Maybe We Should Retire The Word "Retire" (50+, pensions, beach)

[oldsoldier1976]

I came across this piece out there. I know some of you doom and gloom guys will agree since the sky is falling. However he does make some excelent points. What are your thoughts?



Maybe We Should Retire The Word 'Retire' : NPR


by Linton Weeks


March 28, 201312:00 PM


Retirement ads are everywhere these days. The Villages lures retirees to come live, love and golf in Florida. USAA offers financial counsel to retiring military personnel. Hollywood stars such as Pat Boone and Tommy Lee Jones dole out all kinds of retirement advice in 30-second sermonettes on television and the Internet.


"Thousands of seniors have turned to One Reverse Mortgage to take control of their retirement," intones Henry "The Fonz" Winkler in one earnest spot.
Old actors don't retire; they just make retirement ads.
But the more talk there is of retirement — on TV, in pop-up ads, in news stories — the more you begin to wonder: What is retirement anymore anyway?

Backyard Hammocks
Time was, the official portrait of a retired American included a steady, dependable pension; leisurely mornings puttering about the house in soft slippers — maybe replacing the chain on the toilet tank ball or knitting a doorknob cozy; slow-driving from drug store to grocery to TV repair shop — back when TVs could be repaired. Afternoons were for penning letters to faraway friends and checking on the backyard hammock hooks.
Oh sure, there was plenty to do — foursomes of bridge and long weekend fishing trips. Perhaps for the more privileged — a beach house, a houseboat, that long-delayed trip to Mexico City.
No mas.

"I think the word 'retired' needs to be retired," says financial writer Kerry Hannon in her 2012 book, Great Jobs for Everyone 50+.
"Baby boomers are either continuing to work much longer or approaching work not as an afterthought, but as a pillar of their retirement plans," Hannon says, "as oxymoronic as that sounds."
Many older people are continuing to work — some out of choice, some out of necessity. "Unlike many of our parents," says Hannon, "most of us don't have pensions to fall back on to fund not-working for a decade or more."

She notes a few statistics: Between 2010 and 2020, people ages 55 and older are projected to be the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor force, according to the 2012–2013 Occupational Outlook Handbook, ajobs forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And, according to recent findings by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, more and more workers say they are planning to delay retirement.

"Today's 60-year-old might reasonably plan to work at least part-time for another 15 years," Hannon says. "That changes the entire definition of retirement today and what it really means. For many retirees, working in retirement is quickly becoming a new stage in career progression."


Doesn't the phrase "working in retirement" render the very notion of retirement — and the word — obsolete?

Persistence Living
As a word, retirement "has already undergone substantial change in its lifetime," says Katherine Martin, head of U.S. dictionaries at Oxford University Press. "Its earliest known use in English — 1536 — referred to withdrawal or retreat in a military context. By the early 17th century, it had taken on a new meaning, referring to the state of living apart from society in seclusion. Then, by the middle of the 18th century, the use that is now most familiar had become common, referring to the action of leaving office, employment or service permanently, now especially due to age."

As many Americans are discovering, however: Nothing is permanent. "The entire concept of you-work-and-then-retire is over for most people," says Hannon. "Retirement is a process. People gradually fade out of the workforce. About 60 percent of the career workers take on a job after exiting their main career. They ease their way into what we used to consider retirement."

As older people stay in and return to the workforce, we are seeing social dominoes fall. Employers are having to make new decisions — should they hire younger or older folks? Families are seeing the ripple effects as job-seeking young people move in with job-keeping parents. And many older people, Hannon says, really do want to keep working for reasons of mental engagement and social interaction. "The money makes it even better," she says, "even if it's not a lot."

So if we retire the words "retire" and "retirement" what should we call that phase of life when people leave office, employment or service permanently — especially due to age? Should we have "longevity funds" instead of "retirement funds"? Should we say she's "re-engaging" instead of "retiring"? And what will we call those living areas that are so popular for American seniors — "endurance communities" perhaps?

[in_newengland]

For one thing, contrary to what we may see on this forum, I don't see too many people skipping off to retirement villages as they get older. I see people remaining in their homes--those who were smart enough to have smaller homes to being with, and becoming more of a part of the community. They may become involved in town politics and even run for office and they volunteer for various causes. They may take classes, they may get more into good cooking or almost anything that they missed out on while working.

I see people doing the things they always wanted to do--like taking up painting or gardening. Joining the gym and really having the time to do it. Playing golf a lot. Traveling and visiting people, becoming involved in church or other activities.

I'm seeing a lot of people working until at least age 70, because contrary to many on this board, people worked at ordinary jobs and wouldn't have enough to live on if they retired early. Along with working at ordinary jobs, there are many who lost money through divorce or illness and have to work longer to make up for it. Those people usually are not on CD -- they are at work, so we don't hear from them.

