My grandmother will be 99 this year. My grandfather was a farmer and Navy veteran. On my Dad’s side, both his parents died early. Are your grandparents still active?
I'm not who you replied to, but both of my grandpas were farmers and Army vets. Both grew up in the same small farm town and died within a few months of each other and are buried in the same lot. It's kind of cool. One of them retired, one of them retired from farming and rural mail-carrying at around 65, the other was involved with the farming operation until he died at 92. My Grandma is 97 and still likes to keep the books for the farm, although that's becoming difficult for her as her eyes are getting worse.
> both my grandpas were farmers and Army vets
Funny. My dad's dad wasn't a vet *because* he was a farmer. He got a pass to stay back here so he could keep producing food. That's why I was told, anyway. My mom's dad was a journalist who served in the Army Air Corps. They both retired.
All of my grandparents have since passed on.
My dad's parents are very active. My grandpa does push-ups and sit-ups daily and they are both independent. My mom's dad has been in decline for about 8 years after falling off his twenty-foot ham radio antenna and somehow surviving it. Her mom died at 63 from lung cancer (smoker).
Man, that’s awesome. My mom’s dad passed when I was a wee lad, he was 54. My dad’s dad made it a much longer time, to just short of 80.
I’m in my 40’s, and lost my own dad when he was 53. I note that I take much better care of my body than my old man did, but the genes aren’t there for long life on either side of my family.
For what it's worth, my dad came from a family where all the men died in their early 50s and he made it to 71. Which isn't exactly impressive these days, but it's still an upgrade.
My grandparents raised 8 children on 1.5x salary. Had a beautiful house in the burbs, pool and all. Retired before 55 and made it through until their mid 90's. Retired for longer than they worked. Crazy. I don't actually remember either set of my grandparents working, just retired and enjoying life.
The grandfather I knew promptly retired at 60 in 1985 and collected a pension for 35 years. My grandmother never worked for wages in my lifetime but raised 6 kids and a handful of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, not to mention waited on my grandfather, so it’s fair to say she worked until she died. My other grandmother worked until shortly before her death at 60.
My maternal grandparents were both retired by the time I was born. Grandad had been a colonel in the USAF (and part of the Flying Tigers squadron,) and Nana was mostly a homemaker. Between his officer's pension (etc,) and her iron-grip on their finances, they lived very comfortably in a rancher style home on a sleepy little lake in southern Delaware. I've wanted my Grandad's retirement life since as far back as my memory goes. He just did whatever TF he felt like doing, and it seemed like it was absolutely *glorious*.
My paternal grandparents, I hardly knew; they were in an old-folks' home by the time I was born, and both were dead by the time I was 10. That said, they were both retired. I don't think she had a career to speak of, but he was a 2nd or 3rd generation Lutheran minister. The home they were in was actually Lutheran-based, so my grandfather just kept on ministering, even though he was 'retired'.
I think it has a lot to do with *how* one earns their living. Makes total sense to me that my maternal grandfather would have wanted *nothing* to do with the military when he was finished, but it also makes total sense to me that my paternal grandfather didn't know what to do with himself if he wasn't actively ministering.
For me - perhaps generationally, perhaps just personally - I'm like a charter/VIP member of team "Work Is Just Work". I don't expect I'll ever be able to afford to retire, but I still dream of it, every day. Maybe it's just me, but I very purposely keep my 'driving passion/purpose' wholly separate from my income-generating work. I found very early on in my life that any time I tried to mix my passions with 'a job,' the job would invariably murder my passions. Nothing kills passion faster than "If I don't do this thing, I can't afford to live."
Thank you so much for sharing. I don’t know anything about my paternal grandparents. But we were Lutheran on my mother’s side. And I have a similar feeling about work and passions. Some lucky people somehow figure out how to combine the two, but I think it’s very uncommon.
Being poor, they never considered retirement to be an option and would have laughed if anyone brought it up. They worked until they became too disabled to continue, then collected social security until they died. I'm not sure that retirement is for me, but I do know I don't want the poverty to disability track either. I'm hoping that the different choices I've made will allow me to create other options for myself.
Mostly.
My parents owned and worked 50/50 a restaurant with one of my sets of grandparents. My grandfather would tend the bar during the afternoon and my grandmother would take care of the books and help do various prep work in the kitchen for a few hours most days of the week. They lived in the house next door to the restaurant.
My other set of grandparents lived in Florida their entire lives. My grandfather there retired and spent his days beekeeping and gardening.
Work went from being necessary to survive to being what was fulfilling to them.
My parents now are 68 and 69 years old. They still own and run the same restaurant I grew up in. They’ve curtailed their hours significantly, but still work a mostly full time schedule. Their plan is to work until they can’t anymore then convert the building into a bunch of apartments and live off of that income.
It's interesting to see people specifying their grandfathers but not their grandmothers. My grandpa was a teacher and accountant and my grandma did accounting too. They both retired and had very elaborate hobbies that kept them busy (beekeeping, aquariums, breeding dogs, etc). On my other side my grandpa died too early to retire, and my grandma was a homemaker, so she retired when her kids went to college I guess! She was also really active, baking and canning and going to church events. Any positive stereotypes about little old ladies in rural Appalachia probably fit her well.
My grandmother was an accountant too! Although her employer — who was also my grandfather’s employer, since they met at work — forced her out when she got married. My grandfather would have been fired if she tried to work after that (ah, the ‘50s!).
She was bitter about her forced “retirement” for the next 60 years — she loved accounting and hated being a housewife.
Beekeeping is very interesting. My mom keeps aquariums. I had an aquarium in the past, but not recently. My maternal grandmother is the only one left. She was a homemaker, but also very active in the community. I called the local flower shop to send her flowers a while back and the lady knew my grandmother.
She’s in a nursing home in a tiny town in Texas, but she still gets out to go to church and take trips every once in a while.
My Grandpa had a WW2 pension, and a Steel Pension. The Steel, was pillaged and it didn't pay out. He also died in his 60s so it didn't really matter. My Grandma though lived for 30 more years and was able to make it work.
My grandpas were UNION (teacher and sheet metal worker). They sure as hell retired and got PENSIONS. My grandmas worked jobs here and there but were mainly SAHMs and then just stay at home wives.
My dad is 74 and refuses to retire (although he could totally do it financially) and my mom is 72 and cannot fully retire because she can’t afford it.
My grandparents retired when they started getting shitty bosses in the early 2000's. They had retirement jobs for a long time, seasonal or volunteering, but they quit doing those after a while too and Grandpa goes to the gym daily and manages construction projects on his own house. I caught him, in his 80's, up on his roof swinging a hammer. GRANDPA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I'M 100% TELLING GRANDMA!! He has about 6 million kilometers on his rowing machine and will work until he drops, I'm sure. Grandma grudgingly goes to the gym with him and then reads books now. She's talked about how boring it is, we've caught her hiding doctors' appointments, and she's started giving away her stuff. I'm visiting as often as possible and emotionally preparing myself. I was closer to her than my own mother...
