Friday, March 29, 2024

Retirement not on the radar for many

A poll released this week regarding retirement caught my attention. While I’m still many years away from being retired, it always seems to somehow peak my interest.

The poll shows that nearly one-quarter of Americans say they plan to never retire. Another quarter of those surveyed say they expect to work beyond 65 years old. That certainly seems to go contrary to everything we’ve come to know over the years. At least that’s the case for me. While growing up, I always had this vision that once people hit the magical age of 65, retirement is right on the door step. 

But not so fast with this retirement talk and what the right age is for retiring. 

According to government data, about 1 in 5 people 65 and older were working or actively looking for a job in June. 

So why doesn’t retiring seem to be on the radar for many people? Well, money, or the lack of it, has a lot to do with it. People are living a lot longer and often they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement. 

Americans have mixed assessments of how the aging workforce affects workers: 39% think people staying in the workforce longer is mostly a good thing for U.S. workers, while 29% think it’s more a bad thing and 30% say it makes no difference.

I think it’s great to see older people still contributing to society through their work. I’ll take my mother, for example. At 80 years old, she continues to work full time in a job that she has held for 32 years. She’s healthy so why not keep working. She also has a strong work ethic that could spin circles around many people half her age. There are many other benefits besides rolling in a paycheck. Perhaps most importantly, working keeps her mind sharp as a tack. 

This whole idea of 60 being the new 40 and 70 being the new 50 is really happening, but I’m sure for many it’s also confusing. Financial experts can certainly help you sort through what’s best for your particular situation.

By the time I get to retirement age, there may not be such a thing as retirement, which maybe isn’t the worst thing in the world. I just better accept the fact that I have a lot more papers to put out and deadlines to meet. I’m sure I’ll be working long past the current retirement barometer of 65. 

But as many people are finding out, my mother included, working well into the later years isn’t such a bad thing. What’s your plan for retirement? Are you a part of the quarter that plan to never retire?

Whatever the case is for you, I hope you’ll go in hot pursuit of doing what makes you happy and provides the financial security you need to enjoy life.

 

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Dodge County Independent

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