Retirement Is Taking Another Job : Many Must Work On

Working later in life doesn't seen like a good thing when you are ready to retire, but given the nightmare of our economy it seems to be the only way many in our society will be able survive.

If the facts be known, retirement is really just another job, only this time you are in charge. If what you have saved isn't going to make ends meet, then continuing to work or going back to work is the only alternative.

Also the fact that nearly half of those ready to retire haven't saved enough to even last more then a few years in retirement, living a life style that they have been use to. It's astonishing to realize just how poorly prepared so many people that are approaching retirement really are. Astonishing and frightening.
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America Needs to Rethink Retirement
Source: Nicholas Eberstadt and Michael W. Hodin, "America Needs to Rethink 'Retirement'," Wall Street Journal, March 10, 2014.

March 18, 2014

America's retirement model is becoming increasingly unsuitable for economic growth, say Nicholas Eberstadt, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and Michael W. Hodin, executive director of the Global Coalition on Aging.

The number of Americans over age 60 is growing much faster than the number of young, working-age Americans. The median age is 43 years old in Europe (up from 34 years old three decades ago) and 38 years old in the United States.

Research indicates that gross domestic product (GDP) is boosted when older workers are engaged in the economy.

• A 2005 study of Japan found that increasing the retirement age from 60 years old to 65 years old could raise per capita GDP by 10 percent by the year 2025.
• In the United Kingdom, the International Longevity Centre determined that increasing the number of workers over age 65 by 2.6 percent annually could increase per capita output by up to 6 percent in 2037, adding £1.7 trillion to the economy.
• Studies also indicate that working later in life leads to better health and satisfaction.

Eberstadt and Hodin suggest three reforms that the United States should seek to implement:

• The current unemployment rate only measures those who are actually seeking work but cannot find it. Instead, Americans in their 60s and 70s should be considered eligible for work, and that should be incorporated into labor market indicators.
• Tax credits for firms that invest in training and education for older workers would encourage entrepreneurship among older Americans. Nearly half of all entrepreneurs in the United States are over age 45.
• Corporations should change their approach to hiring and training in order to capitalize on the skills of older workers.

Older Americans are "a great untapped economic resource," say Eberstadt and Hodin. By leveraging this resource, the United States could see another hundred years of strong economic growth.