I'm a musician and band teacher, I assume when I retire (which I will do as soon as fucking possible) I'll just play gigs and visit my kids and (maybe) grandkids.
My maternal grandfather died in his 60's and my paternal grandmother died in her 50's so they never got a chance to retire. My surviving grandparents both did. They both worked for government so they had good pensions.
My father farms and will never retire. My mother retired from her corporate job years ago and works part time at a local book store for fun.
My grandparents retired in their 50s. My parents retired in their 60s. Depending on where we are financially, I'm looking at 53 at the earliest, but more likely 67 (Which works out to 20yrs and 1 month at this company, and means my full pension amount).
No. I don't want to keep working to pay bills. At some point in my very short time on this planet, I'd like to live for myself and not someone else.
Both my grandparents retired and my parents are retired. My grandmother retired before my grandfather and I’m not exactly sure when. My grandfather retired in the 80s. They were able to do so because they both got Medicare and had my grandfather’s pension. They both have passed now, my grandmother about 10 years ago when she was about 95 and my grandfather in 2020 when he was 106. Both never seemed bored and enjoyed their lives. My parents also don’t seem bored. They both work in school systems so they have state retirement along with Medicare. They have at times had some part time jobs. They also have some organizations they volunteer with but neither work regularly. Well that’s my mom and stepdad. My bio dad is retired as well. He has a part time job delivering auto parts. I hope I’m able to retire and not have work obligations at some point. Or at the least if I have a job it’s very minimal work for a little extra money or some hobby that pays me.
>Retirement seems to be a concept that is only achievable for our parents.
I come on Reddit and see almost on a daily basis this backpill attitude about retirement and finances from seemly everybody. I'm really curious what percentage of these folks fall into either of these categories:
1. Very early in their careers (in their 20s) where they are not making much money yet and assume they're always going to make that little
2. Willfully living hand-to-mouth because they're too lazy to look at their finances and make some adult decisions about what they really should be spending on and how much they should be saving.
Honestly, I know a few folks IRL who talk like your typical Redditor and they are solidly in #2. I'm not saying this about OP! But it is a frustration of mine about this site. People cry about their Boomer parents getting their brains warped by stuff they read on Facebook but we have the same issue here.
As a FIRE acolyte for over a decade that rode a Craigslist bicycle to work and had roommates and made my own coffee and lunch and had a flip phone from 2006-2010 it’s wild to see people complain but make zero sacrifices. It reeks of “I’ve tried nothing and I’m all out of ideas.”
Also, I made 1/5 of what I make now back then. You can’t sit in a job for more than 2-3 years. Between multiple layoffs and job hops I’ve changed jobs 10 times since 2007
My grandfathers both worked for a large company for nearly all their working years (after a few mandatory years in the military), took early retirement deals before age 60, and lived for decades with generous pensions. My grandmothers both got married to my grandfathers right after high school, and were never employed.
They've all passed on now, but it's so weird to me to think about just how long they lived comfortably in retirement.
One set of grandparents: grandma stopped working when they got married, grandpa retired from his white collar job before I was born. Lived very well in a big house til they sold it and moved into a condo when I was in high school, then went to a nice assisted living place until they passed when I was around 30.
The other set: grandma had stopped working before I was born, grandpa retired from his blue collar job when I was in elementary school. They lived comfortably in their lake house until he died, she sold it and went into a nice condo then assisted living until she passed when I was in my late 30s.
They all lived comfortably, had hobbies, spent time with their kids and grandkids, had good medical care...for 20-30 years while no one in the household worked. I cannot even wrap my brain around that, even though I knew a little about all their finances at the end. I can't imagine that being possible anymore.
The set I grew up with retired from their full time jobs in the mid 80s when they turned 60 and lived off their pensions. My grandfather continued to work part time until he was 80.
Yes, grandpa had a nice pension courtesy of his union, then had a second career as an insurance agent until about 65. As a kid I got the impression he spent most of his time meeting friends for lunch or watching the Weather Channel. Grandma "retired" around 50 but did all the housework etc then was his caretaker once he got sick. So worked from about age 12 onward.
Ditto my parents - nice pensions and even some profit- sharing benefits. And amazing healthcare for life.
Me: 401k and a Roth IRA riding the stormy equity seas. Medical costs wiping out our savings every few years.
Only have one living grandparent left, he passed his business down to his most-sober son around the turn of the century but he still helps design buildings going up in the place he's lived since then.
(Was a heck of a head-scratcher in my earlier years, wondering why my own dad never got any good slices of the family business pie. Pop was into cocaine and cocaine accessories.)
Yeah, they worked in the years when they graduated from high school, worked at the factory down the street for 30 years, then retired with a pension before the age of 60.
My dad and grandparents were all self employed, farmers and/or carpenters. They worked less as the got old, but none of them could tolerate a lack of schedule and purpose for long. Every "retirement" lasted about six months before another contract was taken or more calves were purchased.
Eta: One of my Gen X brothers retired briefly. Travelled for two years via van life and cruises, but eventually got bored and took another job, but he still spends a couple months a year on the road. One boomer sister could retire, but she's like our grandparents and needs to be busy.
Both my Grandfathers died before retirement age. My one Grandmother had to go back to work, and she retired with a bit of a pension from a retail job, which is crazy just thinking about now. My other Grandmother I don't believe ever worked.
Honestly I've known lots of retired people, who choice to retire, and lots who've retired because they've been unable to work (often before 65).
I only met my maternal grandparents and they never retired. They had a family-owned small business that they loved and enjoyed. Sadly, they passed in their early 80’s, 4 years apart.
My maternal grandfather was a handyman and never had a real career. To my knowledge he never retired but he died when I was 2.
My paternal grandfather retired from the phone company at 55 with a generous pension until he got to 80 years old. After retirement, he went to work as a consultant for a telecom contractor, so he traveled alot. He did that probably until I was in 5th or 6th grade, so somewhere in his mid 60s. He also had a number of investments in the stock market and in CDs and money markets.
My grandma had been a bookkeeper for a Galveston billionaire when she was younger, but stopped working to be a homemaker when my aunt was born.
ETA: My maternal grandmother was a baker and also babysat in her evenings. She did that until she married her fourth husband who had a couple of rental properties and a school district retirement. She did own her own bakery for a little while but her ex husband was stealing from the register and it lost money and closed.
