What's a better term for 'retired'?

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VictoriaF
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by VictoriaF »

A player.

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Garco
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Garco »

Free at last.

H/T to Martin Luther King: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by 22twain »

Discretionarily occupied.
Meet my pet, Peeve, who loves to convert non-acronyms into acronyms: FED, ROTH, CASH, IVY, ...
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by heyyou »

Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?
Happiest years of my life
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by sschullo »

Lucky and happy to be "retired," no matter how the experience is labeled.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by mptfan »

Fund manager.
3504PIR
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Re: Age at retirement.

Post by 3504PIR »

Taylor Larimore wrote:
3504PIR wrote:Taylor, what age did you retire?
57 (now 89).

Best wishes.
Taylor
Excellent! Well done.
Mr Grumpy
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Mr Grumpy »

I like the term "retired" : verb - "to withdraw, to remove oneself". Has a nice self-absorbed vibe to it.
No good?, how about "x-j" or ex-j": without job.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Latecomer »

"Re-purposed" :)
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EternalOptimist
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Re: Age at retirement.

Post by EternalOptimist »

Taylor Larimore wrote:
3504PIR wrote:Taylor, what age did you retire?
57 (now 89).

Best wishes.
Taylor

God bless Taylor, you are my hero :beer
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EternalOptimist
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by EternalOptimist »

mptfan wrote:Fund manager.

Or 'fun' manager
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Don Christy
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Don Christy »

Lifestyle coach
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Don Christy
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Don Christy »

Private Wealth Manager
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desertbandit442
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by desertbandit442 »

Couldn't resist. How about Private Investment Management Provider (PIMP) :twisted:
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Dandy »

rat race observer
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by umfundi »

I'm done. Your problem now.

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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by ResNullius »

I have no problem saying that I'm retired. On the other hand, my wife can't stand it when anyone suggests that she's semi-retired. She works three mornings a week, that's it. She doesn't need to work, she likes for people to think she's working heavy part-time. I don't understand it, but she'll be fully retired in a year or two whether she wants to or not. Other than saying retired, I sometimes tell people that I'm a "rcovering lawyer." They usually catch the humor.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Rodc »

I think "financially independent" for when I retire. Really that is the goal. That is the goal is to get to a place where I do not need to work rather than not working. I can work if I want. No work, full time, part time, paid, unpaid, all my choice.

I won't be wealthy so I won't be independently wealthy (seems to me the independently in that phrase is unnecessary anyway) and that is not may goal, even if somehow it happened.

I do like the suggested addition of "free spirit" that was suggested early in the thread.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by chaz »

I also like "financially independent".
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Abe
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Abe »

How about: "I'm re-tor'-ded" :wink:
Last edited by Abe on Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jay69
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Jay69 »

desertbandit442 wrote:Couldn't resist. How about Private Investment Management Provider (PIMP) :twisted:
I vote for this one!, I need to write this one down.
"Out of clutter, find simplicity” Albert Einstein
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by texasdiver »

Coasting...


It's what my 75 year old Dad says he gets to do now that he is "over the hill"
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by NAVigator »

At a company where I worked, they held "pre-planning" meetings. I just figured that concept came from Dilbert. Now that I am no longer employed, this must be the post-planning phase. Since I retired due to a disability, perhaps this is the unplanned phase?

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CABob
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by CABob »

How about "sequeller"?
Sequel definition - What follows that continues the story of an earlier one.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by cheese_breath »

I fired my boss?
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graveday
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by graveday »

VictoriaF wrote:
Calm Man wrote:
The Wizard wrote:Unemployed.
...you can say you are a consultant.
I prefer a student.

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They are younger.
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graveday
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by graveday »

Just say retired. It is short and sweet and everyone understands. Then you can start telling lies.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by thebogledude »

if you play golf, you can say you're a golfer.
-or domestic engineer.
but at the end of the day, it's really about how you spend your time
rather than what people think.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by lindisfarne »

Why do you have an issue with saying you're retired? It's not the word that's bothering you.
What you do depends on what your interests and skills are ... could you help out neighbors who can use it (advice on maintenance, lawn care, finance)? Teach something in a community ed. program? Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (they are very good at working with people with no home building/repair skills & you'll learn valuable skills along the way).

