TW: Suicide.
The amount of money needed to retire is heavily dependent on life expectancy. I'm in my 20s now, but as I start to plan for the future, I'm trying to think about how long I want to live and how long I want to work. I'm starting to think that I'd like to plan for an early death. It might seem extreme, but it actually makes a lot of sense due to my personal situation. Would I rather live to 85 or 100 and retire at around 75 (if at all), or would I rather live to 65 and retire at around 50, without working as hard in the meantime?
To me, the answer is clear. I work 60 hours a week at a job that I hate. I don't have any children and I don't plan to. I have a lot of physical and mental health problems, and I've wanted to die for my entire adult life, adolescence, and part of my childhood (although I am very resolute about not acting impulsively on this). I'm terrified of aging. I'm truly tired of work, and I can't even imagine how tired I'll be at 50, let alone 75. My partner is in the same boat, and has a low life expectancy due to heart disease. I don't want to outlive him.
So it seems like a perfect plan, but I'm just afraid that I will get to 65, with my retirement savings gone, and I'll lose the nerve to kill myself but will have no options for living well or paying my medical bills. Folks who are older: what are your thoughts? Did you consider a plan like this when you were younger, and if so, how is it going for you?