Both of my grandparents retired. It's now my mom that can't do it. I talked her into it 6 months ago and she has been driving me crazy since then. She moved in with my sister at the time so she wouldn't have so many bills and could afford to live on less, but now she's already planning on moving back to her house and going back to work full time. She would rather work herself into the grave than figure out how to occupy her time with something that isn't work. She has no ability to just be still for any amount of time. It's mind boggling to me.
All of my grandparents retired. My grandfathers were union and worked when pensions still existed widely. My mom retired last year when the company restructured and offered a group of employees an early retirement bonus. My dad is 67 and still working. He's taking thing year by year to see if he can retire.
Mom’s dad had a stroke at 57 while still working then died at 62
Mom’s mom had a stroke at 72 and died at 80. She was always part time and I’m not sure if she was retired.
Dad’s dad died of cancer at 68 but he owned his business and loved it
Dad’s mom never worked a paid job in her life (but was a superhuman mom and grandmother that went to everything for her kids and her grandkids, and my granddad never had to cook a meal for himself ever). She’s still kicking at 86
My mom is 66 and retired exactly at 62. My dad will work until the day he dies (but like his dad he owns his business and it’s all he really knows)
My grandfather died in a plane crash while still in his working years. My grandmother used this to go to college, get a MS in psychology and started her own practice. She eventually retired but volunteered and was very active with charities.
Eventually they did. Mom's side both worked til they were each 72 and died at 74 and 79. Not a whole lot of retired time, but that's how mechanic and waitress income works (or worked back in the early 90s, maybe mechanics earn better now/have fewer kids lol). Dad's side both retired in their late 60s, had good military jobs and benefits until they moved into public education after their military service ended in the 1970s, taught until the late 1980s. Actually got to enjoy their retirement for 15-20 years before they died.
Yes.
One set of grandparents worked for the state of NY. They were not well off but had pensions and social security. They were probably retired about 20 years.
The other set my grandmother at one time had a kids tutoring business but had stopped doing that by the time I was born. My grandfather was an optometrist and loved working but he eventually got sick and did stop at about 70. I don’t think their finances would have gotten them to 90 but they did leave some money when they passed. My grandmother was the saver in the relationship.
My grandfather is 81. Still driving a semi truck. He genuinely enjoys working.
I'm out of town today with my grandmother who has a doctor's appointment. She's been retired since the late 90s. She was forced to quit working when my idiot aunt landed in jail and my grandparents had to raise their great grandkids. She had a heart attack in 2016 or 2017 and has been disabled since.
dad's mom died at 43 from cancer. dad's dad retired in his late 50's and lived to the age of 80. mom's mom retired in her 60s and is still around at 86 years old living her best life. mom's dad was a workaholic that died in his late 80s still working because he could.
Sure did, with a full pension. My grandfather had two pensions, one from the Canadian Armed Services and one from the railway he worked on for 40 years. My grandmother was a nurse in a Catholic hospital and she also had a full pension.
I think about the retirement my grandparents were able to afford on very middle-class incomes. The wealth and comfort they achieved is vastly out of reach for me or any of my siblings/cousins who did not marry into rich families.
Both grandfathers died before I was born. Grandmother "retired" in that the hosiery she worked at shipped all their jobs to China and she was too old for new work.
Grandma worked until she was too physically impaired to do it anymore and died a few years later.
My grandparents all did pretty well. Never wealthy, but as far as I could tell, they were very comfortably middle class. My grandfathers both worked and were retired by the time I was born. My grandmothers worked some here and there over the years, but never full time for a significant time period.
My parents also retired early. Me? Eh… I’m not confident that it’s even going to happen on time.
My grandfather retired sometime in his early 50s and lived off his union pension. He never finished high school, and he had a house and a ton of kids. He spent his 35-ish years of retirement watching TV. My grandmother married him when she was 15 and never had a paying job to retire from. She took care of the house and kids and then him until she died.
My American grandpa spent his entire career at DuPont and when he retired they threw him a big fancy dress party. Late 1960s. He was able to enjoy his retirement for another 25 years. It blows my mind.
My grandfather started, owned and ran his own business until he was 94. It was his whole life. Pretty sure he loved it more than anything. He did a lot of active stuff in his free time though. Back in the 1950's/60s he had a dozen first accents in the pacific northwest mountains.
With that said, you can do what you want. I will be retiring and investing my time in hobbies and things I enjoy.
My grandad was an eighth grade dropout and retired after working as a lumber salesman. My grandma retired before I was born, worked as a secretary in a law office. Different times man.
Somehow no clue once I started taking care of my grandmother's check book. She had less than $500 in her account and just lived off monthly barely getting by. Luckily they owned their home or she woulda been screwed in her last years. I did all the budgeting and stuff to help her along and live decently in her last years.
1979 when his wife got cancer. He was 59. Lived until 2014. He was military with disability (basically lost his hearing in WW2) and then border guard. He had a nice pension in retirement.
Yep. One set of them had a very wealthy retirement. Well, wealthy to me anyway. Retired at 53 and lived until 92. Took many trips to Europe and Australia, played golf all the time, moved twice, traveled around with a big truck and giant trailer to visit places all around the states.
The other set retired more like 62 ish and had a more meager income but still drive a lot around the states visiting people and places.
Not on my dad's side -- my grandfather died young, and my grandmother never worked after their marriage. She outlived him by 25+ years and had a pretty nice life funded by his pension and social security, which should tell you how much better things were for American workers back then.
My mom's parents retired in their 60s, I believe. They owned a small business and I'm not sure when exactly they sold it. (My grandfather had previously worked for the post office, but he retired from that several years earlier.)
It was definitely a whole different world back then.
Yes. Both my grandmothers worked outside the home most of their lives and had pensions from their jobs, because pensions were much more common back then. Both my grandfathers had pensions from WW2 service and also pensions from their jobs AFAIK.
One of my grandmothers lost her first husband in WW2 so I think she had some kind of war widow pension/benefits as well. One grandfather died of cancer fairly shortly after retiring. The others lived into their 80s/90s.
One did at 65 from corporate life and navy. The other went to work until stomach cancer got him, but “going to work” was hanging out in his office while his grown sons ran the business. He didn’t do much but he liked being there, I mean he built it himself from the ground up. Both were happy.
On one side my grandfather died pretty young (early 60s), and his wife sold their business, and then sold off art assets to fund retirement in her 70s-80s. My dad side they owned a small plot of land, had a small pension, SS and some income from a leased gas well. My dad may have been helping too, not sure. They were in a very LCOL area.
Can we fully reject this "our generation can't retire" it's not really true, and even if you are behind (Like me!) it can be fixed. Hell the gen z kids are way ahead of everyone on their retirement accounts at that age.
My maternal grandpa retired when I was a baby, in the early 80's. He was a teacher. His health was declining, ended up with a quad bypass and emphysema. Died at 71. Maternal grandma was forced into retirement in the early naughts because her job refused to make accommodations like a stool at the register. She worked in a hospital cafeteria. She's still kicking at 100.
