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Comment by wycs | Hacker News Reader

Man does this motivate me to start saving more for retirement. No one and nothing will be able to care for you more than your past selves.

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Having close relationships with family and/or friends also helps if you need a bit of care.

THIS!! Community is what keeps people alive. Mentally, physically, emotionally, and what-ever-else-ally. Even hanging out with a younger crowd is beneficial to you.

I think financially is prominently missing in your list, the hardest part. There are limits to how much your community can help you with that, and there are limits to how long you want to be a burden to them.

Financial means is certainly a requirement for a healthy retirement, but parent and GP are probably assuming that's handled, and so a focus on relationships and community becomes top priority (or second).

Living alone with billions in the bank is still a lonely existence when the rest of your world has forgotten about you.

This person seems to have kept in regular touch with friends and family, texting regularly, and even telling them about buying deadly poison.

It's obviously a very complex topic, and it's hard to know if this person's social needs were actually being met. I was just trying to encourage people not to forget social aspects when examining their susceptibility to depression.

> If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

At the end of the day, that is the best insurance, if one can do it. Even better is mind training - for the real slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

Or you know, we as a society could decided to actually help people.

For anybody who hasn't yet, pick a target percentage of your income that you want to save for retirement. If you're late getting started, this could be pretty high (20-30% in some cases).

Set up automatic withdrawal to a 401(k)/IRA for whatever percentage you can afford next month (say 3%), then just increase it by 0.5% per month until you get to your goal. The slow progression will give you time to adjust your hedonic treadmill down in line with your increased savings.

Good! I see so many second-hand stories of people not having enough in retirement to live comfortably. It's really rocked my world as far as retirement is concerned, living within your means, and understanding debt. Sure, SS is nice, but depending on it is a recipe for disaster.

Not just save more for retirement, but also work on lowering your cost of living.

Exactly, lowering your cost of living easily makes your money outlive you*; a much more comfortable position to be in.

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