If you don't like not doing something formal on a regular basis, there are plenty of ways to use your skills as a volunteer. You might be able to provide mentorship to someone/some people who would benefit from the knowledge you've gained in your field.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Levett »

Ordinarily, the exchange I have with new acquaintances goes something like this:

New acquaintance (very politely): "What do you do?"

Me (no less politely): "I don't work."

New acquaintance: "Oh, you are retired?"

Me: "Yes. I am a man of leisure--perhaps a gentleman" (in the old sense of the word).

And then the conversation either moves on to how I spend my day, what did I formerly do, or would I like to have coffee or, better yet, a beer. :sharebeer

I must say that in the years I have been retired it has always seemed to me that the word "retired" elicits envy. So why would I want to avoid the word "retired'? :)

Lev
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by scrabbler1 »

"I'm retired" works just fine for me whenever I am asked what I "do." :)
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by EternalOptimist »

thebogledude wrote:if you play golf, you can say you're a golfer.
-or domestic engineer.
but at the end of the day, it's really about how you spend your time
rather than what people think.

Right...at the end of the day who cares about what others think, it's what I think of myself :thumbsup
"When nothing goes right....go left"
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by wilson08 »

Freelance Engineer

Wilson
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by ThatGuy »

This reminds me of the common refrain never to call someone an ex-Marine. But is former really all that different?

Or in this case, what is so insulting about the word retired?
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by VictoriaF »

The problem with the word "retired" is not that it is insulting but that it brings up certain stereotypes, emotions, and even physical reactions. In a psychological experiment a test group of college students was primed by having to unscramble words "retirement," "Florida," "bingo," and alike. A control group of students unscrambled some neutral words. After the unscrambling part, the real experiment started when the students had to walk a long corridor to collect their reward for participating in the experiment. The members of the test group walked significantly slower than the members of the control group.

Victoria
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at ease
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by at ease »

....i'm a restaholic.....(at least according to my wife..)
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by lindisfarne »

VictoriaF wrote:The problem with the word "retired" is not that it is insulting but that it brings up certain stereotypes, emotions, and even physical reactions. In a psychological experiment a test group of college students was primed by having to unscramble words "retirement," "Florida," "bingo," and alike. A control group of students unscrambled some neutral words. After the unscrambling part, the real experiment started when the students had to walk a long corridor to collect their reward for participating in the experiment. The members of the test group walked significantly slower than the members of the control group.

Victoria

Is it bad that people walked slower? (We keep hearing how we're overly stressed by our 24/7 society).
Has the result been replicated? Even if it has, you'd need some additional information/data before you could even begin to infer WHY they walked more slowly. Assuming that it reflects the way retired people moves is not a legitimate inference without other data. Perhaps they were thinking about grandparents who are retired. Perhaps they were thinking about the FL beaches where they planned to spend spring break.

Even if they did walk more slowly ... what does that mean? Perhaps they were considering their asset allocation in their portfolios.
Last edited by lindisfarne on Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by CarlZ993 »

An Adventurer and Gentleman of Leisure.
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VictoriaF
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by VictoriaF »

lindisfarne wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:The problem with the word "retired" is not that it is insulting but that it brings up certain stereotypes, emotions, and even physical reactions. In a psychological experiment a test group of college students was primed by having to unscramble words "retirement," "Florida," "bingo," and alike. A control group of students unscrambled some neutral words. After the unscrambling part, the real experiment started when the students had to walk a long corridor to collect their reward for participating in the experiment. The members of the test group walked significantly slower than the members of the control group.

Victoria

Is it bad that people walked slower? (We keep hearing how we're overly stressed by our 24/7 society).
Has the result been replicated? Even if it has, you'd need some additional information/data before you could even begin to infer WHY they walked more slowly. Assuming that it reflects the way retired people moves is not a legitimate inference without other data. Perhaps they were thinking about grandparents who are retired. Perhaps they were thinking about the FL beaches where they planned to spend spring break.

Even if they did walk more slowly ... what does that mean? Perhaps they were considering their asset allocation in their portfolios.
You are making good points. I have to find the source paper for the answers. Here are some thoughts from the top of my head.

