[kwhitefoot]

> Being without work, and without family, means being nothing, means abandoning yourself and dying.

No it doesn't. Or at least it doesn't if you refuse to accept that attitude. If you have enough income to live and a little left over you can take charge of your life.

I was afraid that I would be at a loose end with nothing to do when I retired at 62. But now like many of my friends I just wonder how I ever had time to hold down a job. Of course I am slightly privileged because I had a reasonably well paying job and have accumulated enough money to be comfortable.

It's not lack of work that makes life difficult, it is lack of money.