Retirement Rite Turns Wrong For Some
Professor David Demko, PhD
AgeVenture News Service
Retirement is one of Aging America's unquestioned truths, a rite of passage from the world of work to the world of .... well, that's what I want to talk to you about. Maybe it's time to re-think retirement. After all, it's not always the rewarding experience that retirees are told to expect. In fact, retirement has become a rite turn that sometimes goes way, way wrong. Like vacationers who discover that they've fallen into a tourist trap, some retirees are starting to say, "This doesn't look anything like the brochure". In fact, the American way of retirement sometimes reads like a bad novel "Time and Punishment". These are the thoughts that led me to write a column,
"Retirement Doesn't Work".
My advice ... "don't do it". At least, don't retire until you have something to retire to. Something that keeps you looking forward to life. A reason to get up and out of bed each morning. As I've often said, "Those who don't long to live, don't live too long". At any rate, after writing the column, I received a number of responses from readers across the country. Responses that can best be described as "all over the scale". Some saw my advice as genius, a real "head" for retirement. Others agreed that I did indeed have "a head", but speculated it was stuck some where in the sand. I'll start by sharing the letter I received from one of the retirees who agreed with me, and conclude with two notes from readers who have their own thoughts on retirement.
READER B.G.R. wrote, DEAR DAVE:
"How right you are !!! I opted to take early retirement after 29 years of working for the State. I turned 50 on December 23 and that was the last day I worked. Oh, I had a GREAT plan. I've always loved animals. I thought I'd get a job with a vet (just as a kennel attendant) or at a kennel -- almost anything to work with animals. It didn't happen. No one would hire me. So after being out of work for 2 months I started looking into anything I could.
We have a local grocery story here that is among the best 16 places to work in the country so I put in an application. I was given a job to begin February 16. I was on my way February 12 to do the final paper work when I was involved in a very serious car accident. My car was demolished (thankfully,not my fault, but that doesn't make it hurt less!) Needless to say I lost the job. So since February my life has entailed doctors, medications, and sitting alone in my apartment missing my job and my friends from work and the structure it provided.
Fortunately, I get a good pension from the State as well as good health benefits. But I really liked my job. The only reason I left was to pursue my life-long dream of working with animals. Also financially, with my pension and a part time job I would have been making more than I made working. So it seemed like the right choice. How was I to know that no one would hire me in the animal world or that I would be in such a bad accident and stuck home alone day after day getting more and more depressed. Sorry for the life story. I just wanted you to know how very RIGHT you were!"
READER S.M. wrote, DEAR DR. DEMKO:
"We are young retirees...middle 50's.....the greatest part of retirement is we are living by OUR rules....probably, the 1st time in our life! We can do anything we want, anytime we want...within our budget....and it is fun being creative when our budget does not allow it...I think that we are being brainwashed to think that a "job" is the only valuable and worthwhile position in life. I feel sad for those who cannot retire...we ALL deserve it!"
READER O.R.E. wrote:
Dear David: "Sounds great. Except, how do you overcome age discrimination, the most massive, pervasive, subtle and difficult to prove form of job discrimination? To deny that this is so, is almost as bad as insisting that the Earth is really flat."
This last reader made an interesting point. Age discrimination can push an employee out of the workplace, then once he's out, it can keep him from re-entering the world of work, especially when he finds retirement sometimes doesn't look anything like the brochure.
See related articles in AgeVenture Lifestyle.
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
David Demko reports on lifestyle issues and trends in Aging America.
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demko@demko.com
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