Baby Boomers Can’t Afford to Retire–Fantastic!
ByBig news! Studies show, on average, my generation, the Baby Boomers, haven’t saved enough to retire at 65.
They don’t have anywhere close to enough money to maintain their lifestyles.
Really?
I hope whoever sponsored the study didn’t spend a lot of money for it.
This is the generation who’ve bought all the toys—on credit. And now they don’t have enough saved up? No kidding!
Yet, I say terrific!
“Retirement” at 65 was designed decades ago when the average life expectancy for a man in the U.S. was about 70. Work hard until 65, retire for five years and you’re gone. Both of my grandfathers died in their 60s. So yeah, you could save some and live out your retirement in relative comfort.
You were too tired to go anywhere. Didn’t need anything—nothing new to buy. And you lived five years max.
So now the average 65 year old has a life expectancy of 20 years and that includes smokers, drug addicts and sky divers. Take out insane activities and your life expectancy suddenly jumps to 25 to 30 years.
And we think we’ll have enough money saved, after all the toys, to keep spending, like we have been? Good luck! Have a ball for a year or two and then after that, “Hello, Social Security.” Not my idea of the “golden years”.
That’s why I don’t even consider “retirement.”
I enjoy the business I’ve built. Find it stimulating. Love my clients. And I have enough free time to take vacations and be involved in meaningful activities where I get to make a difference. I’m having more fun now than ever.
Why would I stop?
I look at this season of life as a time to relaunch, reload, revise, reengineer. But not retire.
The Bible says nothing about retiring. It does tell us to honor our seniors.
Why? Because of their wisdom. Because with less effort they can be so effective.
Because they have the opportunity to still be productive and build into the next generation.
But I have no respect for guys, not much older than me, teetering around spending their days going for the “early bird specials,” watching mindless TV and waiting to die.
We’ve got two decades maybe three to make a difference and do what we’ve always dreamed of. This is our time. Our adventure!
Have fun!
We Baby Boomers as a generation blew it. God still can turn it into a blessing.
I’m choose to live in that blessing. What about you?
I have always said that your best retirement plan is a business that you own and makes you money. I have found that once you have built that, your desire to retire is less, because that business, if you build the right one, is more fun than retirement would be.
John:
Absolutely. When done right we all get a sense of satisfaction from our work. Won’t get that from endless hours of TV. So why not keep working at something you enjoy?