Study: Retirement at 65 no longer realistic for many

Standing behind the hurdlers can't be a bad way to go.

 

You're both absolutely right.

With today's life span, a 65 year old retirment age is unrealistic. But, age discrimination is rampant. Being out of work right now is tough. I can't imagine being out of work at 60-years-old.

And, while I know I can get preachy and that it annoys people, this is why determining your own fate is so important.

If you own your own business, no one can lay you off at 65. You can continue working or, if you've been successful,you have a business you can sell.

My dad is 78. He still works 6 days a week. But he has no real hobbies and he enjoys his work. It's mentally stimulating and he gets to mentor younger worker.

For many years he & a partner owned their own law firm. Now, each of their sons has taken over the firm and my dad works for my brother.

If your current field is not very welcoming to older employees, start thinking now about what your second career will be, or think about what business you might be able to start form your kitchen table or your garage.

 

Because what the country really needs is 100 million small businesses. Economies of scale? Pshaw.

 

They toss aside the 50+ workforce because the the wages they make. At my (soon to be former) employer, we have people celebrating 40 year anniversaries on a regular basis. They've received so many raises over the years (some merit, some not) that they become too expensive. Why pay a claims processor with 30 years experience $60K/year when you can get the same effectiveness from someone with 5 years experience making $35K?

Not saying people should turn down raises, but the old way of doing business no longer works. It's basically been a pyramid scheme that's imploding upon itself.

 

Study: Retirement at 65 no longer realistic for (any) sportswriters

Fixed.

 

Last I checked, profits are still rising. That claims processor is almost certainly working for a company that has raised its premiums far beyond the level of inflation. That claims processor is also almost certainly working for a company that is paying its CEO a salary that has grown at a significantly higher rate over the same time period than the rate at which the claims processor's salary has grown.

If the "old way of doing business" of actually, like, paying people to work "doesn't work anymore," perhaps that suggests a flaw with the *new* way of doing business, not the old one.

 

But at the same time, people's health degenerates more as they get older. While there are a lot of medical advances, still, 65 is 65.

 

Desk, I'm not suggesting 100 million small businesses.

I shared this advice with the couple of hundred folks on SportsJournalists.com who will read it. And, only a small percentage of those who read it will take the advice.

It's not a solution to every economic woe we face as a society.

But, the handful of people who follow the advice will be better off than those who don't.

 

"Will be better off" is an awfully difficult guarantee to maintain, even if you ignore the fact that 90% of new businesses fail in the first year.

 

I'm someone considering taking that step. While I can't fire myself, my clients certainly can.

There's risk in any endeavor. Whether you own your own business or work for someone else, there are no guarantees anywhere.

 

OK. No guarantee.

But, the 90% figure is incredibly misleading.

Most of those businesses had no chance at succeeding because they were dumb ideas or they never even attempted to get off the ground.

Also, there's no shame in failure. Not every business requires you to risk your life's savings. Mine didn't.

The local right wing talk radio station I listen to has a paving company as a sponsor:

http://www.rabinepaving.com/RabinePaving/About.aspx

Their recent add told of how the owner started it by going door to door knocking on the doors of homes with damaged, cracked driveways.

It's brilliant. His target audience was readily identifiable, and he could spend the money to do the job after he already had the sale.

It's a big business now.

Ever lock your keys in your car? I did a couple of months ago.

The guy I called showed up and with a couple of special tools he had my door open in literally less that 60 seconds.

I forget what I paid, but I know it was over $100. So, of course I picked the guy's brain. He said he does between 5 and 12 jobs per day.

He works from home. Drives his won car. His investment is some tools, some google advertising, and some licensing/ bonding/insurance.

Anybody on this board could start that business in the next three months. It wouldn't take much money and if it failed, you wouldn't lose much money.

There are lots of service businesses like this that are in demand and don't require a lot of start up capitol.

Hell, Homer Simpson made coin plowing driveways.

 

Until the sun came out and melted the snow, and his plow got repossessed.

(I had the same experience with locking my keys in the car, though. Better than a dollar per second.)