
Not the retiring type: people still working in their 70s, 80s and 90s - yannis
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/aug/01/still-working-aged-in-70s-80s-90s
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kabdib
My father-in-law retired at 75. He was hacking C for some embedded systems
running silicon wafer equipment. Ten years later he's still pretty sharp.

Personally I see no reason why I should retire, as long as someone is happy to
pay me for what I like to do I'll probably keep doing it.

~~~
econner
Are you a programmer as well?

~~~
kabdib
Yup, about 55 and ready to go another 20 years :-)

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napsterbr
My grandfather is a 89-year-old lawyer and you can find him every morning on
his office, including weekends. He uses a typewriter and is actually very fast
on those.

He is incredibly lucid and and claims it's because of his work, which I agree.

Always working - or, in other words, exercising your brain - is a must to keep
your memories and sanity.

~~~
robotkilla
> exercising your brain - is a must to keep your memories and sanity

And this is why I never plan to give up programming and learning new tech.
Constant brain stimulation.

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sporkenfang
As long as you like what you're doing and someone will employ you, right?
Those folks probably have significant experience. Experience can't always
trump creativity, but this is pretty cool. I'd not mind learning from a
coworker in their eighties, you know?

<blanket statement warning> Silicon Valley's emphasis on young programmers and
engineers in general is silly.

~~~
white-flame
SV's emphasis is about bootstrapping on the cheap.

Much of the startup culture is not about researching new involved technical
solutions, or crafting something complex and intricate, but getting a simple
social idea backed by stock tech out the door quickly & cheaply to effectively
pull the slot machine lever.

It is stupid and self-defeating beyond the immediate short term. But you can
see where they come from, and they knowingly take the risk of patching up
later once they have some success.

~~~
michaelochurch
This is accurate. The "tech" industry is 95% marketing that uses technology,
not actual technology. The bad guys have won in Silicon Valley and I don't see
there being any way to reverse that.

~~~
golergka
I agree with everything in your comment but the "bad guys" are sentiment. What
is bad about it?

~~~
michaelochurch
It's not that "business guys" are bad. There are a lot of good business people
out there. Look at Warren Buffett or Bill Gates.

The problem in the Valley is that the dominant culture is now set by the
people who moved West to take advantage of nerds and their poor negotiating
skills. There's a personality type and it's not a good one.

There are oilmen and coal miners and gold miners in the world, and Silicon
Valley's leadership is comprised almost entirely of people miners who turn
young male quixotry into gold. It's Hollywood for Ugly People.

I don't dislike all business people. As with any other group, there are good
ones who think long term and bad ones who raid companies and fail up.
Technology just seems to be dominated, about 10-to-1, by the bad ones.

~~~
golergka
If "young male quixotry" can't turn themselves into gold themselves, then how
are these people miners bad? And if they are, how do these people miners have
any business at all?

~~~
michaelochurch
_If "young male quixotry" can't turn themselves into gold themselves_

Underestimating the power ratio between capital and labor, they're easily
tricked into believing that hard work can overcome the massive social distance
between them and the investor/founder caste. The best thing for them isn't a
foolhardy attempt to "turn themselves into gold" in the short term; it's to
leave and then to build something better in the long run.

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tluyben2
Anecdotal alert. All people I know who went 'on pension' either started
working again or died (at least 5 cases of high profile managers getting heart
attacks or commit suicide within a year after their pension). Most people,
including my father and grandfather, really did not like pressureless sitting
at home. You do the vacations and the reading and hobbies but then, unless you
are very dedicated (like a job), there is a hole. I believe this to become a
society wide thing quite soon. Actually dedicating yourself to do something
(be it painting, coding, building, whatever) as a discipline is very hard and
very underestimated for people who never needed it.

~~~
WalterBright
This is a well known effect. Humans are made to strive and struggle, and if
they have no purpose to get up in the morning for, they tend to die.

~~~
toyg
Yes, but the point of pension, for average people, is getting the freedom to
decide what you want to work on without economic pressure, as a reward for a
life of contributing to society.

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bane
My father is in his mid-70s and after a short stint in retirement went back to
work about 5 years ago. He claims it's because of the money, but there's not a
lot preventing my parents from selling their home and moving to a cheaper part
of the country and living out their retirement years.

On the plus side, he was remarkably sharp and agile for a 70 year old. But his
legs are starting to fail and that's made him age very quickly.

 _Now_ I can see it being about money (and health care), he's going to need
knee replacement surgery and months of rehab. Something my parents will
struggle to afford.

He's lived a fascinating life, and is full of stories, but to me he's also a
warning about the need to cultivate non-work interests and stash away enough
money to enjoy a long retirement enjoying those interests.

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abalashov
Kudos to those who go about it cheerfully, but I also fear it will be
increasingly mandatory, as the top-heavy demographic crisis comes home to
roost in many developed countries. By the time the median HN user is a "senior
citizen", Social Security eligibility will start at what, 87?

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ScottBurson
They'll have to pry my keyboard from my cold dead fingers.

(With apologies to John Wayne)

~~~
eplanit
I think you mean Charlton Heston.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_my_cold,_dead_hands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_my_cold,_dead_hands)

~~~
ScottBurson
Oh! So I do. Thanks!

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WalterBright
I plan to work until my brain doesn't function anymore.

