Originally Posted by
cyclinfool
That's a bunch of bunk - retirement or pensions have been around for a long time. It is not a matter of a countries wealth but rather how a society treats it's older people. It's also a matter of how one prepares for the time when they are no longer able to care or to work. Retirement in general is not a "gift", it is what many people have worked hard for. No body will give me my retirement, I don't even consider social security a "gift", like others, I paid into it year after year - I expect a return on that investment. When I retire, and it will be a few more years for me, I plan to enjoy what I worked, saved and sacrificed for.
This apparently is a very emotional issue for you, as it is for many. For much of the world's population people work until they can no longer do so. There is no such thing as even the opportunity to stop working and do what the individual wants instead of what necessity requires. It is the opportunity that is the gift our society gives us. What we do with that opportunity is up to us.
From what you say you are doing a lot to have the resources to enjoy a pleasant retirement. In the meantime I hope you are making every effort to live each day as fully as you can. My personal observation is that people who count down to retirement day before they start living seldom live long enough to enjoy that retirement. But sometimes we are trapped in a lousy job by the need to survive. I have a saying that expresses that:
Whatever you do:
Do it for fun, or
Do it for survival, or
Don't do it at all.
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