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WSJ's couple the Yoders on their 3rd Cross Country tandem bike trip across the US at 68 years.

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The people like Stephen Dixon who day in day out do the work that keep New York functioning and the streets clean. Stephen Dixon. He did the hard work hauling trash on a route that did this manually, and helped clean up the snow also. He joins the sanitation department at the age of 41 but works just like the younger people on the job, and does this for 20 years. He walks with a limp, talks about getting his knees fixed at retirement once he finished 20 years and qualified for a pension. With 4 daughters he needs the steady job with the Sanitation Department. One day on the Queens route he collapses with aheart attack. Mayor Bloomberg calls the family. An immigrant from Panama at the age of 9, Stephen Dixon's story is a different one from the ones that make the headlines these days.

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A rare American childhood growing up in Hokkaido, Japan.

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Spanish footballer Andres Iniesta retires at 40 years age in October 2024. He is Spain's most loved footballer for his humility and his skills.

Another loved footballer Argentina's Lionel Messi says of Iniesta-

“One of the most magical teammates and one of those who I most enjoyed playing together, Andrés Iniesta, the ball will miss you and so will we! I wish you all the best, you are a phenomenon."

Like Messi Iniesta is about 5-7 - 5-8 in height. Yet their speed with the ball was always amazing.

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IRA Distributions reach $25 billion in 2023 for people in retirement in the US.

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Steep rate increases hit retirees holding long term care policies. About 7.3 million retirees hold such policies.This means that either retirees pay these steep price increases or simply are forced to turn away from the policies. A safety net has now turned into something else. Sales of such policies have dropped from 750,000 in 2002 to 100,000 in 2016, and even fewer in 2017, according to the American Association for Long term Care Insurance.

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President Macron takes up a difficult part of his promised changes in the election campaign- an effort to rewrite the rules and consolidate disparate pension plans in France. It comes at a difficult time and requires considerable courage as yellow vest protests against inequality had led to Macron holding townhall meetings in France to hear public opinion, after what appeared as a presidency that had lost touch with ordinary people. Macron has revised his plan to allow a retirement age of 62, yet the plan calls for combining many disparate plans with different rules into a streamlined national plan. Most affected are transport workers, lawyers and other professions that have generous benefits, with early retirement, leading to more strikes. Not taking action means the pension plans would become insolvent in the near future.

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Donald Keene, began teaching Japanese literature at Columbia University in 1955. He has lectured on Japan at Columbia for 56 years! Prof. Keene, 88 years old, taught the final session of a graduate seminar on traditional Japanese Noh plays on April 26, 2011. He started as a freshman at Columbia in 1938 and went on to complete graduate studies at Columbia in Japanese. In his early years he was hooked on Japanese literature after reading the Tale of Genji in 49 cent paperback volumes. During the last session of the seminar he quoted the final lines in "Matsukaze," a play by Japanese writer Kanami. That line says- "all that is left is the wind in the pines."

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The median household headed by a person 60-62 years of age with a 401(k) account has less than one fourth of what is needed to maintain a standard of living at retirement, according to data from the Federal Reserve and analyzed by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College for the Wall Street Journal. Including Social Security and any pensions or other savings, the savings are way short of what is needed for retirement. Households used in this data had a median income of $87,700 in 2009. The 85% needed for a decent standard of living upon retirement is $74,545. Social Security would provide an estimated 40% of pre-retiremment income, or $35,080 for that median family, leaving $39,465 that has to come from other sources. The median 401(k) account has $149,400 which would only provide a fixed income each year of $9,073- only one fourth of the $39,465 needed. To generate that $39,465, households have to have $636,673, and only 8% of American households approaching retirement have that amount. Half of the families have other pension income of $26,500 a year, which added to $9,073 in 401(k) income gets the total income up to $35,573. Other studies using different data by the Employee Benefit Research Institute show results that are largely similiar. The Employee Benefit Research Institute, is supported by 401(k) providers. Its estimate of the median person is based on individuals in the 60's who have worked at the same company for more than 30 years. This data shows an estimated median person having about $158,754, not much different from the Fed data. Why is the amount in most Americans 401(k) savings so low? There was a mistaken sense that a 6% annual contribution, with a 3% company match would be enough. Vanguard Group says the current median amount that people contribute is 9%, counting the employer contribution. Now Vanguard is advising people to contribute more, 12 to 15%, including the employer contribution. Other problems for the low savings is that saving started late, or contributions were suspended after a job loss, or medical emergencies, other debt. The stock market collapses of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009, added to the problems, by wiping out a portion of the savings. The low rate of interest on savings for most of the last decade hurt even conservative investors and lowers the kind of retirement account income used by seniors. The way people are coping with this is to work longer, in some cases into the 70's, cutting down on spending for food, travel, and taking greater risks for higher returns, risks that could make the situation worse....

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Retirement and close to retirement planning for 2015 from Jonathan Clements of the WSJ.

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Take time in retirement to do the things you love the most from exercize, cooking, talking to others and sharing activity, travel and hobbies. Now that you can do it in a leisurely way, do it by spending more time without any rush.

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According to a proxy statement filed by Exxon with the SEC, Lee Raymond, CEO of Exxon, received a compensation package of $140 million in 2005. Stock, options and long term compensation will add another $258 million. The total is about $398 million.

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The retirement age in France is much lower than other European countries. As people live longer and pension system finances are strained retirement ages are being increased. In France the retirement age is 60, and dates back to the Socialist president Francois Mitterand in the 1980's when the Socialists and the unions strongly supported a retirement age of 60 and a 35 hour work week. Socialist party former general secretary, Francois Hollande, calls changes "unjust reform." The Sarkozy government is treading softly by making a gradual change with the legal retirement age increasing by 4 months per year starting in July 2011, till it reaches 62 by 2018. The pension deficit is forecast at $40 billion a year for 2010. People in taxing jobs or in difficult occupations are exempted. By contrast Germany as plans to change the retirement age from 65 o 67. Britain and Italy have set this at 65.

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Grady Cash is an active runner at age 71. A sports hernia sidelined him at age 50 but he has found his way back into running. After a 2 year hiatus he returned to the track. He entered his first national track and field competition in 2004, and by 2015 eleven years later he was running in the 200 metres at the 2015 USATF Masters Indoor Track and Field Championships. Here he cam in last and had a revelation. Most of the runners were shaped differently than the long distance 1500 metres runners. These people were V shaped with tiny waists, broad shoulders and big leg muscles. From this he learned to do weightlifting at a local gym in Nashville and hired a trainer. After his retirement from financial planning he set up his own routine. He runs with a group at the Vanderbilt University track two afternoons a week ages from mid 20's to 76. A typical workout is eight repetitions of 200 metres that are sequentially faster. He does easy recovery runs on the trails. Mot important he tries to remain injury fee in the kind of routine he selects and listens to his body all the time not to overwork it and run  injury free the next day.  ...