Posted on 06/10/2015 7:37:19 AM PDT by shortstop
I’m not sure retirement is a good thing.
Not the way it’s done now.
The way it’s done now, it seems to me that we’re marginalizing our most skilled workers, fostering idlers and turning old age into a near useless stage of life.
It used to be that people didn’t retire. They worked til they died. And if they couldn’t work, hopefully their family or their church took care of them.
But everyone who was physically and mentally able to do some useful task did so.
The difficulty arose when people became what used to be called senile, or when they became so physically enfeebled that they couldn’t provide for themselves – and they didn’t have family, clan, tribe or church to look after them.
That’s when Social Security came about.
Laying aside its socialist assumptions, Social Security was envisioned as a pension system for those who were at the tail end of their lives. It was a pittance to help maintain those who couldn’t maintain themselves.
It was just assumed that anyone who could still work would still work. In that innocent day the notion that anyone would willfully choose to be idle, to live off the sweat of someone else’s brow, was shameful.
Retirement, as little as 50 years ago, was the time in life when old age and its limitations prohibited people from supporting themselves. It was almost always a fairly short time, because people that stricken by age typically don’t have much life left.
But that was then and this is now.
Now, people live longer and think different.
Now, retirement is seen as the “vacation” of life. People go into retirement long before they are physically or mentally incapacitated and, typically, with many years of potentially fruitful life still ahead of them.
This has come about by an advancing life expectancy, the former abundance of generous pensions, and a sense of entitlement to a comfortable retirement and the Social Security check that helps make it possible.
And our work ethic has changed. The connection between self-support and self-respect has – with unfortunate and tragic consequences for society – been broken in our country. Increasingly, a spirit of “I’m going to get what I can, it’s owed to me” has crept into our national values.
Rather, a spirit of personal greed and covetousness has replaced the value of self-reliance and hard work. This is not true for all, of course, but in varying degree it has become true for many, maybe even for most.
So we retire. Sometimes at 62. Or 63 or 65. Typically, Americans retire in their early 60s.
And, typically, Americans in their early 60s have another 20 years of life ahead of them.
And yet they have sidelined themselves. At a stage of life and their careers when their knowledge and experience are at their best, they lay work aside.
Which is a terrible waste.
Yes, people in their 20s will work for less. But people in their 60s have a wealth of ability built up over decades that is invaluable. They have learned lessons through success and failure that put them head and shoulders above younger workers.
But they retire. And then to fill their time many of them volunteer in helpful but generally menial tasks. They are helping hands, no doubt, but typically their skill sets lay fallow and wasted.
Many make retirement a time of ease and idleness. They do nothing. It seems sometimes that is harder than it sounds, as many of the most idle retirees seem to die fairly soon.
And it is the hardest working, interestingly, who seem to live longer.
I think that is because they have a purpose. They have a reason to get up in the morning. They know they are useful, and being useful is essential to a happy life.
I’m not begrudging someone who has worked a long and successful career a little ease at the end of life, but I am saying that “the end of life” isn’t anywhere as early as our custom of retirement seems to indicate. As a matter of personal fulfillment and happiness, and as a matter of social and economic policy, people who work are better than people who don’t work – and there’s no reason to think that changes when you turn 63.
As our health stays strong, we should consider staying in the workforce. And in meaningful jobs. Not that there’s anything wrong with being a Wal-Mart greeter, but the vast majority of elderly workers are capable of far more than smiling and handing out stickers.
Part of the problem is that we dismiss old people. We don’t take them or their abilities and experience seriously. Sometimes the most capable person in a company is the old guy they’re eager to push into retirement. Sometimes the arrogance of youth wins out over the ability of age and we suffer as a result.
So I think we should change our thinking.
Retirement shouldn’t be an automatic. There are no automatic milestones of age, and there should be no automatic milestones of the workplace.
People shouldn’t automatically assume they must retire, and society shouldn’t automatically assume that they must either. Much joy, prosperity and productivity can be found by staying in the workplace, instead of shuffling off to Florida, and more people should consider the option.
I watch my father since he retired...puttering around the house, not doing much of anything. I think it would drive me insane.
True. There is age discrimination in the workplace.
