Your health is essentially on the decline by the time you reach 40, and by the time most people reach their 60s they’re already on a cocktail of medications, lacking the energy to do most things they used to do regularly, and also have a plethora of new health problems to deal with until they finally die.
Most retired people I’ve met typically consider a trip to Costco or falling asleep in front of the nightly news as the highlight of their day. Some even started working again, albeit part time, just to fill their lives with something productive or meaningful.
Let me get straight to it: the idea that life after 60 is just some miserable, medication-filled decline is flat-out wrong. There are 80- and 90-year-olds out there running marathons, starting businesses, volunteering, and thriving—and guess what? They didn’t get there by sitting on their hands and giving up on life at 40. They invested in their health, their future, and yes, their retirement. The idea that life ends at 60 is a lie we tell ourselves when we’re scared to face the truth that what we do right now will decide what kind of future we have.
Now, let me paint a picture of what life without saving for retirement looks like. You hit 60, and instead of enjoying life, traveling, spending time with family, or pursuing passions you’ve set aside for decades, you’re waking up to the grind of a job you have to keep because you didn’t plan. You’re stuck clocking in, not because you want to stay sharp or productive, but because your bills aren’t stopping. You’re watching your friends take trips, spoil their grandkids, or finally take up that hobby they’ve always dreamed of, while you’re trying to figure out how to make it to the next payday.
And you know that fear about sitting in front of the TV, watching the nightly news until you fall asleep? That becomes your reality—not because life after 60 is bleak, but because you didn’t take control when you had the chance. You didn’t prepare, and now you’re left scrambling for scraps of purpose when it’s too late.
Retirement isn’t just about having enough money to sit in a recliner and wait for the end. It’s about freedom. The freedom to live life on your terms, to spend your time doing what matters to you, and to stay healthy enough to actually enjoy it. You don’t want to be 70 and forced to work the register at some store because you have no other option, watching people who did plan walk out with the life you could’ve had.
So, stop telling yourself that saving for retirement doesn’t matter because life after 60 looks bleak. It doesn’t have to be. Life is what you make it, and if you want to be one of those people stuck in the grind forever because you didn’t prepare? Fine. But if you want to be one of those 80-year-olds crossing the marathon finish line or traveling the world, then get serious about your future now. Because one way or another, your 60-year-old self is going to be living with the consequences of what you do today. The only question is whether you’ll be thankful for it—or regretting it.