Paternal grandpa died at 55, never got to retire. Paternal grandma... she cut off the family shortly after I turned 18 and I didn't know she died until I read it in the newspaper. I don't know much about her.
Dad never retired. He was laid off and lived on unemployment until he was evicted and homeless. Heart attack at 57, survived, didn't clean up his act, died at 60.
Mom just retired at 62. She is now concentrating on her home and land, and said if she gets bored she'll pick up a part time job.
My maternal grandfather retired in his late 60s. He was a banker and hit the 50-year anniversary with a single employer before he reached retirement age (started working at 14 and moved up from there). He did do some consulting into, I believe, his early 70s but then he retired completely. He lived to be 90, so he had 20+ years of retirement.
My paternal grandfather died at 62, so no retirement there.
Both of my grandmothers stopped working when they married (one by choice, one forced to leave a beloved career by societal dictates) and never went back to work.
My grandparents were already retired decades before I was even born.
Back in those days, everyone had pensions and steady retirement income, almost regardless of what they did for a living. My grandpa was just a regular carpenter, retired comfortably way back in the 60's or 70's.
I'm an engineer and I have no idea what I'm doing for retirement. No plan, no savings, no 401k, no IRA, no pension, no home ownership, lots of debt. My plan is pretty much the same as everyone else's my age - hope that I die before I reach the age where I can't work anymore so I don't end up a homeless old man.
My grandfather on my dad's side retired at 67 I think, he passed at 86. Relied on SS and a decent pension.
My grandmother on my father's side was an accountant she-semi retired around that time and did people's taxes up. Until. The day she died (she ended up going into the hospital in March) at 85.
My grandmother on my mom's side never really worked and was always supported by my grandfather after they were married, she passed in 2018. He has actually been retired now longer than he was working (state job, negotiating insane benefits in the late 60s/early 70s). Bought a condo a few years ago down south and is living the sweet life at almost 91 years old.
My maternal grandfather retired from the Army, then had a second retirement as the head chef in the local hospital cafeteria. Retired in his mid-60s and lived until 80. The last few years were rough for him though, he had dementia and colon cancer. Grandmother retired to take care of him and lived 5 years after he passed.
Paternal grandfather became disabled around the time I was born and had to quit working. He died when I was 7, and I have very few memories of him. Grandmother always stayed active by volunteering at the church, I think I heard she only had jobs sporadically when they needed extra money, but mostly she was a housewife.
ETA: It definitely seems like our parents’ generation gets a longer retirement. My mom retired 12 years ago, and aside from having a pacemaker, she’s relatively healthy. My stepdad has been retired 20 years and still going strong. They’re both in their late 70s.
My grandparents all retired, and so have my parents and aunt and uncle.
My dad's parents did work later than many as they owned their own business, but once they retired they truly enjoyed life. They spent the next several years going on trips around the world - they were "senior bus tours" basically. My grandfather took photos of everything and printed as slides, and I've been slowly digitizing all of them. He died before I was born, so it's been nice to connect in a way.
My mom's parents never worked in my life that I'm aware of, though I'm sure there was some crossover. My grandfather there passed when I was 10-he was mid-70s. He had saved well and also had a great pension and everything, so my grandmother was able to survive well until just recently, passing at a few weeks shy of 101. My aunt brought my mom's "cut" of the inheritance from her bank account/estate that was remaining- it was about $50.
My parents have both been retired to varying degrees for about 5+ years now, both mid-70s.
My brother will be able to retire well (he's pretty well off), my sister is more homemaker but will probably be okay-ish. I'm quite sure I'll be working some part time job out of necessity until I'm physically or mentally incapacitated or fully drop dead.
Maternal grandparents were retired as long as I can remember. Grandfather puttered around selling antiques and other things but didn’t “work”.
Paternal grandparents also retired. They took trips around the world and to visit their six kids. Grandmother didn’t work and grandpa sold furniture. Can’t do that anymore.
All of them lived into their 90s.
Both grandfathers were WW2 vets, one retired at 60 (died at 91), other at 67 (died at 86). First one was a POW in WW2 (Bataan death march/Japanese prison camp) who probably shouldn't have seen his 25th birthday - I've never seen a dude just go with the flow in old age like him - he was never going to be the type to talk about the war's impact on his own mental state, but it was clear based on how he carried himself that he made a conscious decision to never live with an ounce of grievance in his body. Other one was an officer who if he had his way probably never would have retired.
My grandparents were retired my entire life. I remember my grandfather being like 56. Did never worked.
Well I mean he did but before my birth.
He was a coal miner and a cop.
My Grandpa retired from UPS when I was like 5 and had been in the air force when he was a kid.
He loved his retirement, took walks to the deli each morning for the paper and to see his buddies at the table in there drinking coffee and chatting about news, ran the grill for family cookouts every summer and loved playing with us grandkids.
Fucking best dude ever, I miss him so much.
My grandpa was a land surveyor and my grandma was a LVN in a nursing home. He retired when he was about 65-ish, I think she quit her job before retirement age because she was just done with it. They're both still alive, and they've been able to live comfortably from their retirement fund and his pension. They sold the family home they bought in the 60s and kept a ton of equity, and moved into a mobile home on my uncle's property in the country as their retirement home. They're both still alive, and my grandpa just turned 90.
My grandparents all retired and so did my parents. My grandparents were always retired since I was born and both of my parents retired in their late 50s or early 60s.
My paternal grandfather did. I don't know at what age. He died in his late 70s.
My maternal grandfather never retired. He worked into his mid 80s until he became too weak from a degenerative neurological disease.
My grandmother retired pretty early from nursing (was in her 50’s) and my grandad in his 60’s with military pension/retirement savings after working as a construction foreman post-air force. They had their home already paid off and bought a big van to travel the country in whenever they felt like it :) retirement was a dream come true for them.
Trying to think how many years a modest and frugal middle class person should be able to live off of retirement. Work for 40 years, from 20 to 60, then retire, and live off of retirement for another 20, 30, 40 years? Is that the expectation people should have?
I'm personally on the work til death plan, and more are joining every day, sad to say.
Both of my grandfathers retired around 50 years old. They have been retired about 40 years and are both still living at 90 and 88.
My grandmother will be 99 this year. My grandfather was a farmer and Navy veteran. On my Dad’s side, both his parents died early. Are your grandparents still active?
I'm not who you replied to, but both of my grandpas were farmers and Army vets. Both grew up in the same small farm town and died within a few months of each other and are buried in the same lot. It's kind of cool. One of them retired, one of them retired from farming and rural mail-carrying at around 65, the other was involved with the farming operation until he died at 92. My Grandma is 97 and still likes to keep the books for the farm, although that's becoming difficult for her as her eyes are getting worse.
