When I was a kid, my parents worked hard. Even at a young age, I could tell. My dad would wake up extra early, often before the sun rose, to prepare for work. My mother would do the same, often leaving just as my school bus arrived. They didn’t always work late, but they worked long enough days that required me to go to daycare or an afterschool program for many years. And even when I was old enough to be home alone after school, I was expected to help out and do a few chores before they got home.
It wasn’t until after high school that I came to appreciate how hard they worked to provide for their family. So, a few years back when they finally got a chance to retire, I gladly celebrated with them. They had more than earned the opportunity to stop working, enjoy their golden years, and dedicate their time to someone other than their employer.
Since then, I can’t deny they’ve made retirement look very enticing. My father, who once woke up at the crack of dawn every morning, now regularly sleeps in past 8:00 a.m. My mother, who spent decades working in an office and navigating rush-hour traffic, now spends her mornings in a bath robe drinking tea and reading the paper.
They don’t worry about what their clients, supervisors, colleagues, or customers will throw at them next.
They don’t worry about driving through rush-hour traffic, agonizing over deadlines, or dreading their next performance review.
Retired life is just life, as they see fit. And I’m glad they have a chance to enjoy it because not everyone gets that chance. And after a spike during the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer people are retiring. Their reasons for doing so vary, but each passing year seems to bring more challenges to retirement. There are even some influential voices who scoff at the very idea of retirement altogether.
In many ways, I consider myself lucky. Unlike many of my peers, I don’t have any student loan debt. I managed to pay that off by living at home during a good chunk of my 20s and basically dedicating over half my paychecks for my first job towards paying it down. That, alone, puts me in a very small percentile of people in my age range.
But even without my student loan debt, I’m not at all certain my current retirement plans will allow me to retire the same way my parents did. And even if I did, I’m not sure how long that plan would last for me when accounting for inflation, economic trends, and the never-ending political battle over social security.
If I were to retire at 67, which is the age in which Americans my age qualify for full social security benefits, I would probably be fine for a few years. The money I’ve saved, the lifestyle I enjoy, and the monthly costs in my general area would be manageable.
However, if there’s a major economic downturn, as there often in any given decade, or a significant bump in inflation, which happens regularly on a global scale, then my current retirement plan would not be sustainable after a number of years. I would either have to get more benefits from the government, spend more of my savings, or find another way to earn money.
None of those options are more than temporary solutions, nor are they as appealing as my parents’ retired life. At the moment, I don’t know and can’t know how viable my retirement plan is in the long run. I also have to assume that I’m not going to strike it rich at any point in the future. Short of winning the lottery, becoming a best-selling author, or seeing my YouTube channel explode in popularity, I just don’t think such wealth is in the cards for me.
I still have many productive years ahead of me. And I don’t doubt for a second the world will be a very different place by the time I’m nearing retirement age. For all I know, artificial intelligence will have completely reshaped the economy in ways I cannot begin to imagine.
Advances in biotechnology might ensure people like me don’t have to worry about the ravages of old age. Something like that is sure to further complicate any plans for retirement. I’m sure there are many wealthy, well-connected people who would love nothing more than to have workforce that stays young, healthy, and able to work for decades if not centuries on end. If that somehow becomes the norm by the time I reach retirement age, then something will have gone horribly wrong with the world and retirement would be the last thing on my mind.
But for now, I’m not going to work under the assumption that advanced AI or biotechnology will create a wholly utopian world where nobody has to work, no matter their age. And even if that technology does exist in some form, I’m not going to assume I’ll be in a position to take advantage of it before the rich and well-connected.
Again, I don’t know what the next 30 years has in store for the world. I don’t even know what things will be like 5 years from now. But I honestly would like to retire at some point. I would like to enjoy my golden years as much as my parents, not having to build a good chunk of my week around work. I’m currently planning and saving as best I can to give me that chance.
Will those plans ultimately pan out as I hope? Only time will tell.
I’m certainly hoping for the best and I’m working just as hard for it. But I’m also bracing for the worst. I just hope it doesn’t take the form of me working until my dying breath.
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