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For decades, people have been told that age 65 is the year they are "supposed" to retire, but that may not always be the case.
It is an inciteful line and I think it might generate a bit of a discussion. We have have pre-conceived notions of when and what constitutes a retirement. The article is small and doesn't give any investment advice. In fact it doesn't give any advice at all except for to see a financial planner.
There is a video in the article and of course the reporter is a good looking blonde so there is the eye candy aspect but what I laugh about is the financial planner is an early 30's still wet behind the ears expert. Of course she is school trained and has good statistics and facts behind her.
Listening to her talk about what she sees as a trend where younger people (under 40) want to retire earlier at age 55 and older those of us over age 50 are now looking at retiring later and working longer. It makes me chuckle thinking that 30 somethings want to retire early but have no concept of what it means to leave the work force and what resources will be needed at that age.
Anyway what do you people think? I know that some are gonna swoon and roll their eyes and say not another know nothing article by some know nothing kids. I on this subject would rather see her at a high school teaching the point of beginning early if they are working. Of course will you at 18 realize that someday you will be 65?
I think is unreasonable to criticize the disappointment that stems from the realization that even though Americans worked hard to forge a society where elders could enjoy a comfortable retirement after working forty years, now things have degraded to where that is no longer a reasonable expectation. There are reasonable questions to be asked, such as "Where did the financial security we had go?"
Having said that, the trend toward interest in early retirement is interesting, albeit not as reasonably supported as the expectation for retirement itself, as outlined above. However, it is indicative of a few things: There is a general understanding that work is becoming less personally satisfying, again after a period of increasing satisfaction from work. If people have the resources to retire, many are retiring specifically because work itself has become an unsatisfactory experience.
It leaves behind, of course, those who wallow in desperation in their elder years, working because they have to, regardless of how onerous work becomes. That's exacerbated by the fact that they were socialized in an age when such onerous conditions were not expected. The refusal to acknowledge the importance and validity of that is ridiculous. If you grow up and live your entire life in the Caribbean, the expectation that you won't be affected by being relocated to Alaska as an elderly person is irrational. People are shaped by their experiences and what they are led to reasonably expect.
For myself, I'll be retiring early. My spouse will work to FRA, and then I'll work a few more years and then we'll start enjoying our twilight years together. The idea that I should work until my spouse is closing in on 80, and then we can retire, is patently absurd - that would be little different from proclaiming that there is no sense in saving for a future comfortable retirement.
We have have pre-conceived notions of when and what constitutes a retirement.
Listening to her talk about what she sees as a trend where younger people (under 40) want to retire earlier at age 55 and older those of us over age 50 are now looking at retiring later and working longer.
It makes me chuckle...
It should. Not that 30 somethings have the notion but that it's thought to be a new thing.
Quote:
Anyway what do you people think?
It (the retirement decision) comes down to the nature of your EARNED income
and the income value of your total portfolio relative to that number.
If you have a nice air conditioned office job that pays well... why retire?
Cut back? Take more/longer vacations... sure. But why stop the gravy train?
Even if the investment income would be enough... and regardless of age.
If you do physical work... the choice to retire is rarely going to be yours.
And in most instances it'll be well before you get to 65.
As for the 1-2% of thirty-something's that can accumulate the BIG PILE needed...
well, good for them. Every generation has had a few.
............ Of course will you at 18 realize that someday you will be 65?
I think for most 18-year-olds it seems impossibly remote. Hell, when I retired at age 61 I didn't really ever expect to see 70, not because I had health problems or had a family history of relatives dying young, but just because 70 (in my eyes) was totally impossible, completely outrageous, simply unthinkable. 70 might be OK for others, but not for me. Well, I am now 70 and still alive. It is beyond weird.
Why am I not impressed with wisdom about retirement coming from a 20 something? And who is going to save 15 or 20 or 30% of their income? And why?
I'm no 20 something but I do save about 23% of my income for retirement. Why? Because if I do live into my eighties or beyond I prefer to not be homeless.
I'm no 20 something but I do save about 23% of my income for retirement. Why? Because if I do live into my eighties or beyond I prefer to not be homeless.
Why am I not impressed with wisdom about retirement coming from a 20 something? And who is going to save 15 or 20 or 30% of their income? And why?
Perhaps just perhaps that 20 something has watched and learned the positive or negative steps from their parents and realize what they need to do if the want to repeat or avoid that outcome. The 20 something graduating from college with no debt as their parents footed the bill may want to do it for their kids. On the other hand the 20 something who sees parents in their fifties no where on a path to be able to retire because of living the good life may be vowing another path for themselves. Sometimes our children are the mirrors/window on our lives.
I got my first mortgage at 24, and it was mind-boggling to think I would be paying on something until I was 54. That was older than my parents were, and it was very hard to fathom what might life might look like then.
Now I'm in my mid-30s, and I can totally picture my life in my 50s.
I do agree that parents provide a huge example - positive or negative - for the succeeding generations to follow. I am mirroring my parents. Dad retired at 55 (and died at 58). Mom just retired at 60.
When mom retired, I realized maybe I could retire before 65/70 if I also planned well enough. On evaluation, what I thought was a haphazard savings strategy has actually been pretty good, primarily because I had internalized so many of the lessons my parents taught so I never had to think about things like whether to contribute to get the full 401k match or not.
We've ramped up the savings goals now to target retirement at 55 for him (more manual labor job) and 60 for me (air-conditioned office). Our plans do not include relying on Social Security, but may include part-time work in another field periodically after retirement. I think it's very likely we'll meet those goals.
My H and I save 17% of our gross income for retirement, 3.5% for the kids' college funds, and about 3% for short-term goals. The savings rates will increase as daycare charges (abt 7% of gross income) decrease. My home will be paid off when the youngest child goes to college (and I'm 50). We think we will be able to live easily on less than 50% of our current gross income after retirement (probably closer to about 35%). We're lucky because we make a good living and we can afford to save a lot.
If the 20-somethings who want to retire early make wise choices, either because their parents taught them well or because they have learned enough on their own to do so, then I don't think this is too idealistic.
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