At a higher bitcoin weighting of 5%, however, the older personas also see a larger increase in potential risks (Exhibit 11). For example, a 65-year-old investor could potentially gain 8.5% in annual spending but if bitcoin were to go to zero, the investor could see a reduction in annual spending of 3%. By contrast, young investors would see an annual spending gain of up to 5%, but with a more contained reduction to annual spending of less than 1% if bitcoin went immediately to zero.
But as one of my colleagues said when I asked him about retirement: “If I’m not a college professor, then what am I?” Another friend, who retired at 59, told me that she does not like to describe herself as retired, even though she is. “Retired implies useless,” she said.So retiring is not just giving up a way of making money; it is a deeply existential issue, one that challenges one’s idea of oneself, one’s place in the world, and one’s usefulness.