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That's reassuring, but... What's the average retirement age in the US? 60? And here we are consoling ourselves about still being in-demand at the ripe old ag

That's reassuring, but... What's the average retirement age in the US? 60? And here we are consoling ourselves about still being in-demand at the ripe old age of 40.

badman_ting 13y ago
Yeah, it's sad. Only athletes should be old at 40.
gaoshan 13y ago
Keep in mind that most of us aren't earning pensions and our 401Ks are earning peanuts so retirement at 60 effectively means "living on social security and whatever you managed to scrape together". Retirement will mean poverty for a great many people, I fear.
- zevyoura 13y ago
  If your 401k was earning peanuts over the last year, you were doing something very wrong.
nknighthb 13y ago
61 and climbing, but that number doesn't tell you much by itself. If you spend your career in SV as a reasonably in-demand developer and have no major life catastrophes, you might easily retire 5-10 years earlier with good money management. Partly depends on what kind of lifestyle you want in retirement, and where you plan to spend that retirement.
- toomuchtodo 13y ago
  Live below your means, save the majority of your income, move someone nice and cheap (Central/South America, parts of Asia).
  - hyperbovine 13y ago
    Come talk to me when you hit 50 :-) The "retire to Latin America" trope seems to be extremely popular amongst thirtysomethings who haven't necessarily considered what it would be like to suddenly put thousands of miles between yourself and aging parents, family, children, whatever friends you still have, etc. It just ain't that simple.
    - toomuchtodo 13y ago
      I'm sure its different for everyone, but I'm 31 and live in a 1100 sq ft condo with my wife; I could give away all our Ikea furniture in 24 hours on Craigslist and be on the other side of the world in 48-72 hours. That's just me though and how I like to live.
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    You don't have to leave the US to live somewhere a lot cheaper than SV or NYC. You don't even have to switch states.

That's reassuring, but... What's the average retirement age in the US? 60? And here we are consoling ourselves about still being in-demand at the ripe old age of 40.

badman_ting 13y ago

Yeah, it's sad. Only athletes should be old at 40.

gaoshan 13y ago

Keep in mind that most of us aren't earning pensions and our 401Ks are earning peanuts so retirement at 60 effectively means "living on social security and whatever you managed to scrape together". Retirement will mean poverty for a great many people, I fear.

zevyoura 13y ago
If your 401k was earning peanuts over the last year, you were doing something very wrong.

nknighthb 13y ago

61 and climbing, but that number doesn't tell you much by itself. If you spend your career in SV as a reasonably in-demand developer and have no major life catastrophes, you might easily retire 5-10 years earlier with good money management. Partly depends on what kind of lifestyle you want in retirement, and where you plan to spend that retirement.

toomuchtodo 13y ago
Live below your means, save the majority of your income, move someone nice and cheap (Central/South America, parts of Asia).
- hyperbovine 13y ago
  Come talk to me when you hit 50 :-) The "retire to Latin America" trope seems to be extremely popular amongst thirtysomethings who haven't necessarily considered what it would be like to suddenly put thousands of miles between yourself and aging parents, family, children, whatever friends you still have, etc. It just ain't that simple.
  - toomuchtodo 13y ago
    I'm sure its different for everyone, but I'm 31 and live in a 1100 sq ft condo with my wife; I could give away all our Ikea furniture in 24 hours on Craigslist and be on the other side of the world in 48-72 hours. That's just me though and how I like to live.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  You don't have to leave the US to live somewhere a lot cheaper than SV or NYC. You don't even have to switch states.