The retirement landscape is changing in America, and most of the news is less than positive. However, by redefining retirement, life could actually get better for our future senior citizens. Hold that thought – we will return to it in a minute.
First the Dreary News About Retirement…
-
Pensions are passé.
The days are gone forever when an employee worked for the same company his entire career and retired with a lifetime pension. Industry can no longer afford such extravagances and even government workers are giving up pension benefits as state and local governments nationwide are struggling with huge budget deficits.
-
The 401(k) is “iffy”.
I am a huge proponent of the 401(k) because it forces us take responsibility for our futures. However, with a struggling economy, many companies have cut back or eliminated their match. Without the match, employees are less prone to contribute, thus amplifying retirement shortfalls.
-
The future of the market is shaky.
Whichever retirement vehicle one uses, if it is dependent on positive stock market returns, the fragility of the market gives little assurance that an investor can depend on having achieved his desired nest egg by his projected retirement date – or hang on to it once retired.
-
Social Security is under funded.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner recently announced that for the first time in 30 years, Social Security will pay more than it takes in this year. Those who run Social Security predict the program will go into the red permanently by 2015 and will run out of money in 2037 unless dramatic changes are made. So if you are young, social security may not be around when you retire or you might need to be 70 to get it.
How Could All of This Possibly Be Good?
Good question. Let’s start by rethinking retirement. Realistically, a life of leisure may not happen for you. But this is not bad. This study indicates that when people retire with little to do, their life expectancy plummets. Why? Evidently work gives people purpose, and people without purpose don’t live as long.
-
Living your purpose is good.
Reality is that you may need to continue earning an income at a more advanced age than you had previously thought. Therefore, instead of viewing work as drudgery, now is the time to dovetail work and purpose. After all, if you are going to be doing it anyway, why not be doing something that you are gifted at, something that you love, something that meets a need in others’ lives and something that gives you purpose. Your life will have a new vitality and you will not only live longer; you will live better.
-
Developing ingenuity is good.
With your retirement future hazy, you should develop as many income streams as you know how. This doesn’t mean working 100 hours a week, but it does mean becoming more innovative. The more income streams (active and passive) you have, the more likely you are to find one or two that you are passionate about and therefore will want to continue later in life. Yes, you need ingenuity, but that is a good thing.
-
Serving others is good.
“What?” you say, “You challenge me to find my purpose and develop my ingenuity. Now you say I need to be serving others. This is overwhelming!”
My response is that you don’t serve others in addition to your purpose and your ingenuity. I believe that your purpose will include serving others. You weren’t put here on earth to live for yourself. A truly prosperous life is one focused on others, not yourself.
Jesus’ mission statement was to serve others:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, for He has anointed Me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come. ” Luke 4: 18-19
The apostle Paul’s life was likewise about serving others. When confronted with death, he pronounced:
“I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.” (Philippians 1:25)
Concluding thoughts
Realistically, your retirement might not come exactly as you schedule it. However, this is not all bad. If you make plans now to find your purpose, become ingenious about your income streams and make serving others a high priority, you will live a good, long, fulfilling life.
What does retirement mean to you? Do you need to redefine your retirement? In what ways?
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Sometimes I think the whole idea of having a nest egg to fall back on when we retire makes us a little lazy. After all, if we’re still breathing then we’re not retired from the plans God has for us. I think we all should go through the exercise of imagining what our retirement years will look like. Uncertain economic times provides a catalyst for us to do just that. Great post.
Today was the exact day I needed to read this! Thank you so much.
Joe – This is a fantastic post. I wish more people would begin to think about their future and the possibility of needing to work longer. The key to what you have written is to discover a purpose in the work you do. Granted that could mean changing careers or maybe even becoming self-employed. God has given us all talents, discover what your natural talents are and turning that into a way to produce income, yes I agree there are a lot of opportunities to do the work you love that also helps others in some way. The saying is true, if your “work” is something you love to do, you will never really work a day in your life, therefore you will continue to “work” later in life because it is what you love to do. Thank you so much for this post.
Loved this article, Joe!
I am not nearing retirement age (yet!) but I agree with the idea of working within your purpose, even later in life. I hope to be serving God well into advanced age! Living on less during your earlier years can be a great way to add up savings for later. This is also a great way to adjust your lifestyle while you are in your prime- if you can live contentedly on less while working, doing so in retirement years will be a piece of cake. We at http://www.minimumwageprosperity.org are using that practice this year!
@Brad,
Right! A nest egg in and of itself is not bad, but when it becomes one’s all in all retirement plan, it can supersede one’s purpose for living.
@Kathleen,
You are welcome.
@Kim,
You get it. When we do what we love, work will not seem like work at all. Yet so many spend a lifetime seemingly enslaved to something they hate. Wouldn’t it be a shame to get to the end of life only to look back and reflect on how many years we allowed drudgery to be our mantra? It is time to break free.
@Maryanne,
I love the challenge (and the purpose of this challenge) that you and your family have taken upon yourselves for this one year. Keep us posted on how it goes. Other readers: click Maryannes’ link to see what I am talking about.
By the way, I AM retirement age and life, for me, is full of challenges and adventures. I hope that never changes.
I love reading your articles! I always feel the motivation to make a change for the positive. These two sentences stood out to me above all the others:
“You weren’t put here on earth to live for yourself. A truly prosperous life is one focused on others, not yourself.”
None of us know how long we will live on this earth, that’s why it is so important to make every moment count. Thanks Joe for reminding us to keep what is truly important in our main focus when we think about and plan for retirement.
Jessica,
Thank you! I truly appreciate the encouraging words.