> both my grandpas were farmers and Army vets Funny. My dad's dad wasn't a vet *because* he was a farmer. He got a pass to stay back here so he could keep producing food. That's why I was told, anyway. My mom's dad was a journalist who served in the Army Air Corps. They both retired. All of my grandparents have since passed on.
My dad's parents are very active. My grandpa does push-ups and sit-ups daily and they are both independent. My mom's dad has been in decline for about 8 years after falling off his twenty-foot ham radio antenna and somehow surviving it. Her mom died at 63 from lung cancer (smoker).
Man, that’s awesome. My mom’s dad passed when I was a wee lad, he was 54. My dad’s dad made it a much longer time, to just short of 80. I’m in my 40’s, and lost my own dad when he was 53. I note that I take much better care of my body than my old man did, but the genes aren’t there for long life on either side of my family.
For what it's worth, my dad came from a family where all the men died in their early 50s and he made it to 71. Which isn't exactly impressive these days, but it's still an upgrade.
My grandparents raised 8 children on 1.5x salary. Had a beautiful house in the burbs, pool and all. Retired before 55 and made it through until their mid 90's. Retired for longer than they worked. Crazy. I don't actually remember either set of my grandparents working, just retired and enjoying life.
The grandfather I knew promptly retired at 60 in 1985 and collected a pension for 35 years. My grandmother never worked for wages in my lifetime but raised 6 kids and a handful of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, not to mention waited on my grandfather, so it’s fair to say she worked until she died. My other grandmother worked until shortly before her death at 60.
My maternal grandparents were both retired by the time I was born. Grandad had been a colonel in the USAF (and part of the Flying Tigers squadron,) and Nana was mostly a homemaker. Between his officer's pension (etc,) and her iron-grip on their finances, they lived very comfortably in a rancher style home on a sleepy little lake in southern Delaware. I've wanted my Grandad's retirement life since as far back as my memory goes. He just did whatever TF he felt like doing, and it seemed like it was absolutely *glorious*. My paternal grandparents, I hardly knew; they were in an old-folks' home by the time I was born, and both were dead by the time I was 10. That said, they were both retired. I don't think she had a career to speak of, but he was a 2nd or 3rd generation Lutheran minister. The home they were in was actually Lutheran-based, so my grandfather just kept on ministering, even though he was 'retired'. I think it has a lot to do with *how* one earns their living. Makes total sense to me that my maternal grandfather would have wanted *nothing* to do with the military when he was finished, but it also makes total sense to me that my paternal grandfather didn't know what to do with himself if he wasn't actively ministering. For me - perhaps generationally, perhaps just personally - I'm like a charter/VIP member of team "Work Is Just Work". I don't expect I'll ever be able to afford to retire, but I still dream of it, every day. Maybe it's just me, but I very purposely keep my 'driving passion/purpose' wholly separate from my income-generating work. I found very early on in my life that any time I tried to mix my passions with 'a job,' the job would invariably murder my passions. Nothing kills passion faster than "If I don't do this thing, I can't afford to live."
Thank you so much for sharing. I don’t know anything about my paternal grandparents. But we were Lutheran on my mother’s side. And I have a similar feeling about work and passions. Some lucky people somehow figure out how to combine the two, but I think it’s very uncommon.
Being poor, they never considered retirement to be an option and would have laughed if anyone brought it up. They worked until they became too disabled to continue, then collected social security until they died. I'm not sure that retirement is for me, but I do know I don't want the poverty to disability track either. I'm hoping that the different choices I've made will allow me to create other options for myself.
My grandfather retired at a typical retirement age and then unretired because he got bored. He worked part-time for quite a while after that.
Mostly. My parents owned and worked 50/50 a restaurant with one of my sets of grandparents. My grandfather would tend the bar during the afternoon and my grandmother would take care of the books and help do various prep work in the kitchen for a few hours most days of the week. They lived in the house next door to the restaurant. My other set of grandparents lived in Florida their entire lives. My grandfather there retired and spent his days beekeeping and gardening. Work went from being necessary to survive to being what was fulfilling to them. My parents now are 68 and 69 years old. They still own and run the same restaurant I grew up in. They’ve curtailed their hours significantly, but still work a mostly full time schedule. Their plan is to work until they can’t anymore then convert the building into a bunch of apartments and live off of that income.
Kind of. All my grandparents are dead.
Same.
Both my grandfathers had the whole military active duty world war II thing going for them.
It's interesting to see people specifying their grandfathers but not their grandmothers. My grandpa was a teacher and accountant and my grandma did accounting too. They both retired and had very elaborate hobbies that kept them busy (beekeeping, aquariums, breeding dogs, etc). On my other side my grandpa died too early to retire, and my grandma was a homemaker, so she retired when her kids went to college I guess! She was also really active, baking and canning and going to church events. Any positive stereotypes about little old ladies in rural Appalachia probably fit her well.
My grandmother was an accountant too! Although her employer — who was also my grandfather’s employer, since they met at work — forced her out when she got married. My grandfather would have been fired if she tried to work after that (ah, the ‘50s!). She was bitter about her forced “retirement” for the next 60 years — she loved accounting and hated being a housewife.
Beekeeping is very interesting. My mom keeps aquariums. I had an aquarium in the past, but not recently. My maternal grandmother is the only one left. She was a homemaker, but also very active in the community. I called the local flower shop to send her flowers a while back and the lady knew my grandmother. She’s in a nursing home in a tiny town in Texas, but she still gets out to go to church and take trips every once in a while.
My Grandpa had a WW2 pension, and a Steel Pension. The Steel, was pillaged and it didn't pay out. He also died in his 60s so it didn't really matter. My Grandma though lived for 30 more years and was able to make it work.
My grandpas were UNION (teacher and sheet metal worker). They sure as hell retired and got PENSIONS. My grandmas worked jobs here and there but were mainly SAHMs and then just stay at home wives. My dad is 74 and refuses to retire (although he could totally do it financially) and my mom is 72 and cannot fully retire because she can’t afford it.
My grandparents retired when they started getting shitty bosses in the early 2000's. They had retirement jobs for a long time, seasonal or volunteering, but they quit doing those after a while too and Grandpa goes to the gym daily and manages construction projects on his own house. I caught him, in his 80's, up on his roof swinging a hammer. GRANDPA WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! I'M 100% TELLING GRANDMA!! He has about 6 million kilometers on his rowing machine and will work until he drops, I'm sure. Grandma grudgingly goes to the gym with him and then reads books now. She's talked about how boring it is, we've caught her hiding doctors' appointments, and she's started giving away her stuff. I'm visiting as often as possible and emotionally preparing myself. I was closer to her than my own mother... I'm a musician and band teacher, I assume when I retire (which I will do as soon as fucking possible) I'll just play gigs and visit my kids and (maybe) grandkids.