~~~
chippy
I plan to play, rather than work.

~~~
WalterBright
I have a curious lack of interest in games - chess, sports, video games, board
games, etc. I think the problem is they do not accomplish anything. There are
so many fun things to do that also accomplish something, so I prefer to do
them.

~~~
chippy
Ahh, not so much games for me but play as in the opposite of work. Things like
play as in "play with my grandchildren" or "play with my dog" or even hacking
can be seen as play "play with my arduino ....ooh BLINKENLIGHTS!"

~~~
WalterBright
Playing with grandchildren has a purpose other than simply pleasure, the
pleasure is a nice side effect. Besides, rather than play with relatives, I
prefer to join with them working on a task that accomplishes something. Like
working together to fix a car, help move, lend a hand, whatever.

Many useful tasks are pleasurable, why not take advantage of that?

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Herodotus38
The other night I admitted a woman in her 90s to the hospital. When I asked
her how her chest pain started, she said she started feeling it while she was
at work. At first I was thinking "Does she have dementia?" but she explained
that she works at the downtown Safeway Deli (A US grocery chain for those who
are non US). It was pretty special to me because I have never met anyone in
their 90s who works, much less with that kind of job. Usually if there's an 80
year old I meet who's still working, they have a more cerebral job like being
an engineer or scientist or professor. When I told her how surprised I was she
told me that if I lived in Iceland I wouldn't be as surprised as people
apparently work these kinds of jobs often.

~~~
TazeTSchnitzel
If someone's working a low-paying grocery chain job past retirement age, it's
usually because they're forced to (to pay medical bills, for example).

~~~
Herodotus38
Do you mean in Iceland, or generally? I agree with your statement, although I
don't think it applied to this woman.

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ulrikrasmussen
My grandfather constructed crossword puzzles for several magazines and
newspapers, from 1955 until his death this year, 90 years old.

He was extremely knowledgeable, and kept a lucid mind until the very end. I
don't doubt that his work was the main reason for this.

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switch007
Despite the one person who still works because he needs the money, this is
almost mocking the younger generations who will never be able to afford a
house and have a miserable pension (if one at all) and have had their
retirement age increased by years.

I am scared to death about my retirement. I only have 25 more years in this
industry, at most, I have no pension (no employer has ever offered one), a
student loan, I'm struggling to save for a deposit for a house while prices
rise at eye-watering rates and I'm supporting a parent who has no assets or
job.

~~~
robotkilla
which industry? I assume you mean development / programming. How old are you
and why do you think 25 at most? I'm 35 and plan on doing this until I'm dead.
There is absolutely no reason that you ever have to give up programming
(outside of dementia).

I've met blind programmers and programmers that can't use their hands. If they
can do it, we can do it, even if we have arthritis and become legally blind.

Edit: also if i become unemployable due to ageism, i've alrady decided will
create a persona online of a 30 year old and only take remote jobs.

~~~
lcedp
How do blind and hand injured programmers cope with their work?

~~~
extra88
Screen readers and/or refreshable Braille display for the former, Dragon
NaturallySpeaking for the latter.

~~~
abalashov
Indeed, but isn't the economic value of a competent programmer tied up in
speed and motor efficiency as well as the domain knowledge? How does that
equation change with disability, I wonder?

My personal sense was that if my hands or my eyes ever became useless (e.g.
RSI, worsening eyestrain issues), I'm finished.

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bbgm
My father will be 70 next year and just went into semi-retirement (where semi-
retirement = writing two books). I suspect if there hadn't been a coup in
Mali, which resulted in a return to India, he would probably still be working
full time. It's not about the money T this point. He's in good health, is
sharp as ever, so doing something seems to make sense.

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fleshshelf
To each his own. I plan to retire at 40, 42 at the latest if everything goes
according to plan. I won't be a couch retiree though, I plan to spend perhaps
20 hours a week coding on various things. Or even bootstrap a company, and if
it fails I can just go back to being retired.

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scottyallen
My 92 year old grandfather is still a full time practicing doctor. My father
and my aunts have talked to him about retiring for a while now. Being a doctor
is who he is - if he gives that up, I'm afraid of what will happen.

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coldtea
They take a few cases of people doing what they like and present it as nobble.

What about millions of people who are the "retiring type", but have to work
well into their 70s in shitty jobs (from Walmart and downwards) to make ends
meet.

~~~
zitterbewegung
The more your salary is and also if you enjoy the job the less likely you have
to rerite.

I see professors in their 70s and beyond still teaching. I collaborate with
one.

The people that are forced to work in shitty jobs will keep on doing shitty
jobs.

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datalus
If anyone hasn't watched the documentary on Miyazaki, The Kingdom of Dreams
and Madness, I'd highly recommend it. It delves a bit into his struggle to
give up or continue on with his life's work.

Edit: It's on Netflix.

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srean
Any personal tips or advice for helping such people cope with onset of
Parkinson's.

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a3voices
The issue with not working is that if you have habitual activities during
retirement (other than watching tv), those activities become indistinguishable
from work. So you might as well just work. I'm only 28 but that's how I see
it.

~~~
rev_bird
They're indistinguishable from work except retirement "activities" are self-
directed, instead of decided by some manager. If you really like your job,
sure, why replace it with other routine chores -- but I'd bet, once I'm that
old, that I won't have a job I like enough to justify giving control of my
days over to a company somewhere.

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bettyx1138
This is not about the U.S.

~~~
PudgePacket
Here are the guidelines for submissions if you would like to take a peek
[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html).

