How many are planning on having to work until 70?

[MaryH]

I am.

Don't know how people are going to keep working that long - have to take along your walker and wheelchair.

Find something that arthritic hands won't affect.

Find some way to hide sagging tatoos.

Find some way to try and stand 8 hours a day.

This is going to be fun!

[MadHound]

1. Yeppers, that's me!

But I'm making preparations now in order that I can be working for myself, rather than some souless employer. That way I can set my schedule for what I need.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. I'll be working until the day I go through the permanent check-out line.

[Gothmog]

3. I am also

[TomClash]

4. at least . . .

[Dogmudgeon]

5. If there are any jobs, that is

As it is, I can't stand 8 hours a day now at 46. Not even two hours at a time without a break. So being a greeter at Wal-Mart is out.

I could write computer programs for a living. But that would upset all those managers who are so intent on off-shoring the job of every programmer for the next 50 years.

--bkl

[trotsky]

6. Unfortunately, we need to deal with that reality.

When they set the retirement age at 65, very few people lived past that age long enough to draw a lot of money out of SS.

Now, at 65, most people can expect to live another 10-15 years at least.

Improved diet, healthcare, etc. have all led to that increased life expectancy. Not adjusting our social security system to keep up with that has put a significant burden on it.

I am not saying that there are people who will struggle to work past 65, just that a lot more people are ABLE to work past 65 than at any time in America's past.

[justgamma]

11. You're able to work past 65

if you don't have a physical job. If you've been doing hard work all you're lives, you're body won't let you work.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

7. I don't

have a choice.

[klook]

8. I hope to be working until I'm dead.

Just not at a regular job. I admire people like Richard Avedon, Martha Graham, Dizzy Gillespie, George Bernard Shaw, and Jimmy Carter, who don't retire but continue to work and contribute to society as long as they're able.

"I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake." - George Bernard Shaw

"I'm asked so often at ninety-six whether I believe in life after death. I do believe in the sanctity of life, the continuity of life and of energy. I know the anonimity of death has no appeal for me. It is the now that I must face and want to face." - Martha Graham

[Gildor Inglorion]

9. Me...

I actually ENJOY working and have no plans ever to retire. I'm considering a real estate agent's license; I figure that's a good career for an "older" gentleman who doesn't particularly want to be a Wal-Mart greeter. But even if I suddenly became fabulously wealthy overnight, I'd still seek out opportunities to volunteer. I think work provides structure for one's life and gives many other rewards (not to mention money!).

[watercolors]

10. Will be 70 in DEC.

I am still working! I will untill I feel I have nothing to give, as a teacher I love what I do. Yes there are times I say I think its time, but then I reach someone and I never want to quit. If you,re healthy and able , why not, keeps the mind and body young.

[MaryH]

12. I wonder if I could make it as an old stand-up comedian?

I'm sure there will be lots of material.

[IrateCitizen]

13. Good for you, and thank you...

Both of my parents were teachers -- but they each took their 30-year "window" and retired. My wife is a teacher, and I am working toward changing my career to education as well.

I only hope that I love it as much as you do that I feel I can do it at 70 because I WANT to.

Thanks for working in a field that is involved in the most important investment we have -- our future generations.

[rogerashton]

14. I might stick with it.

I'm 62 and have been in a funded, vested retirement program (TIAA) since I was 24, so I could retire next month. For years, I swore I would. Now that it is here -- hell, I've got a few more years in me. Another book or two, maybe even.

[IrateCitizen]

15. I actually hope to still be working in some form at 70

Seriously, I hope that I find something in life that I love to do so much that I WANT to work at 70 years of age. Whether that something is work that I get paid for is another thing entirely.

Both of my parents retired after 30 years of teaching, and although I know they are enjoying their retirement, I wouldn't want to be doing what they are doing. I wouldn't be happy just travelling and such, and think that I would be much better off if I was actively involved in something that helped better other people's lives.

Another poster earlier up said that they admired people like Jimmy Carter, George Bernard Shaw, etc. -- because they continued working in some capacity long after their age of "retirement". I hope to be much the same in that manner.

