Planning
for retirement is one of the most requested activities of financial planning
clients. However, most clients and
advisers tend to focus exclusively on the pure financial aspects.
In
their controversial book, Die Broke, authors Stephen Pollan and
Mark Levine, provide different views on retiring and reveal flaws in some
commonly held beliefs about retirement.
Consider the following points.
- Old Perception: Sixty-five is old
Really? Sixty-five only became the
accepted retirement age about 60 years ago when bureaucrats were planning
the social security program. At
that time the average age was 63; today it’s 75 and increasing! People are living much healthier, longer
lives.
- Old Perception: Leisure
is more fulfilling than work
For those clients who are nearing or have achieved financial independence,
you know that I do not believe that people who have been productive
citizens want to stop being productive.
It may be one of the most important longevity determining issues.
In the past 50 years, as life expectancies increased and larger numbers of
people began having the opportunity, afforded by pensions and/or social
security, to not work, a new phenomenon began occurring. Depression, heart attacks, boredom and
general malaise attributable to the lack productive activities are serious
concerns for the retired.
All of us know a number of individuals well into
their 80s (and older) who lead very active lives.
- Old Perception:
“Senior” citizens need to make room in the workplace for the next
generation
The opposite may be true. With a birth rate that is declining in
industrial nations, there may not be enough qualified workers to handle the
tasks necessary to run the societies and economies. Italy, for example, has a
developing crisis and must rely upon immigrants to fill the jobs not supplied
by Italy’s negative population
growth rate.
- Old Perception: People over 65 are poor workers compared
to the young
This may be true in jobs requiring brawn and physical strength, but mental
work is another matter. With the
exploding growth in Information Age technology, the well-conditioned mind
is likely to be in greater demand than the well-conditioned body.
What
are your perceptions? Sooner or later
you will have to answer the question, “What do you really want to do the
rest of your life/”