I was born in 1960 (65 now). We were the first people who were supposed to work until 67 to get Social Security. I took mine at 62. Some say I was weak. I say life is meant to be lived. I happily took my SS benefits and moved to Costa Rica.
Thank you so much for posting this. My husband and are are both gen x. We’ve been thinking a head for years but many of our friends don’t understand that without savings, SS will not support their lifestyle. If it’s even around then.
This one resonates strongly because it captures the midlife squeeze perfectly - the runway is still long, but the old map is stale. There’s too much road ahead to coast, and too much hard-earned judgment to pretend we’re starting from scratch. Experience, networks, resilience, and pattern recognition are not leftovers from an old career. They’re assets — and the smarter move is redeploying them before someone else decides they’re depreciating.
Great that you are advocating this approach and more people need to follow it out of design rather than necessity. Personally, I applied your four strategies in 1992 (so it's not just a GenX issue) and have no regrets :-)
One thing to remember is that generation was subjected to a constant alarm bell about Social Security. And some of it was highly cynical as in 1990s, rules existed that effectively limited the 401(k) contributions of highly compensated employees-management, based on the participation and contribution rates of essentially hourly workers. This was never told to me and in my 20s I couldn't understand the arm twisting to contribute and the constant warning that, "you know Social Security won't be there when you retire." I'm not saying there isn't value in investing in a 401 K, but to position it this way, was an undermining of the concept of the social safety net, that remains with us today.
Well I am retired at 62. I have lots of stuff to do still, but none of it is to work at a job for someone else or to run a business to make money. So yeah, retired. (Oops I’m 63 now.)
I'm 62, but still plan to carry on working, running my own business that I've had for twenty three years. Although the business has changed a lot in those twenty three years.
Chris
#TheAntiVirusGuy and
#TheDataBackupGuy and
#ThePasswordGuy
—
A bit about me:
💻 Helping Entrepreneurs, the Self Employed, Sole Traders and Small Business Owners manage their online passwords and keep their computers virus free.
💻 Really good anti virus (SentinelOne £16 or ESET £4 £8 £10 per month incl VAT)
💻 1Password Password Manager (Business plan £8 per month incl VAT)
So true. I don’t understand why governments are wailing about the cost of pensions yet doing nothing about age discrimination in the workplace.
If older people worked longer, they’d still pay taxes to support pensions.
Given that isn’t happening, we are all starting our own businesses.
I was born in 1960 (65 now). We were the first people who were supposed to work until 67 to get Social Security. I took mine at 62. Some say I was weak. I say life is meant to be lived. I happily took my SS benefits and moved to Costa Rica.
Thank you so much for posting this. My husband and are are both gen x. We’ve been thinking a head for years but many of our friends don’t understand that without savings, SS will not support their lifestyle. If it’s even around then.
This resonated with me so much. Looking forward to more.
That squeeze is real. Being that I'm a Gen X, building my Quiet Business Engine is crucial.
This one resonates strongly because it captures the midlife squeeze perfectly - the runway is still long, but the old map is stale. There’s too much road ahead to coast, and too much hard-earned judgment to pretend we’re starting from scratch. Experience, networks, resilience, and pattern recognition are not leftovers from an old career. They’re assets — and the smarter move is redeploying them before someone else decides they’re depreciating.
Great that you are advocating this approach and more people need to follow it out of design rather than necessity. Personally, I applied your four strategies in 1992 (so it's not just a GenX issue) and have no regrets :-)
One thing to remember is that generation was subjected to a constant alarm bell about Social Security. And some of it was highly cynical as in 1990s, rules existed that effectively limited the 401(k) contributions of highly compensated employees-management, based on the participation and contribution rates of essentially hourly workers. This was never told to me and in my 20s I couldn't understand the arm twisting to contribute and the constant warning that, "you know Social Security won't be there when you retire." I'm not saying there isn't value in investing in a 401 K, but to position it this way, was an undermining of the concept of the social safety net, that remains with us today.
Great post, thank you!
Well I am retired at 62. I have lots of stuff to do still, but none of it is to work at a job for someone else or to run a business to make money. So yeah, retired. (Oops I’m 63 now.)
I'm 62, but still plan to carry on working, running my own business that I've had for twenty three years. Although the business has changed a lot in those twenty three years.
Chris
#TheAntiVirusGuy and
#TheDataBackupGuy and
#ThePasswordGuy
—
A bit about me:
💻 Helping Entrepreneurs, the Self Employed, Sole Traders and Small Business Owners manage their online passwords and keep their computers virus free.
💻 Really good anti virus (SentinelOne £16 or ESET £4 £8 £10 per month incl VAT)
💻 1Password Password Manager (Business plan £8 per month incl VAT)