!

Everyday I talk to people who thought the whole shooting match would be over by the time they were 65. Surprise they're still alive and they have found that they still want to travel, shop, have fun but they don't have the funds. The last thing you want to do is to have to work in your golden years or almost as bad, depend on your kids.

So save now (but continue to enjoy life of course) and the good times don't have to stop just because you are over 65.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I think my Dad has been retired 36 years now. He was not able to save for retirement and has only social security plus a very small pension. He could and has lived by himself, but now lives with my sister. What does he need money for in his retirement years? Well, he does pay a share of rent and utilities. He keeps a car running (gas, oil, maintenance, tax, licensing) so that he can make weekly runs into the big city. He buys books as if he were the public library (well, except that he buys mostly used). He needs to replace clothing items once in a while (an this is a man who wears a t-shirt until it is whisper thin).

He likes to take the great-grandchildren out for an ice cream cone or pizza, or buy them a coloring book, or box of sidewalk chalk. He sends gift subscriptions to his kids. Of course he has to pay his share on Medicare and its supplements. About 6 years ago, he did have to start a blood pressure med, then a couple years ago he needed a hearing aid. He has needed a prescription skin ointment for the last couple years, too. He buys a nutritional supplement which he swears keeps his knees flexible and pain free, so that he can still be active enough to babysit the toddler great-granddaughter, teach the other great grand-daughter to ride a bike, mow the grass, thin out the undergrowth in my sister's woods, and chop down trees. Oh yeah, I hear he goes through a pair of leather work-gloves per year.

He also continues to make donations to the same charities he was donating to 50 years ago when I was a baby. Sometimes he will buy a tool, as he does much of the maintenance at my sister's house and is pleased to contribute with a tool that he thinks is a useful bargain.

If he had more money, I think he would have handled his dental care differently-- perhaps dental implants, for example. If he had more money, he would travel, as he did earlier in his retirement, before inflation caught up to his pension which is not adjusted with increases in the cost of living. If he had more money, he would do photography as he once did. If he had more money, I'm pretty sure he would have sent a couple of his grandkids to private school when they were in very bad public schools. If he had more money, I think he would still be living by himself, though I think his arrangements with my sister are great for him. If he had money, he'd have a beautiful library for all his books. As is, they are mostly on metal shelves from K-mart or the like. If he had money, I think he would buy music, go to symphonies and concerts other than the jam sessions my sister and friends invite him to. If he had more money, I think he would buy a new suit or two. If he had money...well, he would have a lot of things he would enjoy. He is not at all moaning and groaning about his situation; he has a great attitude. But if he had more money, I do believe he'd live differently.

Really, life does go on when you are retired. Believe me, you still do need money, even if you live fairly simply. If you hope to live a little more elaborately, you'd better have more than social security and that micro pension.

[elessar78]

Great thread y'all. It serves as a nice reminder to those of us (not rubbing it in) with a long(er) while till "retirement" what we're saving for.

[disneysteve]

life does go on when you are retired. Believe me, you still do need money, even if you live fairly simply.

Absolutely. My mom is 79. She told us last week that for her 80th birthday this summer, she wants to take us on a cruise. Yes, it is her birthday and she wants to buy us a present, but for her, that will be a great gift. So she will be taking herself and 4 other people on a 7-day cruise. It is something I'm sure we will all enjoy and remember and she can afford it because she and my father saved for years for the future, which is now the present.

[cschin4]

The reason to save for me is so that I dont' end up living in squalor and so that I don't have to work until my dying day and live check to check. And, when we are young and healthy we often think we can go on working forever and then an illness or disability may strike. If you have health problems, it can become very difficult to do your occupation as you age depending on what you do.

[feh]

I certainly hope none of us will be having our bedpan changed and drool wiped when we are 65. My mom is a very healthy and active 79-year-old and is living comfortably on SS and the money that she and my father saved and invested during their working years. My MIL is 69 and still working full-time at least partially because my FIL died young and they weren't great savers. My uncle, who is in his mid-80s, just got remarried 2 weeks ago. My aunt died 2 years ago. He is still active and full of life. My oldest patient is currently 96 and was living alone until a few months ago when she finally gave in and moved in with her daughter. I have several other patients, male and female, in their 90s and lots of patients in their 80s, most of whom are still quite functional. I have numerous patients in their 70s who still work. In fact, my mom was working part-time until about 3 years ago, not because she needed the money but she enjoyed it and it gave her something to do.

There was an article in Time a few weeks ago regarding life expectancy. In the coming decades the number of folks making it to 100 is going to explode. We need to plan on making those extra years enjoyable and not spent lying in a nursing home having folks wipe up our drool.

Take care of yourselves. Stay active. And plan on enjoying life at 90+.

[maat55]

I don't trust the government. Late boomers with no savings may be up a creek without it. Besides, the longer money has to work the less you have to save.

[isralexba]

this is an interesting question ....

i think saving for retirement is a matter of balance (as with other things in life). you should secure your future but on the other hand you should not neglect your present...

so make sure you do save sufficent funds for the future, so you will be able to finance yourself and family, but do make sure to have fun on the way.