I thought this is a good read to put things in perspective.
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It’s not going to happen for me. I’ll be working until I drop dead for two reasons–1, I actually like my job (sometimes I love it), and 2, I need the money.
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@arugula Agree. Soon countries will be unable to afford social welfare programs, especially if we start living longer, and out of control inflation will wear away our savings.
FWIW: Retirement is not all it’s cracked up to be. As long as you like your job, you should keep on working as long as they will let you. The main thing aside from missing my job, I really miss my co-workers.
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Here in Hong Kong, for many jobs, there is mandatory retirement at 60. After that you have to find a new career. (You can sometimes push it to 65 but after that it’s out the door!)
Any ideas of a new profession you can take up at 60?
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So you have to leave your current job but you can find a new one? It just has to change at 60?
Things will have to shift but there will be countries that figure out how to make it work and others will copy.
Much longer lifespans likely means a kind of cyclical schedule to life. You might have many careers over time (many people already do this) with many retirements and periods of learning. You might end up many lifetimes, not just adding on retirement years at the end of our current pattern.
What’s more, it’s hard to predict how quickly automation and AI will affect the labor market, but that is also coming.
All I can say with certainty is the world is going to get VERY WEIRD in the coming decades with longevity, AI/automation, climate change, possible fusion energy, possible quantum computing… that amount of change all coming at the velocity that it is coming… it’s not likely to be a smooth transition and it’s going to be an un-fun time for many.
I’m still optimistic and excited to see how it goes. We’re living through a very interesting chapter of humanity.
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No. Some jobs will not employ people beyond 60. Other, usually lesser jobs, have no age restriction. For instance, janitors or security guard jobs. But for the good paying professional jobs, you are out at 60.
Thats Harsh. But nothing compared to the Silicon Valley where you’re considered ancient after 40 (for anyone but senior management).
And recently I saw that 35 is starting to be the new “old” as far as careers go in China:
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China will soon run out of 35 and under.
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what do you do? I feel the same.
how about doing research for a longevity company? that’s what I am aiming for!
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That sounds wonderful, but I don’t think my credentials will get me hired:
- Regular on Rapamycin.news
I mean that’s as good as gold, but…
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don’t sell yourself short! there are many jobs out there these days remote jobs.
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We’ll, I would definitely be open to it, because that’s what I do for fun in my spare time. 
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I worked my ass off from 25-48 (not healthy). Luckily my Dad gave me The Wealthy Barber when I was 16 and it struck a chord. I started a slow, boring (but super consistent) investment plan the day I started working after I graduated from university. I retired at 48 (almost 2 years ago now) and I’m not looking back. I love it. But, I keep myself busy with family (3 kids from 14-17, plus aging parents) and friends. I mountain bike almost daily and now have the time to properly look after myself (nutrition and exercise…including researching enough to find myself on this forum). I built a cold plunge (love it) and had a sauna installed (expensive, but hey…health). I started a tiny YouTube channel that I enjoy (+ learning to film & edit albeit very amateurly). I’ve also started a mentorship program teaching young adults how to save and invest. Point is, retirement is what you make of it. I know that I’m in a privileged position and I’m thankful for it every day.
Oh, and if I was in gov’t, I’d start a program where each child gets $10k deposited in some broad market ETF at birth that grows tax free until they hit 60 (and it can’t be withdrawn until 60). I’d also make a new life skills course mandatory in high school that included financial management (different than what gets currently taught), physical health (focusing on health span) and mental health. Oh, I’d also ban mobile phones from all class sessions.
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You cannot count on pension. Pension is a pyramid scam that only works if the birthrate remains high so there are a lot more young people than old people. With birthrates continuing to decline massively in developed nations pension funds will dry out. Only thing to do is to work longer, save up more and hope AI will lead to massive increases in productivity before you get old.
A lot of developed countries has had massive immigration for this reason, so I don’t think it’s really a large problem. Mostly in for example Japan.
True but I don’t think the immigration is enough except in a few countries. The proportion of people over age 65 is still increasing fast in most developed countries despite the immigration. The USA is doing better than Europe though.
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Yes I think partly Europe is going downhill, too many hippies who is going to ruin the electrical grid and not be tough on organized crime too. Most important might be to be wealthy or save a lot if someone’s an European to be able to move to whatever country will be safe, which might be another EU country or somewhere else. Many people are apparently putting their elders in retirement homes in Thailand. They don’t respect older people as much in many places in EU.