Retirement at 50: Why not?

In the UK and presumably in the rest of the world we are all living longer. That's great some might say because of better diet and better health care we have an advantage over our ancestors. That's all well and good but living longer can also mean we may be more prone to diseases or infections. With viruses developing immunity to antibiotics that also is something to think about as we get older. Let's hope the scientific community are battling this as we speak.

Another side to us living longer for better or worse depending on your standpoint is that governments are putting up the age of retirement. Understandable in one way yes but with each generation being more healthier than the one before the retirement age for men and women over the longer term will rise and keep rising. This may mean some of us presently living will not ever get to retirement age we will have to keep working until we drop. That's fine if you want to do that and I totally get why older people wish to continue working as many retire and vegetate and die unless you have some hobby or activity to keep you busy. However here is another line of thought that people should be given the choice if they want to retire at 50 or the government should impose it.

Think about all the young people coming through and think about all the older people blocking their way. Why do people in their 50's still have go on being slaves to work like a hamster on a never-ending wheel if they don't want to? Young people today more than ever need good jobs to get on the housing ladder and raise a family. Also retiring at 50 does not need to be the end of your life there are plenty of things you could do if you can be bothered.