My maternal grandfather died in his 60's and my paternal grandmother died in her 50's so they never got a chance to retire. My surviving grandparents both did. They both worked for government so they had good pensions. My father farms and will never retire. My mother retired from her corporate job years ago and works part time at a local book store for fun.
My grandparents retired in their 50s. My parents retired in their 60s. Depending on where we are financially, I'm looking at 53 at the earliest, but more likely 67 (Which works out to 20yrs and 1 month at this company, and means my full pension amount). No. I don't want to keep working to pay bills. At some point in my very short time on this planet, I'd like to live for myself and not someone else.
Both my grandparents retired and my parents are retired. My grandmother retired before my grandfather and I’m not exactly sure when. My grandfather retired in the 80s. They were able to do so because they both got Medicare and had my grandfather’s pension. They both have passed now, my grandmother about 10 years ago when she was about 95 and my grandfather in 2020 when he was 106. Both never seemed bored and enjoyed their lives. My parents also don’t seem bored. They both work in school systems so they have state retirement along with Medicare. They have at times had some part time jobs. They also have some organizations they volunteer with but neither work regularly. Well that’s my mom and stepdad. My bio dad is retired as well. He has a part time job delivering auto parts. I hope I’m able to retire and not have work obligations at some point. Or at the least if I have a job it’s very minimal work for a little extra money or some hobby that pays me.
>Retirement seems to be a concept that is only achievable for our parents. I come on Reddit and see almost on a daily basis this backpill attitude about retirement and finances from seemly everybody. I'm really curious what percentage of these folks fall into either of these categories: 1. Very early in their careers (in their 20s) where they are not making much money yet and assume they're always going to make that little 2. Willfully living hand-to-mouth because they're too lazy to look at their finances and make some adult decisions about what they really should be spending on and how much they should be saving. Honestly, I know a few folks IRL who talk like your typical Redditor and they are solidly in #2. I'm not saying this about OP! But it is a frustration of mine about this site. People cry about their Boomer parents getting their brains warped by stuff they read on Facebook but we have the same issue here.
As a FIRE acolyte for over a decade that rode a Craigslist bicycle to work and had roommates and made my own coffee and lunch and had a flip phone from 2006-2010 it’s wild to see people complain but make zero sacrifices. It reeks of “I’ve tried nothing and I’m all out of ideas.” Also, I made 1/5 of what I make now back then. You can’t sit in a job for more than 2-3 years. Between multiple layoffs and job hops I’ve changed jobs 10 times since 2007
I didn't know my either of my grandfather's, but they both retired. Both of my grandmother's also retired from their respective jobs.
My grandfathers both worked for a large company for nearly all their working years (after a few mandatory years in the military), took early retirement deals before age 60, and lived for decades with generous pensions. My grandmothers both got married to my grandfathers right after high school, and were never employed.
Yes.
They've all passed on now, but it's so weird to me to think about just how long they lived comfortably in retirement. One set of grandparents: grandma stopped working when they got married, grandpa retired from his white collar job before I was born. Lived very well in a big house til they sold it and moved into a condo when I was in high school, then went to a nice assisted living place until they passed when I was around 30. The other set: grandma had stopped working before I was born, grandpa retired from his blue collar job when I was in elementary school. They lived comfortably in their lake house until he died, she sold it and went into a nice condo then assisted living until she passed when I was in my late 30s. They all lived comfortably, had hobbies, spent time with their kids and grandkids, had good medical care...for 20-30 years while no one in the household worked. I cannot even wrap my brain around that, even though I knew a little about all their finances at the end. I can't imagine that being possible anymore.
The set I grew up with retired from their full time jobs in the mid 80s when they turned 60 and lived off their pensions. My grandfather continued to work part time until he was 80.
Yes, grandpa had a nice pension courtesy of his union, then had a second career as an insurance agent until about 65. As a kid I got the impression he spent most of his time meeting friends for lunch or watching the Weather Channel. Grandma "retired" around 50 but did all the housework etc then was his caretaker once he got sick. So worked from about age 12 onward. Ditto my parents - nice pensions and even some profit- sharing benefits. And amazing healthcare for life. Me: 401k and a Roth IRA riding the stormy equity seas. Medical costs wiping out our savings every few years.
Only have one living grandparent left, he passed his business down to his most-sober son around the turn of the century but he still helps design buildings going up in the place he's lived since then. (Was a heck of a head-scratcher in my earlier years, wondering why my own dad never got any good slices of the family business pie. Pop was into cocaine and cocaine accessories.)
Yeah, they worked in the years when they graduated from high school, worked at the factory down the street for 30 years, then retired with a pension before the age of 60.
Both sets of grandparents retired. They got their pensions from their first careers and all got little fun part-time jobs.
My dad and grandparents were all self employed, farmers and/or carpenters. They worked less as the got old, but none of them could tolerate a lack of schedule and purpose for long. Every "retirement" lasted about six months before another contract was taken or more calves were purchased. Eta: One of my Gen X brothers retired briefly. Travelled for two years via van life and cruises, but eventually got bored and took another job, but he still spends a couple months a year on the road. One boomer sister could retire, but she's like our grandparents and needs to be busy.
Both my Grandfathers died before retirement age. My one Grandmother had to go back to work, and she retired with a bit of a pension from a retail job, which is crazy just thinking about now. My other Grandmother I don't believe ever worked. Honestly I've known lots of retired people, who choice to retire, and lots who've retired because they've been unable to work (often before 65).
I only met my maternal grandparents and they never retired. They had a family-owned small business that they loved and enjoyed. Sadly, they passed in their early 80’s, 4 years apart.
My maternal grandfather was a handyman and never had a real career. To my knowledge he never retired but he died when I was 2. My paternal grandfather retired from the phone company at 55 with a generous pension until he got to 80 years old. After retirement, he went to work as a consultant for a telecom contractor, so he traveled alot. He did that probably until I was in 5th or 6th grade, so somewhere in his mid 60s. He also had a number of investments in the stock market and in CDs and money markets. My grandma had been a bookkeeper for a Galveston billionaire when she was younger, but stopped working to be a homemaker when my aunt was born. ETA: My maternal grandmother was a baker and also babysat in her evenings. She did that until she married her fourth husband who had a couple of rental properties and a school district retirement. She did own her own bakery for a little while but her ex husband was stealing from the register and it lost money and closed.
my parents retired.
