Why those who retire on time end up struggling

[Jasz]

Those who retire on time end up struggling in their old age. That's because they are unprepared for the work of living. They haven't developed a set of skills that let them cope with the anxieties of daily life, or with the boredom and loneliness of retirement.

The experience of many retirees is that they came to their retirement age with a plan for how to live and then found themselves in situations that made it impossible to carry out that plan. They have few skills for dealing with the anxieties and boredom, and no plans for dealing with poverty.

If you retire at 65, you'll probably be able to manage OK but will find yourself rushed off your feet once you're no longer working. You might miss the camaraderie of your job, but if you don't have anyone else to talk to all day long, what's the point?

Retirees who wait until 70 or 80 can afford a little more leisure time and can take advantage of their newly acquired wisdom about life itself, but even so they may find themselves facing huge challenges as they get older.

 

[Holicent]

The most common reason people struggle to retire is because they don't have enough money.

If you can't afford to pay your bills, you'll be forced to work even if you want to stop. And if you're working now, there's a good chance that your employer will try to keep you on the payroll until you retire.

This means that even if you've planned for your retirement carefully, it will be hard for some people to actually follow through with their plans and get out of the rat race.

The other issue is that many people who retire on time end up struggling because they don't have any skills that employers are willing to hire for. If the economy is bad when they stop working, then there won't be anyone hiring them at all — even if they still have all their health and pension benefits from work, since those benefits are based on what other employers pay.

 

[Yusra3]

Retirees who retire on time are often the ones most likely to struggle.

Why? Because they don't have the time, patience, or resources to handle all of the different kinds of work that retirement requires. They may not know how to find a job or they may be too busy caring for aging parents or grandparents to take on extra responsibilities. They may have no idea how to manage their money; they may not have access to technology; and they may not be able to afford regular travel or even basic entertainment expenses like going out for dinner with friends or taking a trip to see family in another state.

In short: they just don't know what it's like to be retired!