There’s a lot of bunk going on about retirement.
They often describe it as the “golden years.”
Harrumph.
I don’t know about you but I’ve worked too hard for my retirement to let my retirement wishes be described as “golden.”
I have mountains to climb. On my mountain bike. Seas to sail. On a cruise ship. And rivers to forge. In quest of trout.
I bet you’re the same. Maybe your hobbies and favorite activities are different but I bet you have a lot of things you want to do, places to see, things to do before you settle into those golden years. If ever.
A secure, comfortable retirement is every person’s dream. And these days because we’re living longer and healthier lives than ever before, we can expect to spend more time in retirement than our parents and grandparents did.
Historically, retirement was a stage of life that few people lived long enough to experience or enjoy. In the early 1900′s century, the average life expectancy was 47 years. As a result, most people worked until they became too sick to continue. And there were not a lot of lingering deaths. Because today’s level of medical knowledge and carw as unknown and unavailable, the majority of people died quickly of acute illness. Overall, the time spent in retirement was only seven percent of adulthood, or about 3 years.
That’s all changed now. Today, the average life span is 78. That means the retirement years are a long and potentially fulfilling part of life. And the influx of new retirees is embracing it wholeheartedly. By 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65+, and will comprise 20-25% of the US population,
What do they plan on doing? Consider these facts, as reveled by a combination of reports and studies, including the U.S. Census, Merrill Lynch, the Cornell University Employment and Family
Careers Institute and the MacArthur Foundation:
- 59% of retirees plan to relocate
- 26 % plan to stay in their current home immediately after retirement, and then move
- 70% saw retirement as a time to stay active and “begin a new chapter” while 28% see it as a time to take it easy
- 67% of boomers surveyed say their happiness and satisfaction in retirement will come from family, friends, and fitness
- Only 22 % of those 55+ see retirement as a “winding down” or an extended vacation
- Those surveyed shortly before retirement give their reason for retirement as “to do other things”
That doesn’t mean all is bliss out there in retirement land. There’s a reality check we better take. It’s not so easy out there away from the job. Inflation, recession, high medical costs, taxes and a myriad of challenges and problems threaten to turn retirement dreams into a nightmare. Since the great economic downfall began around 2004, many have delayed their retirements. Many others have found those paid-for homes they were counting on to boost their assets aren’t worth nearly as much as had been expected.
While we’ll blog and post articles and news reports about these ongoing factors, the thrust of this blog is devoted to enjoying your retirement, however best you can. The best advice we can give you is from Harry Emerson Fosdick, a great preacher at the turn of the last century, who said: “Don’t simply retire from something; have something to retire to.”
If never before, retirement is a time to plan, be prudent and carefully weigh all the options our new non-working status brings.
We hope we can help here at Our Time Now. Browse our many articles and blog posts. If there’s a retirement issue we haven’t tackled, we want to know about it. Feel free to email us your questions, comments and suggestions.
Above all, we want your retirement years to be all that you have worked for.
After all, it’s Our Time Now.