A fast-paced walk helps relieving stress, probably more so than it serves as a sign of stress. The speed of walking correlates with the general state of health. In the experiment I mentioned, the students must have quickly recovered from a brief exposure to retirement; but it is possible that truly retired people slow down not due to physical causes but due to a changed self-perception.

Victoria
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Fallible »

VictoriaF wrote:
lindisfarne wrote:
VictoriaF wrote:The problem with the word "retired" is not that it is insulting but that it brings up certain stereotypes, emotions, and even physical reactions. In a psychological experiment a test group of college students was primed by having to unscramble words "retirement," "Florida," "bingo," and alike. A control group of students unscrambled some neutral words. After the unscrambling part, the real experiment started when the students had to walk a long corridor to collect their reward for participating in the experiment. The members of the test group walked significantly slower than the members of the control group.

Victoria

Is it bad that people walked slower? (We keep hearing how we're overly stressed by our 24/7 society).
Has the result been replicated? Even if it has, you'd need some additional information/data before you could even begin to infer WHY they walked more slowly. Assuming that it reflects the way retired people moves is not a legitimate inference without other data. Perhaps they were thinking about grandparents who are retired. Perhaps they were thinking about the FL beaches where they planned to spend spring break.

Even if they did walk more slowly ... what does that mean? Perhaps they were considering their asset allocation in their portfolios.
You are making good points. I have to find the source paper for the answers. Here are some thoughts from the top of my head.

A fast-paced walk helps relieving stress, probably more so than it serves as a sign of stress. The speed of walking correlates with the general state of health. In the experiment I mentioned, the students must have quickly recovered from a brief exposure to retirement; but it is possible that truly retired people slow down not due to physical causes but due to a changed self-perception.

Victoria
This is not in direct response to the experiment, but it's interesting because this thread and another current one on daily retirement got me thinking whether we significantly change in retirement, in my case mainly whether I, a Type A, had slowed down, but also whether I had become (or always was) a somewhat different person with different interests, skills, etc. After all, by the time most of us retire, some 50 or 60 years of our lives have been pretty much dictated by the demands and routines of school and careers. But is that who we really are? If it is, are we more than that? Better than that? Or pretty much the same? Depends on the individual, of course. Any experiments, research done on this? Maybe this is the subject of another forum topic: how have we, or have we, changed in retirement?
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by htdrag11 »

This will be my last year paying and filing for my LLC annual report.

I still called myself an IT Consultant, or simply Retired - getting dumb and happy (but not fat - doing 3 miles plus daily)!
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by VictoriaF »

Fallible wrote:Maybe this is the subject of another forum topic: how have we, or have we, changed in retirement?
It would be a good topic of its own. Please consider starting a discussion.

Victoria
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Levett »

"how have we, or have we, changed in retirement?"

My kids asked me a version of that question early in my retirement.

My answer was simple and truthful: I'm more of the kid I was, except I don't have to ask my parents for an allowance. :)

Lev
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Fallible »

Levett wrote:"how have we, or have we, changed in retirement?"

My kids asked me a version of that question early in my retirement.

My answer was simple and truthful: I'm more of the kid I was, except I don't have to ask my parents for an allowance. :)

Lev
So we "old" retirees can be kids again! BTW, I'm working on a topic on the subject now so maybe you'd want to expand on your comment there, like how your kids responded to your "kid" reply.
"Yes, investing is simple. But it is not easy, for it requires discipline, patience, steadfastness, and that most uncommon of all gifts, common sense." ~Jack Bogle
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Levett »

Cross my heart and hope not to die (too soon). They loved it.

They think my wife and I are cool (they may be in denial).

But we do have a lot of fun with our grown kids and our grandchildren even though we all live in different states.

Perhaps distance makes the heart grow fonder! :wink:

It seems to me essential that you tell your kids and grandkids that not only do you love them but that you've had a good life and that you are lucky to have had a retirement.

Lev
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by fandango »

I say that I am "reinvented".
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by Braumeister »

Since I keep track of my own finances and plan for my future, I call myself an economist. Practically guaranteed to get the questioner to change the subject. 8-)
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Re: What's a better term for 'retired'?

Post by graveday »

Braumeister wrote:Since I keep track of my own finances and plan for my future, I call myself an economist. Practically guaranteed to get the questioner to change the subject. 8-)
Nice.

"Late to the party" just occured to me.
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