Both of my grandparents retired. It's now my mom that can't do it. I talked her into it 6 months ago and she has been driving me crazy since then. She moved in with my sister at the time so she wouldn't have so many bills and could afford to live on less, but now she's already planning on moving back to her house and going back to work full time. She would rather work herself into the grave than figure out how to occupy her time with something that isn't work. She has no ability to just be still for any amount of time. It's mind boggling to me.
All of my grandparents retired. My grandfathers were union and worked when pensions still existed widely. My mom retired last year when the company restructured and offered a group of employees an early retirement bonus. My dad is 67 and still working. He's taking thing year by year to see if he can retire.
Grandparents had pensions and veterans benefits and houses they'd paid off 30 years before
Mom’s dad had a stroke at 57 while still working then died at 62 Mom’s mom had a stroke at 72 and died at 80. She was always part time and I’m not sure if she was retired. Dad’s dad died of cancer at 68 but he owned his business and loved it Dad’s mom never worked a paid job in her life (but was a superhuman mom and grandmother that went to everything for her kids and her grandkids, and my granddad never had to cook a meal for himself ever). She’s still kicking at 86 My mom is 66 and retired exactly at 62. My dad will work until the day he dies (but like his dad he owns his business and it’s all he really knows)
My grandfather died in a plane crash while still in his working years. My grandmother used this to go to college, get a MS in psychology and started her own practice. She eventually retired but volunteered and was very active with charities.
Eventually they did. Mom's side both worked til they were each 72 and died at 74 and 79. Not a whole lot of retired time, but that's how mechanic and waitress income works (or worked back in the early 90s, maybe mechanics earn better now/have fewer kids lol). Dad's side both retired in their late 60s, had good military jobs and benefits until they moved into public education after their military service ended in the 1970s, taught until the late 1980s. Actually got to enjoy their retirement for 15-20 years before they died.
The ones who lived long enough, yeah.
Yes. One set of grandparents worked for the state of NY. They were not well off but had pensions and social security. They were probably retired about 20 years. The other set my grandmother at one time had a kids tutoring business but had stopped doing that by the time I was born. My grandfather was an optometrist and loved working but he eventually got sick and did stop at about 70. I don’t think their finances would have gotten them to 90 but they did leave some money when they passed. My grandmother was the saver in the relationship.
My grandfather is 81. Still driving a semi truck. He genuinely enjoys working. I'm out of town today with my grandmother who has a doctor's appointment. She's been retired since the late 90s. She was forced to quit working when my idiot aunt landed in jail and my grandparents had to raise their great grandkids. She had a heart attack in 2016 or 2017 and has been disabled since.
dad's mom died at 43 from cancer. dad's dad retired in his late 50's and lived to the age of 80. mom's mom retired in her 60s and is still around at 86 years old living her best life. mom's dad was a workaholic that died in his late 80s still working because he could.
Sure did, with a full pension. My grandfather had two pensions, one from the Canadian Armed Services and one from the railway he worked on for 40 years. My grandmother was a nurse in a Catholic hospital and she also had a full pension.
I think about the retirement my grandparents were able to afford on very middle-class incomes. The wealth and comfort they achieved is vastly out of reach for me or any of my siblings/cousins who did not marry into rich families.
Never thought about it before, but both my grandmothers were stay at home moms, and both my grandfathers worked until they died. As did their parents.
My mom is 67 and she still works. My grandparents were school bus drivers after they 'retired'.
Both grandfathers died before I was born. Grandmother "retired" in that the hosiery she worked at shipped all their jobs to China and she was too old for new work. Grandma worked until she was too physically impaired to do it anymore and died a few years later.
My grandparents all did pretty well. Never wealthy, but as far as I could tell, they were very comfortably middle class. My grandfathers both worked and were retired by the time I was born. My grandmothers worked some here and there over the years, but never full time for a significant time period. My parents also retired early. Me? Eh… I’m not confident that it’s even going to happen on time.
My grandfather retired sometime in his early 50s and lived off his union pension. He never finished high school, and he had a house and a ton of kids. He spent his 35-ish years of retirement watching TV. My grandmother married him when she was 15 and never had a paying job to retire from. She took care of the house and kids and then him until she died.
My American grandpa spent his entire career at DuPont and when he retired they threw him a big fancy dress party. Late 1960s. He was able to enjoy his retirement for another 25 years. It blows my mind.
My grandfather started, owned and ran his own business until he was 94. It was his whole life. Pretty sure he loved it more than anything. He did a lot of active stuff in his free time though. Back in the 1950's/60s he had a dozen first accents in the pacific northwest mountains.
 With that said, you can do what you want. I will be retiring and investing my time in hobbies and things I enjoy.
My grandad was an eighth grade dropout and retired after working as a lumber salesman. My grandma retired before I was born, worked as a secretary in a law office. Different times man.
Somehow no clue once I started taking care of my grandmother's check book. She had less than $500 in her account and just lived off monthly barely getting by. Luckily they owned their home or she woulda been screwed in her last years. I did all the budgeting and stuff to help her along and live decently in her last years.
1979 when his wife got cancer. He was 59. Lived until 2014. He was military with disability (basically lost his hearing in WW2) and then border guard. He had a nice pension in retirement.
Yep. One set of them had a very wealthy retirement. Well, wealthy to me anyway. Retired at 53 and lived until 92. Took many trips to Europe and Australia, played golf all the time, moved twice, traveled around with a big truck and giant trailer to visit places all around the states. The other set retired more like 62 ish and had a more meager income but still drive a lot around the states visiting people and places.
Not on my dad's side -- my grandfather died young, and my grandmother never worked after their marriage. She outlived him by 25+ years and had a pretty nice life funded by his pension and social security, which should tell you how much better things were for American workers back then. My mom's parents retired in their 60s, I believe. They owned a small business and I'm not sure when exactly they sold it. (My grandfather had previously worked for the post office, but he retired from that several years earlier.) It was definitely a whole different world back then.
Yes. Both my grandmothers worked outside the home most of their lives and had pensions from their jobs, because pensions were much more common back then. Both my grandfathers had pensions from WW2 service and also pensions from their jobs AFAIK. One of my grandmothers lost her first husband in WW2 so I think she had some kind of war widow pension/benefits as well. One grandfather died of cancer fairly shortly after retiring. The others lived into their 80s/90s.
One did at 65 from corporate life and navy. The other went to work until stomach cancer got him, but “going to work” was hanging out in his office while his grown sons ran the business. He didn’t do much but he liked being there, I mean he built it himself from the ground up. Both were happy.
On one side my grandfather died pretty young (early 60s), and his wife sold their business, and then sold off art assets to fund retirement in her 70s-80s. My dad side they owned a small plot of land, had a small pension, SS and some income from a leased gas well. My dad may have been helping too, not sure. They were in a very LCOL area. Can we fully reject this "our generation can't retire" it's not really true, and even if you are behind (Like me!) it can be fixed. Hell the gen z kids are way ahead of everyone on their retirement accounts at that age.
