Time to Retire the Idea of Retirement

[albertGQ]

I know this won't affect most of the CPers out there but interesting article here.

http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2013/10/...7988160&page=1

I know I don't want to be working past 65 at the absolute latest

[blankall]

Or better yet, baby boomers could learn to be responsible with their money and actually retire.

[Slava]

The thing is that retirement is a fairly new concept. For many of us our parents were the first generation to retire, and in some cases the second. Retirement just a few decades ago was retire at 65 and die at 70ish....now people have this ridiculous idea of retirement at 55, and living (and living as well or better than when they worked in many cases!) until 95. In other words, they will work say from 20-55 or 35 years, and support themselves for 40 years while not working. I've written about this topic fairly often actually, in part because I think the financial industry does a disservice to people here, albeit somewhat unintentionally.

I've gotten many people retired, so I say this from experience, but there are a lot of people in for some surprises if/when they get the courage to look at the numbers. People will have to change their concept of retirement, both out of necessity and because they'll want to due to lifestyle.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by blankall

Or better yet, baby boomers could learn to be responsible with their money and actually retire.

Unfortunately, it's far too late for that now. They should have started saving 30+ years ago, but the vast majority of baby boomers have little to no personal retirement investments. Consequently, they'll have no other choice but to continue working (denying career advancement opportunities and lifetime earnings to the younger generations) or use their demographic clout to vote in politicians who promise them more generous government hand-outs (also paid for by the younger generations).

[_Q_]

I have recently figured out that

A. I will only start advancing in my career when all the older folk start dying off... so in about 20-25 years (I'm 31 now, so by the time I used to dream about retiring when I was younger)
B. To compensate, I will work until I'm 85.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Unfortunately, it's far too late for that now. They should have started saving 30+ years ago, but the vast majority of baby boomers have little to no personal retirement investments. Consequently, they'll have no other choice but to continue working (denying career advancement opportunities and lifetime earnings to the younger generations) or use their demographic clout to vote in politicians who promise them more generous government hand-outs (also paid for by the younger generations).

Not if all these "Death Panels" have anything to say about it.

[8sPOT]

I have an aunt and uncle that both retired at 55. The secret is having a kick ass Oil&Gas pension from years of double income earning, and little to no debt, and savings to avoid future debt...easy peasy.

[Flamenspiel]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Unfortunately, it's far too late for that now. They should have started saving 30+ years ago, but the vast majority of baby boomers have little to no personal retirement investments. Consequently, they'll have no other choice but to continue working (denying career advancement opportunities and lifetime earnings to the younger generations) or use their demographic clout to vote in politicians who promise them more generous government hand-outs (also paid for by the younger generations).

Appreciate the advice but i am doing fine, not only that but my kid won't have to complain about it being so hard to pay for an education, so that should take care of your generation Y complaints as well!

[missdpuck]

It's scarey to think that you may work 40 years but live for 95 years.
I'm not excusing anybody, but it seems a lot of the Boomer attitude towards money is like a knee-jerk reaction to the previous generation in which, for the average working folks, money was a dirty word and investments were for the wealthier people.
Still, a lot of those folks skimped and scraped and managed to do amazingly well. With more knowledge they could've done even better.
I remeber my grandmother had no idea how much my grandfather made. On the other side of the family though, Grandma was a little more savvy.
I'm retiring early with about 2/3 of my present income. I can make up the rest by doing stuff I've always wanted to do.
I've only had a new car once. I don't buy $400 shoes (some of my coworkers do!)

However, when I look back I resent sooooo much of my spending.
Had I been smarter I would've been a millionaire by now. It wasn't impossible.

It's interesting to think of times when people were more self-sufficient. Like you just keel over one day when you're plowing the field.

[Slava]

Originally Posted by 8sPOT

I have an aunt and uncle that both retired at 55. The secret is having a kick ass Oil&Gas pension from years of double income earning, and little to no debt, and savings to avoid future debt...easy peasy.

Well it was doable, when people had defined benefit pensions and didn't have to plan for themselves. Those are harder to come by these days.

[Igster]

I'll be working until I clutch my chest and drop. Oh well...

[Dion]

Originally Posted by blankall

Or better yet, baby boomers could learn to be responsible with their money and actually retire.

Really? I happen to be a baby boomer who was and still is responsible with my money. That being said the power of compund interest and starting an RRSP early in life does open the door for retirement.

[macker]

Saw a Freedom 55 Financial advertisement on the boards at Vancouver recently and was surprised as they haven't advertised in quite some years and I thought maybe they retired that brand after Great West/Power Corp swallowed them up.

If you diligently followed all of the advice that their advisors recommend I would estimate that you could push your retirement out 10 to 20 years. Maybe the Freedom 55 advisor can retire at 55 while you wait until 65 or 75 The magic of compound interest of high MERS and buy whole life and don't invest the difference.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Flamenspiel

Appreciate the advice but i am doing fine, not only that but my kid won't have to complain about it being so hard to pay for an education, so that should take care of your generation Y complaints as well!

Your personal anecdote is not statistically significant.

Nearly half (45%) of Canadians aged 50-59 have less than $100,000 saved for retirement, and most plan to work past the traditional retirement age of 65 to make up for their failure to save appropriately.

Source: http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1023...d-keep-working

A new CIBC poll of Canadians in the heart of the baby boom (aged 50-59) shows that while retirement is just around the corner for many, they have come up short on their savings goals and plan to supplement their income by working in retirement. The poll, conducted by Leger Marketing, focused exclusively on Canadians aged 50-59, providing a unique perspective on Canada's largest demographic as they approach retirement.

Key findings of the poll include:

On average, Canadians in their 50s plan to retire at age 63, but 53 per cent say they'll keep working in retirement, with most planning to work part-time
61 per cent say they have fallen short of the savings they expected to have in their 50s
45 per cent say they have less than $100,000 put away to fund their retirement
Only about half (49 per cent) of Canadians in their 50s have met with an advisor in the last year - but those that did were feeling more positive about their finances

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by Dion

Really? I happen to be a baby boomer who was and still is responsible with my money.

Good for you. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the majority of your generation.

[puffnstuff]

Well, as a married person, and someone who has watched most of the CSI shows. My retirement plan is that I have a great life insurance policy on my significant other and a really poorly built railing at the top of the stairs...but maybe I've said too much...

[rohara66]

You're richer than you think!

[The Yen Man]

Is it that bad to work past 65? I guess it depends on the job, but I would think it'd be terribly boring to go from having a regular job to just being at home all day. Sure you can go travelling, but there's only so much travel you can do (well, at least for me anyways).

I wouldn't be surprised to be working past 65. Of course, I would hope that its out of preference rather than neccessity.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Not if all these "Death Panels" have anything to say about it.

I've heard of these but never seen one...

[Slava]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Is it that bad to work past 65? I guess it depends on the job, but I would think it'd be terribly boring to go from having a regular job to just being at home all day. Sure you can go travelling, but there's only so much travel you can do (well, at least for me anyways).

I wouldn't be surprised to be working past 65. Of course, I would hope that its out of preference rather than neccessity.

A lot of people want to work past 65, and some take on work for that exact reason. It gets them out of the house, keeps people socialized and also a few bucks isn't the worst thing ever. Travel for many retirees isn't amazing. They're old and honestly a 7 hour plane ride is less than appealing! Obviously that's not everyone, but a generalization.