I think there is an assumption hidden in your words, that years earlier in life are in some way more valuable/fun/important than years later in life. I get it, HN's demographics skew really young, and I bet a lot of people here believe that.

Even as I approach elderliness, I still feel that every year of my life has become much more joyful, exciting and enriching than the previous year. I would absolutely not trade away multiple retirement years for a single year of fucking around in my twenties.

In '09, I had a "year off" after the Netapp layoff and the job market wasn't exactly hopping.

I had WARN and severance that would last me all summer, fall, and a bit into the winter before I ran out of that.

So, I spent all summer and fall and a bit into the winter (the thing that finally had me head to my parents' house was a snow storm from the Dakotas heading east in October) driving, hiking, and taking photographs.

There were some hikes that I did then (petroglyphs at Ozette, Ramona Falls on Mt. Hood) that would be much more challenging now that a decade and a half have passed. My endurance for driving has also gone down - I noticed this coming back from Dickinson, ND after the eclipse of 2017 (I really should have gotten a hotel room in Minneapolis) compared to the last leg of a trip from Twin Falls, ID to SF in '08. I can't do 10h drives anymore like I could when I was in my thirties.

And so while there's the "a year off when you're 25 vs retire earlier in your 60s" debate, I would tend to argue for the "when it's a question of experiences to be had, regrets are often the more costly side of the equation when looking back on it later in life."

Also note that not everyone has the same life trajectory of a family and kids and grand kids to look forward to in their later years. For me (single, no kids, on the far side of the half way point between 18 and 81), I am very glad that I had my great road trip when I was in my 30s rather than trying to do it when I was retired.

I wouldn't say being younger is necessarily more valuable, it's more that there are many reasons not to sacrifice yourself totally in your prime (in terms of health / fitness, sexual appeal etc) just to be wealthy and "more comfortable" in retirement.

We of course can't trade our older years with our younger years.

For me personally, I'd much rather have spent the time with family, travelled to the places I wanted, slept around and worked on things I found fun than to slave away, just to save for a greater comfort in a future that is uncertain.

Of course I still hope to be comfortable in retirement, but without a doubt I would regret having chosen a certain path that would lead to comfort than a slightly less predictable path where comfort is not guaranteed.

Looking at my grandparents, they definitely had some good retirement years. Then some medical issue hits and it seems things go downhill very fast. Point is, you never know how many good years you'll get...