My maternal grandpa retired when I was a baby, in the early 80's. He was a teacher. His health was declining, ended up with a quad bypass and emphysema. Died at 71. Maternal grandma was forced into retirement in the early naughts because her job refused to make accommodations like a stool at the register. She worked in a hospital cafeteria. She's still kicking at 100. Paternal grandpa died at 55, never got to retire. Paternal grandma... she cut off the family shortly after I turned 18 and I didn't know she died until I read it in the newspaper. I don't know much about her. Dad never retired. He was laid off and lived on unemployment until he was evicted and homeless. Heart attack at 57, survived, didn't clean up his act, died at 60. Mom just retired at 62. She is now concentrating on her home and land, and said if she gets bored she'll pick up a part time job.
They were retired before I was born
My maternal grandfather retired in his late 60s. He was a banker and hit the 50-year anniversary with a single employer before he reached retirement age (started working at 14 and moved up from there). He did do some consulting into, I believe, his early 70s but then he retired completely. He lived to be 90, so he had 20+ years of retirement. My paternal grandfather died at 62, so no retirement there. Both of my grandmothers stopped working when they married (one by choice, one forced to leave a beloved career by societal dictates) and never went back to work.
My grandparents were already retired decades before I was even born. Back in those days, everyone had pensions and steady retirement income, almost regardless of what they did for a living. My grandpa was just a regular carpenter, retired comfortably way back in the 60's or 70's. I'm an engineer and I have no idea what I'm doing for retirement. No plan, no savings, no 401k, no IRA, no pension, no home ownership, lots of debt. My plan is pretty much the same as everyone else's my age - hope that I die before I reach the age where I can't work anymore so I don't end up a homeless old man.
My grandfather on my dad's side retired at 67 I think, he passed at 86. Relied on SS and a decent pension. My grandmother on my father's side was an accountant she-semi retired around that time and did people's taxes up. Until. The day she died (she ended up going into the hospital in March) at 85. My grandmother on my mom's side never really worked and was always supported by my grandfather after they were married, she passed in 2018. He has actually been retired now longer than he was working (state job, negotiating insane benefits in the late 60s/early 70s). Bought a condo a few years ago down south and is living the sweet life at almost 91 years old.
My maternal grandfather retired from the Army, then had a second retirement as the head chef in the local hospital cafeteria. Retired in his mid-60s and lived until 80. The last few years were rough for him though, he had dementia and colon cancer. Grandmother retired to take care of him and lived 5 years after he passed. Paternal grandfather became disabled around the time I was born and had to quit working. He died when I was 7, and I have very few memories of him. Grandmother always stayed active by volunteering at the church, I think I heard she only had jobs sporadically when they needed extra money, but mostly she was a housewife. ETA: It definitely seems like our parents’ generation gets a longer retirement. My mom retired 12 years ago, and aside from having a pacemaker, she’s relatively healthy. My stepdad has been retired 20 years and still going strong. They’re both in their late 70s.
All of mine did
Yes. They had pensions back then. My dad was a city employee so he had a pension, too. My mom is 401(k) reliant.
My grandparents all retired, and so have my parents and aunt and uncle. My dad's parents did work later than many as they owned their own business, but once they retired they truly enjoyed life. They spent the next several years going on trips around the world - they were "senior bus tours" basically. My grandfather took photos of everything and printed as slides, and I've been slowly digitizing all of them. He died before I was born, so it's been nice to connect in a way. My mom's parents never worked in my life that I'm aware of, though I'm sure there was some crossover. My grandfather there passed when I was 10-he was mid-70s. He had saved well and also had a great pension and everything, so my grandmother was able to survive well until just recently, passing at a few weeks shy of 101. My aunt brought my mom's "cut" of the inheritance from her bank account/estate that was remaining- it was about $50. My parents have both been retired to varying degrees for about 5+ years now, both mid-70s. My brother will be able to retire well (he's pretty well off), my sister is more homemaker but will probably be okay-ish. I'm quite sure I'll be working some part time job out of necessity until I'm physically or mentally incapacitated or fully drop dead.
Maternal grandparents were retired as long as I can remember. Grandfather puttered around selling antiques and other things but didn’t “work”. Paternal grandparents also retired. They took trips around the world and to visit their six kids. Grandmother didn’t work and grandpa sold furniture. Can’t do that anymore. All of them lived into their 90s.
Yes. And my parents now. My retirement is owning the land I stand on outright and SSI (hopefully). Already have the deed.
Both grandfathers were WW2 vets, one retired at 60 (died at 91), other at 67 (died at 86). First one was a POW in WW2 (Bataan death march/Japanese prison camp) who probably shouldn't have seen his 25th birthday - I've never seen a dude just go with the flow in old age like him - he was never going to be the type to talk about the war's impact on his own mental state, but it was clear based on how he carried himself that he made a conscious decision to never live with an ounce of grievance in his body. Other one was an officer who if he had his way probably never would have retired.
My grandparents were retired my entire life. I remember my grandfather being like 56. Did never worked. Well I mean he did but before my birth. He was a coal miner and a cop.
My Grandpa retired from UPS when I was like 5 and had been in the air force when he was a kid. He loved his retirement, took walks to the deli each morning for the paper and to see his buddies at the table in there drinking coffee and chatting about news, ran the grill for family cookouts every summer and loved playing with us grandkids. Fucking best dude ever, I miss him so much.
My grandpa was a land surveyor and my grandma was a LVN in a nursing home. He retired when he was about 65-ish, I think she quit her job before retirement age because she was just done with it. They're both still alive, and they've been able to live comfortably from their retirement fund and his pension. They sold the family home they bought in the 60s and kept a ton of equity, and moved into a mobile home on my uncle's property in the country as their retirement home. They're both still alive, and my grandpa just turned 90.
One word - pensions. They lived comfortably because of their pension and they never spent money because they grew up in the depression.
My grandparents all retired and so did my parents. My grandparents were always retired since I was born and both of my parents retired in their late 50s or early 60s.
My paternal grandfather did. I don't know at what age. He died in his late 70s. My maternal grandfather never retired. He worked into his mid 80s until he became too weak from a degenerative neurological disease.
My grandmother retired pretty early from nursing (was in her 50’s) and my grandad in his 60’s with military pension/retirement savings after working as a construction foreman post-air force. They had their home already paid off and bought a big van to travel the country in whenever they felt like it :) retirement was a dream come true for them.
Trying to think how many years a modest and frugal middle class person should be able to live off of retirement. Work for 40 years, from 20 to 60, then retire, and live off of retirement for another 20, 30, 40 years? Is that the expectation people should have? I'm personally on the work til death plan, and more are joining every day, sad to say.