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I think about this a lot. Although I look forward to work slowing down, I don't see myself really not working. (I realize I'm fortunate in that I should be able to write for a long time.) If possible, I'd like to continue doing that long as possible, but devoting more time to fiction. Maybe that will change and I'll decide I want to hang out all day, but I don't see it.

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Thanks for writing & sharing this one, Annie, & including the link to the NYT retirement mission statement article. I shared w my husband, who's 10 yrs older than me. He's 62, and works a corporate job, so retirement seems like a not-far-away-or-impossible thing. I'm 52. Due to the age difference (and the fact that we are not independently wealthy, I'll likely have to keep working for a good while after he retires -- and that brings up some of what Denise mentions too. And is also part of why I've been asking him, even before I read your post, "what do you see yourself doing in retirement?" B/c 1. I don't think he's thought that through, and 2. Him puttering around the house or yard all day while I'm trying to work could be a problem.

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Here's something I'm thinking about, because one of our good friends, same age as me (late 50s) is retiring this month, after 25 plus years teaching. Good for him, right? He's burned out, has been for a long time. However, his wife (also my dear friend) will continue to work full time, and has in fact increased her workload and in the last year, in a good way for her career. Is it just me? I'd feel weird if my husband kept hard-driving his career for the next 8-10 years while I retired, or vice versa. (This couple also has the wrinkle of just this year sending their younger child to college, and dealing with at least one parent who will for sure need a lot of help very soon.) I'd love anyone's thoughts! And for the record, he'll do fine in retirement, financially; less than he made, of course, but teachers on Long Island have enviable union protections. He'll still be making a shit ton more than most teachers in America who are working, and keep his gold-plated health insurance.

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