Should I be saving for retirement, though? A lot of people seem to recommend this. But it’s unclear if this is a good idea, because I’m trading off against time now—and it seems pretty likely that time now is more useful.
At first, I thought that saving for retirement is obviously a good idea, because you’re probably going to retire at some point, and you’re going to need money, and how else are you going to get it? Then I realized that I don’t actually know why people retire. I mean, for physical work, it’s pretty obvious (performing the same tasks becomes more difficult as you grow older), but what about mental work?
Come to think of it, I really have no idea how that works. Assuming you don’t get Alzheimer’s or some similar disease, when do your mental faculties start to significantly decline, and how much?
when do your mental faculties start to significantly decline, and how much?
Faculties that feed into fluid intelligence decline a lot from around age 20. Faculties that feed into crystallized intelligence decline less, and the decline starts (on average) in one’s 60s at the earliest. (Based on an old InquilineKea post here.)
At first, I thought that saving for retirement is obviously a good idea, because you’re probably going to retire at some point, and you’re going to need money, and how else are you going to get it? Then I realized that I don’t actually know why people retire. I mean, for physical work, it’s pretty obvious (performing the same tasks becomes more difficult as you grow older), but what about mental work?
you don’t think mental abilities start degrading in old age?
Come to think of it, I really have no idea how that works. Assuming you don’t get Alzheimer’s or some similar disease, when do your mental faculties start to significantly decline, and how much?
Faculties that feed into fluid intelligence decline a lot from around age 20. Faculties that feed into crystallized intelligence decline less, and the decline starts (on average) in one’s 60s at the earliest. (Based on an old InquilineKea post here.)