And coin toss of making to 80 (1/2). And if you make it to 90, every year is a round of russian roulette.
Great. I didn't need an existential crisis today :)
I really wonder about the quality of life as I age though. There is such a wide spread in my family. One of my grandfathers died of COVID early in the pandemic - he made it to 83.
I had always considered him too stubborn to die. He survived two congestive heart failures, two bouts with cancer, and a heart attack. He had never taken care of himself (obese all of his life, heavy smoker from teenager to age 50, emphysema (from smoking), etc.). He caught COVID while recovering in a physical rehab from his heart attack and that's what ended up doing him in.
His body was pretty much trashed by age 50 though. His ability to do things was pretty restricted from that point forward. As a child, he couldn't go on roller coasters with us, he had to be really careful with his diet, etc. He spent the last 3 years of his life in bed or wherever he could get on a walker.
Meanwhile, my other three grandparents are enjoying their late 70's and early 80's - they travel, go hiking, play golf, play with the grand children and great-grandchildren, etc.
I wonder how old I'll be when I get to the point where dying doesn't sound any worse than living.
> Meanwhile, my other three grandparents are enjoying their late 70's and early 80's - they travel, go hiking, play golf, play with the grand children and great-grandchildren, etc.
To be fair, if you are reading this or wrote this, you are far from a "typical" male in this study. The typical includes a lot of low income and/or blue collar workers who cannot or will not take good care of their health and are engaged in high risk activities at work and after work. In all likelihood, the typical HackerNews user alarmed by a subject like "Actuarial Life Table" will have much better odds at living a long life... if only because you are paid tech wages.
This is why I "soft retired" early. People haven't said it to my face, but I get the definite impression many think I'm crazy for "abandoning" work. I'm through hiking the PCT this year, something I never thought I would do until much older.
I'm not really a brave guy, I fear change, but you got to take your chances while you're still alive.
What does soft retire mean? I've always liked the idea of interspersing retirement years with active work, and increasing the relative frequency of retirement years as I get older.
However, I understand the job market might not always be appreciative of gaps in employment.
I wonder how those odds change if you narrow down to your occupation/socioeconomic status/location.
I have always wondered what the income
volatilities as you age are for the purposes of calculating how much I should be saving. My current strategy is to assume I will be unable to earn income and/or need to spend a lot on healthcare with increasing material odds starting at age 50 (since I might not have access to subsidized health insurance that comes with a job).
Great. I didn't need an existential crisis today :)
I really wonder about the quality of life as I age though. There is such a wide spread in my family. One of my grandfathers died of COVID early in the pandemic - he made it to 83.
I had always considered him too stubborn to die. He survived two congestive heart failures, two bouts with cancer, and a heart attack. He had never taken care of himself (obese all of his life, heavy smoker from teenager to age 50, emphysema (from smoking), etc.). He caught COVID while recovering in a physical rehab from his heart attack and that's what ended up doing him in.
His body was pretty much trashed by age 50 though. His ability to do things was pretty restricted from that point forward. As a child, he couldn't go on roller coasters with us, he had to be really careful with his diet, etc. He spent the last 3 years of his life in bed or wherever he could get on a walker.
Meanwhile, my other three grandparents are enjoying their late 70's and early 80's - they travel, go hiking, play golf, play with the grand children and great-grandchildren, etc.
I wonder how old I'll be when I get to the point where dying doesn't sound any worse than living.