Is This True? Forced Retirement At 65?

[Aldgate West]

This doesn't seem right. I'm only 62 and nowhere near needing or wanting to retire. If I still lived in the U.K., it seems I'd be getting the "push" 3 years from now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-10796718

[Barryoneoff]

In October the law will change so that people can't be forced out of work because of age. Although, I can never understand why people want to stay at work. I stopped working at 52 and am never short of things to do. In fact, I could do with an eight day week to fit them all in!

[Aldgate West]

Well, in my case, I think the day I retire will be the beginning of the end for me. I'd probably turn to seed in no time. Twelve years ago, I had to go in for quadruple bypass surgery and was off work for a couple of months. I was climbing the bloody walls waiting to get back to work, so I can't see me retiring anytime soon, if ever.
Besides, Mrs. West would probably do me in if I was around the house all day.

[Barryoneoff]

That's the whole point; you don't hang round the house all day, you go out and see things. Being confined to quarters for the last seven weeks has driven me insane almost.

[Aldgate West]

I know what you mean, Barry. Well, you'll be out and about pretty soon. The worst is over.

[Aldgate West]

That's the whole point; you don't hang round the house all day, you go out and see things. Being confined to quarters for the last seven weeks has driven me insane almost.

That's the difference between London and Los Angeles, Barry. From Bethnal Green, you can walkabout to an almost infinite array of interesting places in London...including 5 pie mash shops. Los Angeles is much more spread out and isn't the same as London as far as walking around town. You don't see anywhere near the amount of pedestrians on the street. You need a car to get around, and you head straight for your destination. I'm sure that if I lived in London now, I'd also go exploring around on foot like I used to as a kid. It's a good thing I like my company and my work. As Bert said in Mary Poppins "I does what I likes and I likes what I do".

[tabbynera]

Retirement age oficially for a woman in Switzerland is 64 (a man 65). I had been working as an export clerk for the same company for 30 years. I had a burnout last year and was off work for about 2-3 months, returning again at first half days and after a month working full. It was then that the slump hit most of Europe (thank you America and your banking system - although the UBS bank in Switzerland were not innocent of the whole mess). Anyhow our company being in the machine industry was hit. We were expanding quite quickly, probably too quickly, and suddenly the orders went down more than half. I was one of the first to be offered an early retirement being one of the oldest there (not quite an offer, I really had no choice). anyhow I was one of the lucky ones. with consideration of my 30 years service I was given a very fair offer which would have been stupid to refuse. Basically I had no choice, but then they did not have to make such an interesting offer. So I stopped work at the age of 62. Sometimes I feel that I could have carried on for the other two years. My husband being eight years older than me was already retired, so he was happy. I am a bit of a hyper active person, but managed to get myself organised. Housework is done by both of us, even the ironing. My husband plays drums in a jazz band as a hobby, and I like to write stories. I do quite a bit on the computer (ok gaming as well - and I love it). I go to bed at a regular time and get up regularly. We have our little programme and life is good at the moment. I cook lunch, he does the evening meal. We go shopping together. I don't drive the car as much as I should any more. We have different interests and that is good so. I don't need a job any more, have enough to do at home. I just decided that I will do what I want to now as I don't have to take orders any more. One problem I have at the moment is my father who is 95 and lives on his own in Dagenham and is gradually getting to the stage where he cannot go out any more. It is difficult to sort things at a distance, but thanks to Skype on the computer I can make telephone calls to London at a cheap rate and will probably have to go over at some time in the near future to sort things for him.

[jo]

hubby can retire next year , oh dear we will drive each other mad

[Barryoneoff]

Don't knock it Jo, enjoy it while you can.

[cockneyoz]

I retired at 63 due to back pain, I've been on my own for 22yrs, now i can go anywhere, eat anything, go to bed when i want and get up when i want, but I'd trade it all in if i could go back to Blacksmithing, i loved making flowers, leaves and branches out of steel to put on gates and make copies of Antiques, the last one i made was a 17th century babies crib.

[marilyn]

That's the whole point; you don't hang round the house all day, you go out and see things. Being confined to quarters for the last seven weeks has driven me insane almost.

That's the difference between London and Los Angeles, Barry. From Bethnal Green, you can walkabout to an almost infinite array of interesting places in London...including 5 pie mash shops. Los Angeles is much more spread out and isn't the same as London as far as walking around town. You don't see anywhere near the amount of pedestrians on the street. You need a car to get around, and you head straight for your destination. I'm sure that if I lived in London now, I'd also go exploring around on foot like I used to as a kid. It's a good thing I like my company and my work. As Bert said in Mary Poppins "I does what I likes and I likes what I do".

Same here AW - it's very spread out here; there are buses and trains but really there's not much to see or do and one does need a car
(or in my case, a chauffeur as I don't drive).

[valk]

I like being retired no more reconciling accounts at the end of the month and staying up all night to do it.

[johnworc]

In Oz we seem to have scrapped "retiring ages" but you can't access a government pension till 65 (men) and 64 for women - that's been rising till they catch up with men. My firm offered generous redundancy packages to downsize about 3 years ago. I was 67 and enjoying working. I wouldn't have stopped but for the package offered. I keep very busy in retirement but even when working, I was very active in a whole range of community things. I had been all my life - so that wasn't going to change. I do have to use a fair amount of petrol though as many of my activities are in the "inner areas" whereas I live in an outer area. When we first moved here 20 years ago, there was open countryside adjoining the playing fields opposite. They put a bridge over Ferny Creek and built lots of housing estates, more and more (dislodging the herds of cows, even). We're no longer on the outer fringe. Now - Melbourne apparently stretches 100 km from its far east to its far west!

[cockneyoz]

I'm lucky there john, i live in the swan valley, the whole area is heritage listed so we have cows, sheep and goats in the fields among the grape vines and any houses built in the area must fit in with the rural atmosphere Even though I'm only about 10km from Perth. mind you my sister lives in Armadale which is about 35km away.

[johnworc]

In Victoria, we're not "fair dinkum" about heritage listing and "green belts" or "green wedges". Developers always want to keep developing (and continue to make millions) and governments always are happy to oblige. They determine limits but under pressure eventually extend them. Victoria's Labour Government has just done that this week - adding a massive amount for new housing on green-fields sites on each side of the outer Melbourne fringe. They should be looking at medium-density development within existing built-up areas but both sides of politics support expansion - Labour and Liberal. The Greens Party doesn't, of course, but they want to stop burning coal and to cause resulting chaos as electricity gets cut off and we all freeze or starve.