Just like Bernie says in Weekend At Bernie's............"whatever!". As for me, I've always had a "liking" of material stuff. "Money" has always, and will always, be "the name of the game". Anyway, I have no problem wearing a mask. Of course, none of us want to wear one the rest of our lives, and, we will always be told what to do by an officer of the law, a judge, a manager/supervisor where a person works (if still working) and others. May not like "being told what to do", but........... When I was in the Navy, as well as working in civilian life, I was always "told what to do" and did it.........well, most of the time.
Ah, so you love money over all else? Then you’d best find that job at Walmart but then again, according to you, you’re not healthy enough to gain the wealth you also say you do not have. Perhaps you spend too much on masks.
The flip side is that most of us are isolated. Some don't want to risk going out, while there's really no place to go for the rest of us. I'd love to be taking some day trips, but right now I have no idea what I'd find (or not find) on the other end. At least those who work have some human companionship. As much as it might suck, they have others to commiserate with. Regarding the unemployed: my heart aches for them. I've been there, but not when a large part of the economy is shut down. It's frustrating to not have a job. It must be maddening to not have any out there to bother looking for...so you just sit at home and brood.
That could work out for good, depending on what eventually happens.... ( the economy/ isolation/ difficulty finding anywhere to go that is not simply wanting customer's money) ..... I like going to the library - resources online and in person - and health related stores that have books to read even if you don't buy them. This has been encouraging for decades, and "educational" without paying a big (or even moderate or any) price. (just takes time).... the information available is rarely to be trusted - it all has to be tested. Even Jethro Klosses book "Back to Eden" in later editions was corrupted, but the parts with good information are still a gem to find and can make a big difference in our health.
Well, there are those that have to work from home, as in, "remote" work. Not much, to any, "human companionship" in that. As far as the unemployed go, there are those workers of today that don't save money. Then again, there are those that don't have to worry that much about money, they just get it out of their savings. I've been on unemployment before, and to a point, liked it. I've never been the type to "love to work". Now, my wife is fairly different than me, as that she really likes to work. But, after our move back here, her age and this virus problem has kept her from getting a job.
My last company forced us to work from home. Being single with no roommates, I found it to be way too isolating. As I read articles on the experiences of those who have been forced to remote work due to the flu, it seems that most of us feel the same way: a blend of at home/at office would suit most of us. Regarding savings: I hear ya. But there are life events that can rapidly trash a savings account. And saving money takes time. Those who are in early career have not had a chance to build up a reserve. And it will take time to rebuild depleted reserves after this thing blows over, so even responsible folks are exposed in the meantime. Regarding "loving to work": Again, I find myself to be like most others. I enjoy keeping busy and the content of work, but I loathe the human B.S. that's implicit in most workplaces. I don't believe this to be avoidable. Frustration is a combination of work dysfunction and individual expectations. (Perhaps our purchasing backgrounds causes us to be more control-oriented and less tolerant to irresponsible behaviour.)
Well, as far as savings goes, there are those today that made a nice-to-great income and their house, vehicle, toys and vacations show that. It costs to have fun and have fun things. Money is hard to save, even with a nice income, when: monthly mortgage payment is high, monthly payments on a brand new vehicle, a nice boat or RV and Disney Cruise trips or vacations come into play. Shoot, I couldn't hardly save a nickel, due to the salary I made, and, what I owned proved that for years before I married again. My truck was old and so was my horse trailer.
Yup. My wife and I split up less than 90 days after buying a house. I was making $5/hour and hung onto it. I was 40 before I bought a car that had a payment attached to it. Before then I would buy beaters for cash...it was all I could afford, and pretty much all I needed. When a "better beater" came along, I would scoop that up and sell the old one. "Vacations" were always spent doing things around the house, driving into DC for the free museums and maybe a couple of days at the local fishing holes. A good year included a long weekend at the beach during the off-season. At my last job I picked up responsibility for the internal budget for a dozen departments totaling 500 or so people. Salaries ranged from $100,000 to $600,000, plus benefits plus 10%-25% bonuses. My boss made close to $300,000, yet she and her ex would fight over whose turn it was to buy their 11 year old son shoes. Most of the high-dollar earners were that way. I've always mostly had a sense of gratitude for what I've had. I've done well enough. My needs have always been met. Having "more" mostly seems to lead to "never enough" and defending what you've got. Regarding the specific topic: I don't know what percentage of people even have the option of retiring, much less enjoy the luxury of determining the timing. Not only is the concept of retirement a pretty new one, but many people just plain won't be able to ever make it happen. As I've said before, my own working life could have ended on an entirely different note than it did...or not ended at all.
As far as your last paragraph, age, yes "age", and health comes into play for many. At an older age, like the age of a Baby Boomer, working relationships with co-workers, who are generally Millennials and/or Gen X age, sometimes don't work. Companies want their employees to get along and many times Baby Boomers won't with other workers. That is one reason they have to retire, heath conditions and/or age. As far as money goes, there are lots and lots of Seniors that wish they had more income than they do. Why? Just ask a Baby Boomer or older that has heart or other serious heath problems that require a rather large co-pay to buy medications.
I've often struggled with work relationships. My issues have been less of a cliche generation thing and more of a hypocritical management thing...bad behaviour is frequently rewarded and the ruls are rarely meant for those at the top. Regarding retirement money...medical bills can be a part of it. So can car repairs. Or a broken appliance. But they're not the sole cause of being under-funded.
Funny, but what you said in your first paragraph is pretty true. Did you know there are companies that highly resist in hiring a military veteran. I was told that companies don't want the strictness a military veteran can bring, even if the veteran is fully experienced in both civilian and military years. I know I was pretty strict on the job, and I found out that that wasn't really wanted. "We want our employees to have a laid-back/relaxed feeling at work". Heck, I remember in one interview, for a Purchasing Asst., I mentioned about my Navy experience in Supply. The manager looked at me and said, "I have absolutely no interest in your military background for this job".
That's what I alluded to before. "Purchasing" serves a control function. Management can pretend to have a laissez-faire attitude until the poop hits the fan, then the witch hunt begins. And even though others might be driving the train, they look for the guy whose hat says "Engineer." I've been in that spot. I can think of times I have been so unprofessionally blunt with senior executives that I should have been fired. The fact that I wasn't speaks more to their complicity than it does to their restraint. To bring it back on the topic of retiring by choice: when I got laid off, I started looking for a job to finish out my career. My heart was not in it. I did not want to engage another "do over," especially as far as politics were concerned. I actually walked out of an interview, sat in my car and realized that I had become "that old guy" I had interviewed years earlier who obviously wanted the income but really did not want to work anymore. That was when I took a hard look at my finances and decided that it would be a stretch, but I was really done with corporate America. Now, if I really needed to continue working, I would have scraped together a better facade. But it would have hurt...a lot.
I don't see how the pandemic would affect retirement plans one way or another, unless you are forced out when you weren't planning to retire. Or perhaps if your retirement plan was to do a lot of international travel you'd be disappointed. I retired at 60 and never looked back. Since I'm a homebody, Covid restrictions haven't been a ripple on my pond. Our travel is RV-based though we haven't made any trips this year and we're considering selling the motorhome.
I have a 2005 edition. I had a much older one but either it's still packed in a box somewhere, from one of my moves, or I have misplaced it.
That's what I refer to as my present lifestyle. I had 26 years of a very active and exciting retirement with lots of trips, cruises, golf galore, scuba diving. A couple of health issues required me to seek another exciting retirement mode and I have found it here where I now live in Assisted Living.