Though such discrimination is illegal, if one job applicant is 60 and appears to be overweight or have less than robust health, and another applicant is 35 with ten years of experience in whatever job field is being recruited for, guess which one gets the job offer.
Age is only some advantage in the job market, when they are seeking senior level management. In such case, someone age 55 who has 30 years of increasingly responsible management experience will be a strong job candidate. Otherwise, the bias is towards younger workers for just about any job you can think of.
Now I'm retired, and while I wish I had more spending money, I'm not doing too badly financially. I can't get around like I used to, but I still try. Always helps to have interests, hobbies and family and friends. There's always something you can do. When I can, I get off my fat rear and go somewhere. I don't stay home and look at four walls. If I can't get out, there is always the Internet and of course, maintaining the house and doing chores. I love to go online and annoy a liberal.
As long as you keep your body and brain in use, you will enjoy your retirement, no matter how much or how little money you have.
I hope to retire at 60 (I too am 55), but, we are going to cut the ropes on the sail boat and sail over the horizon.
Won’t be a lot of sitting around. Too much to do.
If the author of this so called article thinks retirement is bad, then he should not do it. I do not work for the the “state”, I work for myself and my family. I work to live, to put food on the table, shelter for my family, etc. I do not life for work. I have many interests to pursue, given the time to pursue them.
Whether I work for myself, work for a business, work at a position that is not challenging, work part-time or not at all is simply my God given right to pursue happiness and is only my business and my family’s business.
Ditto with my grandfather.
He worked most of his life for a very large corporation.
Mandatory retirement age was 65.
After he retired it was all down hill for him.
He even belonged to a country club and enjoyed golf.
But he liked working and being productive.
**But travel is very expensive.**
Not as expensive as you think. There are ways to get the costs way down.
For instance, next week I am flying the family (3) from to central Florida. It’s costing 4,500 British Airways Frequent Flyer points each and $16. A one way car rental coming back is $16 day.
Last year I took 4 of us to a resort in Thailand, flew business class, for about $4,000 total, all in. If I had paid cash for everything it would have cost about $55,000.
(There are ways to rack up frequent flyer miles and hotel points without traveling. That’s my plan.)
I’m doing the work I will be doing just to keep my mind sharp. I too would go crazy if I stayed home.
Which is not valued by employers. Not when they can lay off the old guy and replace him with a younger one at half the salary. That's all that matters anymore, and anyone on the far side of 50 who is out there looking for a job, after being laid off, can attest to that.
People die soon after retirement because they don’t do anything.
Plan your retirement, keep mind busy and stay active.
I plan on retiring from my place of employment in little over a year from now. 34.5 years is plenty long enough to work at the same place.
Time to work in my shop, work at fishing, work at hunting, work at any damned thing I want.
The places I would like to see are probably more expensive like London for example.
I’ve been to Europe twice-—France and Italy-—and did not find it inexpensive. I’ve learned a lot watching programs like Rick Steve’s Europe and would probably borrow a lot his ideas including staying in bnbs. My wife however, does not like “roughing it.”
I’m a WWII buff and would like to visit Russia and see Stalingrad. I’ve only read about 20 books on that battle alone.
When my mother retired, she spent most days listening to Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and some other talk radio programs. Then she would send me emails about what people were saying about the issues. That was her way of staying engaged in the world and current events.
Same principles work in Europe.
Just saying.
Let’s retire government over-reach, then they wouldn’t need to steal so much of my money with which to buy the votes unproductive.
I was just talking to a friend about this yesterday. Living in Florida I see a lot of retirees and I was commenting how early 60s is way to young to retire.
Unfortunately my work schedule has ALWAYS prohibited me from listening to Rush except on holidays.
But in my afternoon drives I do frequently listen to Sean, Medved, and now my current favorite, Mark Levin.
I retired at 60, 6 years ago. I am busy all the time with keeping my investments working and doing volunteer work and part-time work that I enjoy. My wife does the same. We volunteer for our local community serving in various positions for no pay. We travel, infusing money into the places we visit.
Life is what you make it. There’s more to being productive than holding full-time job.
Have fishing rod? Check. Hope to be in the streams and rivers full time before I’m 60.
I really don’t expect to ever retire. I plan on working until I just can’t anymore. I won’t probably always work in law, though - too time consuming and stressful.
All those things, for sure.
And get more involved in church or synagogue.
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