I Don't Ever Want to Retire. Do I Still Need an IRA?

Some people dream of kicking off their retirement. To me, retirement in the classic sense sort of sounds like a nightmare.

This isn't to say that I don't dream of a time when I can work a lot less and have less financial pressure. But all told, I hope to continue working in some capacity for as long as I can. In the absence of having some sort of job, I fear I'd get bored and restless.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who feels that way. And if you feel similarly, you may have decided long ago that retirement isn't something you're interested in.

In that case, you may not be motivated to contribute to a retirement plan like an IRA. After all, what's the point of setting money aside for retirement if you intend to keep working indefinitely?

But while you may not want to retire, that doesn't mean you'll get that choice. So it's important to be prepared, just in case.

When life has other retirement plans

You could do everything in your power to make it so you're able to keep working indefinitely. That could mean taking steps to boost your job skills so they're current, and being flexible with the work you're willing to do.

But even so, you never know when health issues might arise that prevent you from holding down a job. Or, a recession could strike, forcing you out of work against your will.

That's why it's so important to prepare for a period of retirement, just in case. And that's advice I take myself.

In fact, I make a point to max out my retirement plan every year in anticipation of having to fully retire even if I'd rather not go that route. Also, to be fair, I don't want to commit to 50- or 60-hour workweeks like I do these days. I don't even want to commit to 30 or 40 hours of work per week.

For me, down the line, I could be looking at something like 10 hours of work per week. That's some income to potentially look forward to, but I doubt it would be enough to cover my expenses. So for that reason, I'm saving aggressively for retirement so I have a backup plan. And you may want to do the same.

Small contributions could go a long way

If you don't intend to retire unless you absolutely have to, then you may not exactly be motivated to sock away 20% of your paycheck for retirement purposes each month. And that's understandable. But you should make an effort to save some amount of money so you have that added protection.

The good news, though, is that you don't necessarily have to save a lot each month if you fund an IRA consistently over time and then invest your money. Over the past 50 years, the stock market's average annual return has been 10%. If you invest $200 in an IRA every month over 40 years and you're able to score that same return, you'll wind up with a balance of over $1 million -- no joke! So even if you don't end up retiring, that's still a nice amount of money to do things like travel and pursue different hobbies.

I can totally relate to the idea of not wanting to retire. But I'm taking steps to protect myself in case I'm unable to work down the road. And you should really do the same.

Plus, think about it this way. The money you put into an IRA shields some of your income from the IRS. So in addition to building yourself a financial safety net for later, you also get a pretty nice immediate tax break by making those contributions.