I don't see the mass exodus to Florida that I saw in my parents (Greatest Generation) because many want something different or are jaded by the whole Florida experience from listening to their parents. Crowding in Florida, hurricanes, the whole ordeal of traveling back and forth and maintaining two homes doesn't appeal.

I see people either retiring in place or to a part of their area in which they always wanted to live but couldn't, due to their job. So people will relocate to the mountains, the beach, a small town. I guess there are people who relocate to cities but I'm not seeing that. Cities seem to attract the younger people more than the oldsters, at least around here.

I am seeing a lot more travel than with previous generations. Maybe they have to sacrifice but they will not just take the one retirement trip to Europe and that's it. If they have the means, they will travel the world; for the less well off, they will save up and sacrifice to at least travel a little bit.

I do agree that retirement has taken on a new meaning. People are expecting more and are living longer. It's a new phase of life, it's not being put out to pasture anymore. I'm talking about what I am seeing NOW, not about what generation X will be doing someday. I'm talking about retirement NOW, retired people of today.

[Curmudgeon]

Nope! We're retired, no ifs, ands or buts. We both have pensions and draw Social Security. We have healthcare benefits. Neither of us works nor intends to. Retirement is not dead and planning ahead makes it possible.

Yet another sky that hasn't cooperated with the gloom and doom folks by falling.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that we lack a hammock. Then again, we never wanted one.

[oldsoldier1976]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Nope! We're retired, no ifs, ands or buts. We both have pensions and draw Social Security. We have healthcare benefits. Neither of us works nor intends to. Retirement is not dead and planning ahead makes it possible.

Yet another sky that hasn't cooperated with the gloom and doom folks by falling.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that we lack a hammock. Then again, we never wanted one.

I have one in my shed. I lost the tree that one end connected to due to a snow storm so... if you want one......!

[TuborgP]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Nope! We're retired, no ifs, ands or buts. We both have pensions and draw Social Security. We have healthcare benefits. Neither of us works nor intends to. Retirement is not dead and planning ahead makes it possible.

Yet another sky that hasn't cooperated with the gloom and doom folks by falling.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that we lack a hammock. Then again, we never wanted one.

No hammock but close to a dozen spots in and out that I can fall asleep in, on, at, around, close to etc etc. Hell I can fall asleep standing on the deck or on the beach. The one spot I don't think either of us can fall asleep is at work because we don't. I guess that makes us retired by just about any standard.

[GreenGene]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Nope! We're retired, no ifs, ands or buts. We both have pensions and draw Social Security. We have healthcare benefits. Neither of us works nor intends to. Retirement is not dead and planning ahead makes it possible.

Yet another sky that hasn't cooperated with the gloom and doom folks by falling.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that we lack a hammock. Then again, we never wanted one.

We don't/won't get Social Security, but other than that, ditto.

I tell people I'm a full-time retiree, and I always have a smile on my face when I say it.

[jrkliny]

Silly, silly.. this nonsense is mainly an attempt to sell books and magazines. The current average retirement age is 61!!! So the vast majority of people retire well before they are eligible for Medicare. That fact alone will drive up the retirement age since there are very few companies which currently provide healthcare for retirees. More and more of us need to wait for the Medicare retirement age.

[Chaffeetrekker]

ReTire?.....That's something I do to my car every 4 years or so...Costs about $1000...

When people ask me if I still work, I tell them I work full time at staying alive by hiking, biking, jogging, etc. and at maintaining a constant low stress level by avoiding any nascent adversity....
Also, I sometimes I tell people that I'm working at "pursuing self interests"...

My friend Willie Mosconi once told me, "to be a good Billiard or Pool player, you have to see in your mind the next 3 consecutive easiest shots on the table.." That plan works for me also in my daily tasks by keeping any unpleasant surprises to a minimun...I have to work at it...

Oh, I'm due to ReTire my car in December...

[texdav]

No; that is why to be understood accurately the work working is out before retired. One can also say I retired forom my former job and took another job to supplement by retirement.

[in_newengland]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Nope! We're retired, no ifs, ands or buts. We both have pensions and draw Social Security. We have healthcare benefits. Neither of us works nor intends to. Retirement is not dead and planning ahead makes it possible.

Yet another sky that hasn't cooperated with the gloom and doom folks by falling.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to admit that we lack a hammock. Then again, we never wanted one.

Yeh but everybody plans for it. What cannot be helped is catastrophic illness that practically bankrupts you or having to quit your job to take care of a dying parent. Then there is the spouse who walks out at after about age 55 and the person doesn't have enough time to make up the money lost.

But the rest I solidly agree with: retirement is not dead at all. It is better than ever. Add to that: there are lots of people who work until age 70 or so because they have to and it is not due to poor planning.