I told you all about a couple things<\/a> I\u2019d read on the question of the \u201cright\u201d retirement age. <\/p>\nAnd in some respects, I think that Farrell is spot on, that paid work can be a very good thing, even for people past a traditional retirement age. <\/p>\n
Look, I know, anecdotal experience again: \u00a0Mom kept at her retail job, though admittedly with decreasing hours, and, whenever she didn\u2019t want to work, she gave up shifts to others looking to pick up more hours. \u00a0Dad retired early \u2014 57 or 58 I think; he felt forced out and took advantage of an early retirement window, then went to work at a contract house for a couple more years, until work dried up there, then tried his hand at a couple other part-time jobs, but nothing really stuck, and ended up spending most of his time watching TV. \u00a0Maybe he could have found some hobby to pursue, maybe he could have found some means of volunteering, if he\u2019d had a visit from his future self saying, \u201cChuck, get up from that chair or you\u2019ll be just barely able to get around in a walker when you\u2019re 75.\u201d <\/p>\n
Or maybe it\u2019s a chicken-and-egg sort of thing; maybe he would have been able to find that part-time job, but was already slowing down mentally and physically.<\/p>\n
In any case, for any individual planning for retirement, it surely is a good idea to think about, \u201ccould\u2019ja find a more fulfilling \u2018encore career\u2019 instead of completely retiring?\u201d <\/p>\n
And it would also certainly be A Good Thing for employers to provide more flexible work opportunities, and for retirement policies to support this. \u00a0At a minimum, anyone considering retirement should understand the significant benefits to delaying Social Security until age 70. \u00a0And the disability and unemployment systems could stand reform, to respond to the situation we\u2019re in now, where unemployed late adults* under age 62 collect disability rather than finding jobs that are possible for them to do, and over age 62, collect Social Security because they feel they have no choice.<\/p>\n
(*Remember, I\u2019m using the term \u201clate adult\u201d or \u201clate adulthood\u201d to refer to individuals ages 60 \u2013 80, to avoid a label that specificially implies leaving the workforce, like \u201cretirees,\u201d and to distinguish between this stage of life and the later \u201cold age.\u201d)<\/p>\n
There is a bigger question which Farrell doesn\u2019t really answer, and can\u2019t really answer: \u00a0will all the late adults who want to keep working, be able to keep or find jobs, without having negative consequences for the rest of the workforce. \u00a0This is a big unknown, because it\u2019s part of a much bigger picture having to do with globalization, and immigration, and especially automation, and the consequent future of work more generally. \u00a0 So let\u2019s bracket this.<\/p>\n
From a public-policy perspective, this splits into two further issues:<\/p>\n
Can we consider the Social Security funding crisis \u201csolved\u201d because of a predicted tendency of late adults to work to a later age than in the past? \u00a0\u2014 both because taxes from their income will boost Social Security coffers, and because, once this prediction becomes reality, we can raise the retirement age guilt-free, to age 70 or so? \u00a0I\u2019m not sure; maybe in the context of a reform which provides disability\/unemployment benefits for the
Can we at least consider the \u201cother other pension crisis\u201d (yes, I know, I keep trying to make that phrase a thing to describe lack of private retirement savings) solved, or mitigated, anyway, if late adults continue working for longer, and need less savings to supplement part-time work or fund fewer years after they\u2019ve left the workforce altogether?<\/p>\n
The difficulty is, of course, that you simply can\u2019t predict whether you\u2019ll be hale and hearty to a ripe old age, or become unable to work due to a physical or mental impairment (or find that it\u2019s just not any fun any longer), or be unable to find a job even if you\u2019d like one.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s true as age creeps up on you, without a single magic cut-off, but impairment or job loss is an increasing risk the older you get. \u00a0A person can become disabled at age 45, and Social Security disability and long-term disability insurance can provide a fair amount of pay replacement, but reality is, your living standard is going to drop. \u00a0And maybe that\u2019s OK. \u00a0After all, if age 70 were the \u201cdefault\u201d retirement age, we\u2019d be asking whether people should have \u201cextra\u201d savings in case they become unemployed or disabled before then. \u00a0Maybe it\u2019s a fully rational choice for someone in their late middle-age to say, \u201cI can choose to save a substantial amount now, and reduce my standard of living below what feels reasonable to me, to enjoy retirement later, or I can save less now, and plan on working more later, or accept a reduced standard of living later and be fine with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe.<\/p>\n
Anyway, that\u2019s all I have for you tonight.<\/p>\n
What do you think?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So yesterday I told you all about a couple things I\u2019d read on the question of the \u201cright\u201d retirement age. And in some respects, I think that Farrell is spot on, that paid work can be a very good thing, even for people past a traditional retirement age. Look, I know, anecdotal experience again: \u00a0Mom […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[450],"tags":[25,87],"class_list":["post-110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-actuarial","tag-retirement","tag-retirement-age"],"yoast_head":"\n
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