[Palacsinta]

16. As a piano teacher/musician.....

my husband plans on working until his student pokes him to wake him up and he falls off the bench.(He'll work until whenever 'cause he loves it and because he'll HAVE to. Being self-employed, we've always had to supply for our own pension and health insurance. Right now, there's not nearly enough to retire on and my husband's 61.)

[RebelOne]

17. Yep, I'm 65 now and will probably work

for another five years. I'm also collecting Social Security. So that combined with my salary is a nice amount. But I can't afford to retire, as I couldn't live solely on SS.

[Ready4Change]

18. I WANT to work beyond 70.

Now, I'd prefer to be working at a hobby and not worrying about money, but I'm convinced the moment you stop working you start dieing.

[Butterflies]

19. My full retirement will be age 67, but I'll probably work until 70

That's how old I'll be when my mortgage gets paid off, so I don't think I'll have a choice.

[MercutioATC]

20. Not me. I'm out when I hit 48 (I HAVE to leave at 56)

...and I'm not staying longer than that (48).

[skippysmom]

21. Right here

I'm 32, without very much saved for retirement (I only recently started making enough money to put some aside in deferred comp) and have no hope that anyone will ever save SS.

[ProfessorGAC]

22. Probably, But Not For The Money

For me, it will be to pay for the stupid MS medicine. That stuff is $1,100 a month! Unless it gets way cheaper when the patents expire, i will need to work to get pharma benefits until i'm 70. Then, medicare will pick up enough of a chunk that i can afford the difference. (I'm assuming that by the time i'm 65, they'll push off the eligibility age to 70.)

The Professor

[Cleita]

24. If Bush, gets another term and if Congress remains Republican

dominated, you'd better pray that we still have a Medicare that will be useful to us. I remember a patch, during the Reagan years where I was helping a sick neighbor. It was really hard to find a doctor that would even take Medicare because the pay schedule was so low. Somewhere along the line, they fixed the problem and by the time my husband needed it, doctors were taking it again.

However, many doctors are now refusing Medicare and Medicaid patients again along with many HMO's and PPD's because of the low reimbursement rates. One of my doctors asks for cash up front and leaves it up to me to get reimbursed (at a much lower fee rate) from my insurance.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. I Concur

The doctor bills aren't my issue. It's the medicine. I see someone finally figuring out that Medicare can actually save money if they just pay for the medicines that reduce the probability of hospital, doctor, diagnostic, surgical and hospice care. Pharamceuticals, even though they are ridiculously expensive, are still more cost effective than the other medical options.
The Professor

[Cleita]

23. I know another DU'er who is seventy + and is still working.

She has admitted how tough it is for someone her age, even though she is in relatively good health for someone her age. She hasn't been able to work at what she did before she became old because it requires a lot of strength and the ability to work long hours. Younger people have taken that job awhile ago, so her job that she can do is fairly low on the pay scale and is dependent on grant funding that they aren't getting thanks to Bush's tax cuts.

I am almost sixty five am am thinking of getting a job to make ends meet. The increase in the cost of prescription drugs and other cost of living rises have made scraping by more difficult. Up until now my husband has needed me to be his primary care giver. Recently, he was put on another program where he spends ten to eleven hours a week at the clinic for his treatment. This frees me somewhat to go to work. However, I know that I would worry constantly about him falling or fainting while he is alone at home.

I also wonder what I can do with arthritis, osteosporis and cataracts in my eyes in a place with high unemployment and that mainly offers low paying service jobs for the tourist industry.

[alexisfree]

25. is a family tradition ....till you die

my grandma still working she's 84 ....

[leftofthedial]

26. at this rate

I'll have to work until I'm 140

[CBHagman]

27. Dying with my boots on, just like my father.

I draw the line at being a Wal-Mart greeter, though.

Seriously, when my cousins are going on Elderhostel trips and bouncing their grandbabies on their knees, I expect to be working as much as energy permits.