So many people save to retire early and I never want to retire at all

You’re probably familiar with the FIRE movement, which is all about early retirement and achieving financial independent at a young age. FIRE proponents often want to leave the workforce for good in their 30s or 40s. Other people try to retire early, but not quite as early, waiting until their 50s to wrap up their careers.

But on the other side of that spectrum, there are people don’t like the sound of early retirement — or retirement at all. This Reddit poster is one of them.

The poster happens to own a company they love and wants to keep working indefinitely. But it seems as though there may be people in the poster’s life questioning their choice, since they took to Reddit to ask why people think there’s something wrong with not wanting to retire.

A number of Reddit users had encouraging words in response. “Do what is right for YOU,” one said. Another said, “Many of us would probably keep working if it was a job we loved.”

But while there’s nothing wrong with that plan, it’s important to save for retirement whether it’s something you’re interested in or not.

Don’t assume you’ll be able to work indefinitely

If you love your job and don’t like the idea of being bored, then you may be inclined to keep working on a permanent basis. And there’s nothing wrong with that if it’s what brings you joy. But it’s also important to save for retirement in case your plan to work forever doesn’t pan out.

For one thing, you never know when health issues might get in the way of your ability to hold down a job. Secondly, you never know when the economy might get in the way.

A prolonged economic slump could leave you on the chopping block. And if that happens once you’re older, it can be very hard to find your way back into the workforce — because there’s no pretending that ageism doesn’t exist.

For this reason, it’s important to assume that you’ll have to retire eventually. And while you might get a decent paycheck from Social Security, it probably won’t be enough to cover your expenses in full.

To that end, you’ll need savings. And if you plan to work forever, you don’t need to save at the pace that the FIRE folks do.

But what you should do is make a point to sock away a few hundred dollars a month at the very least in a dedicated retirement account. If you invest that money wisely, it could grow into a large sum over time.

Talk through your plan with a professional

It’s not a bad thing to enjoy work and want to keep it doing it as long as possible. But you don’t want to land in a situation where you find yourself unable to keep working and you’re scrambling to cover your costs.

If your plan is to continue working indefinitely, talk to a financial advisor about it and see what approach they recommend taking to your savings. They might help you strike a good balance so that you’re protected in case your plans to keep plugging away are thwarted due to circumstances outside your control.

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