Retirement Reading Roundup

Barron's has a bunch of articles on retirement in this week's issues. Here are links with a quick down and dirty from me.

First is some harsh medicine that "Older Workers Are Fooling Themselves When It Comes to Work,Money, and Caregiving." Ouch. This is mostly about being in denial about why people say they want to work longer. The article contends that people have talked themselves into "wanting" to work longer because of how low retirement balances are. 60% of people aged 65-74 have less than $500,000 in total savings with 30% having less than $100,000. The article places a big emphasis on  the curveball of not being physically capable of working or not being able to work in order to care for a loved one with serious medical problems.

One comment on the article said get out of debt ASAP, live below your means, retire early and live a great life. I'm on board with most of that. I believe some sort of purposeful, endeavor with enough hours to give framework to your day or week, regardless of whether it pays or not is very important for successful aging. On the front end, put the odds for healthy aging in your favor by cutting consumption of carbohydrates and seed oils and do some form or resistance training.

Burton Malkiel, now 90, was interviewed. The last question was if he plans to "retire." He said "I am not regularly teaching at the university [Princeton], but I do give lectures. And I still follow markets and write from time to time because it’s fun. In general, people retire too early, and they would be better off and even happier if they continued to do some work in retirement. So, do I have plans to just kick up my feet and sit on the beach? No." Stay active and engaged.

A silly analogy from Joseph Coughlin that I like a lot. Your retirement should include ice cream. The analogy of ice cream is about quality of life; being able to afford it and being able to walk to the store to get a cone. Most of the interview confirms my priors about relationships, doing things, doing and learning new things. By the way, there's low carb ice cream that is very good. 

Not mentioned in any detail was how you stay capable of walking to the store for a cone. We naturally lose muscle mass as we age which makes us frail. Lifting weights allows you to stay ahead of muscle deflation to stave off losing muscle (the fancy word for muscle loss is sarcopenia). Cardio does not build muscle mass. Lifting weights with the right intensity though is a cardio workout. This might be difficult to accept but there is no age, literally no age, that is too old to lift weights. Depending on your starting point or any injuries, you might want to pay for training to get started but if you have an injured back for example, it is pretty important to figure out how to strengthen your back safely. I don't know how to do that but know it is important and very likely can be done. The answer to a weakened back or other body part is not to allow it to remain weak. Think about it.

Being able to bend down and pick up heavy stuff is an important ability to nurture and keep. Being able to grip something heavy is an important ability to nurture and keep. Being able to run and jump are important abilities to nurture and keep. Get curious, shed your priors on this and get started. This is a fountain of youth.

Will your money last if you live to 100? The article notes that a healthy 70 year old could have the biological age of 50 and have another 30 years of living to fund. We've talked about this countless times, if you're doing the work that results in looking younger on the outside, odds are pretty good you're also younger on the inside. By taking care of your health, there's a good chance you won't need prescriptions which will save many thousands of dollars. Many people in their 50's and older have long been on the prescription treadmill but it is avoidable and reversible in many instances with the right habits. Again, it can be reversible.

The article included an anecdote from Bank of America's "director of financial gerontology in the bank’s retirement research and insights group." That might tell us a little something about the fees BofA customers are paying that such a thing can exist. One of the comments came from someone with my initials (it wasn't me) that said health and well being must include a dog. Preach, brother. It really wasn't me.

"I don't want to live to 100, that's a long time of being mentally diminished, weak and unable to do what I want" is an antiquated view. The right habits can stave off or delay these things. There's plenty of research connecting sugar consumption to Alzheimer's and dementia. Google type 3 diabetes to learn more and follow this list I made on Twitter.

Everyone needs to draw their own conclusions about what to do for themselves but there is no downside to living below your means, there is no downside to eating less sugar, there is no downside to maintaining muscle mass (proper technique is vital). Anything can happen to anyone at anytime so it is best thought of increasing odds for success with how we age. The healthier we are and more able-bodied we remain the easier retirement will be day to day and financially. 

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