People should plan now for an unexpected early retirement even if they plan to work until 80.
Unfortunately, many people are wrestling with this very problem. Specifically, they plan to work until a certain age — but they leave the work force earlier due to poor health in retirement.
No doubt many people will think, "Oh, this won't happen to me." That is silly thinking. Fact is, that was exactly what the people were thinking at one time to whom it happened.
Just how big a problem is this? Consider the following statistics from the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Retirement Confidence Survey:
• Forty-seven percent of retirees left the work force earlier than planned.
• Of that total, 42 percent did so because of health problems or disability, 34 percent left due to their employers’ downsizing or closure, and 18 percent left to care for a spouse or another family member.
So here’s the bottom line: Even if you think you’re going to work until, say, you may be forced to quit at 68, 65 — or even younger.
Here are a few quotations about retirement and quotes about health in general:"Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed."
— George Bernard Shaw.
"If you don't take care of your body, where do you expect to live?"
— from the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working (Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 langauges)
"To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals."
— Benjamin Franklin
"When money is lost, little is lost. When time is lost, much more is lost. When health is lost, practically everything is gone. And when creative spirit is lost, there is nothing left."
— from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (Over 150,000 copies sold and published in 9 langauges)
"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the time he killed himself."
— Johnny Carson
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
— Constitution. The World Health Organization
"People who don't know how to keep themselves healthy ought to have the decency to get themselves buried, and not waste time about it."
— Henrik Ibsen
The things that are most precious to the human soul are those that are beyond price — integrity, true friendship, health, achievement, reputation, true courage, great character, gratitude, greatness, emotional stability, common sense, self-esteem, creativity, wisdom, spiritual fulfillment, and peace of mind. These can’t be rented, bought, or sold — regardless of how much money you acquire.
— from Life’s Secret Handbook
"Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half-dead. In a steak house, you see robust, ruddy people. They’re dying, of course, but they look terrific."
— Bill Cosby
"Eat only when you are hungry. Drink only when you're thirsty. Sleep only when you're tired. Screw only when you're horny."
— Al Neuharth
"I'm not unwell. I'm f*cking dying."
— Jeffrey Bernard (to Dominic Lawson of The Spectator)
Unfortunately, many people are wrestling with this very problem. Specifically, they plan to work until a certain age — but they leave the work force earlier due to poor health in retirement.
No doubt many people will think, "Oh, this won't happen to me." That is silly thinking. Fact is, that was exactly what the people were thinking at one time to whom it happened.
Just how big a problem is this? Consider the following statistics from the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s Retirement Confidence Survey:
• Forty-seven percent of retirees left the work force earlier than planned.
• Of that total, 42 percent did so because of health problems or disability, 34 percent left due to their employers’ downsizing or closure, and 18 percent left to care for a spouse or another family member.
So here’s the bottom line: Even if you think you’re going to work until, say, you may be forced to quit at 68, 65 — or even younger.
Here are a few quotations about retirement and quotes about health in general:"Do not try to live forever. You will not succeed."
— George Bernard Shaw.
"If you don't take care of your body, where do you expect to live?"
— from the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working (Over 250,000 copies sold and published in 17 langauges)
"To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals."
— Benjamin Franklin
"When money is lost, little is lost. When time is lost, much more is lost. When health is lost, practically everything is gone. And when creative spirit is lost, there is nothing left."
— from How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free (Over 150,000 copies sold and published in 9 langauges)
"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the time he killed himself."
— Johnny Carson
"Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."
— Constitution. The World Health Organization
"People who don't know how to keep themselves healthy ought to have the decency to get themselves buried, and not waste time about it."
— Henrik Ibsen
The things that are most precious to the human soul are those that are beyond price — integrity, true friendship, health, achievement, reputation, true courage, great character, gratitude, greatness, emotional stability, common sense, self-esteem, creativity, wisdom, spiritual fulfillment, and peace of mind. These can’t be rented, bought, or sold — regardless of how much money you acquire.
— from Life’s Secret Handbook
"Did you ever see the customers in health-food stores? They are pale, skinny people who look half-dead. In a steak house, you see robust, ruddy people. They’re dying, of course, but they look terrific."
— Bill Cosby
"Eat only when you are hungry. Drink only when you're thirsty. Sleep only when you're tired. Screw only when you're horny."
— Al Neuharth
"I'm not unwell. I'm f*cking dying."
— Jeffrey Bernard (to Dominic Lawson of The Spectator)
