If I enjoy my work, I don’t have a problem with the idea of working into my eighties or even later.  If I do not enjoy my work, I will not live to see the Social Security retirement age of 62.

I do not enjoy my work.  I should quit, otherwise I will die.  Also, my company has eliminated its pension plan, so there is no reward for not quitting.

There is a problem:  most of the money I have saved is in my 401(k) retirement account, and I am not allowed to have that money until I have reached the age of 59 1/2.  That’s my money, they say, but I cannot have it.

There is another problem:  my 401(k) has much less money in it today than it did one year ago.  So even if I could have my money that I’m not allowed to have, it would mean that I have less now than I did before or than I might when I am 59 1/2.

There is yet another problem:  if I continue to do this work I do not enjoy until the age of 59 1/2 or even the age of 62, and if I do not die, there is no way to know whether my 401(k) will have enough money to support me.

There is one last problem:  even if my 401(k) has enough value to support me when I’m 59 1/2, that money will have to last me for the rest of my life, and if I’ve made it to 59 1/2 working a job I do not enjoy, there’s no telling how long I might live.

If I quit my job, I cannot live.  If I don’t quit my job, I will probably die by the time I reach retirement age.  If I manage to live until retirement age, I may not have enough money to live because I will not know when I will die, and my savings will be finite.

This thought brings me to the essence of the problem:  someday I will die, but I do not know when.

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