The retiring type

IN Mimi Avins’ article about retirement [“For Men, Aging’s a Type-A War Zone,” Oct. 30], she may have skipped over a very important factor. The people she cites as unwilling or unready to retire -- Rupert Murdoch, Warren Buffett -- are power players. Why should they retire? They can collect salaries, take vacations for as long and as often as they like and enjoy most of the advantages of retirement while continuing to exert the power that defines them. They are not typical candidates for retirement. It is the worker who slaves away from 9 to 5 in a very uncertain job market, and who dares not express his opinions to the powers that be, who is the one looking forward to retirement. Retirement should be a new beginning for people like this, and they far outnumber the likes of Murdoch and Buffett.

LUCILLE COOPER

Laguna Woods

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I remember with amusement how many people in my office wished they could be at home on a rainy day sitting in front of a fire in their bathrobe, a cup of cocoa in one hand and the newspaper in the other, yet became oddly inquisitive about what I could possibly do with all my free time once I retired. Those rude enough to ask should be answered using the famous tagline of Maxwell Smart: I spend my days relaxing and doing absolutely nothing ... and loving it.

JIM VALENTINE

Woodland Hills