Barron's had a couple of good articles this weekend looking at working past normal retirement age. The articles overlapped some and both covered ground that we've been talking about here for 19 years. This month will be the 19th anniversary of the original Random Roger blog. Here is one link and then here is the other.
The first article, the blue link, looks at people working into their 80's. The range of circumstances goes from an 85 year old woman who works as a greeter at Lowes who doesn't have much money and has to support one of her grandchildren to an instructor at a community college teaching technical courses related to semiconductor manufacturing.
A starting point for me is the economic need. We get told repeatedly how low 401k and IRA balances are. Harsh reality is that many people simply will not end up accumulating enough to retire in the sense of stopping work altogether. Various types of part time gigs can be the answer, it doesn't have to mean staying in a job you hate until you're 80 or dead.
We've looked at examples before where a couple who at 60 are undersaved could have a chance of catching up by working until 70 and saving much more than they have been presuming they are now mortgage free. Harsh reality is that if you're 60, have $250,000 and no visibility for meaningfully increasing your savings rate, you're going to come up short. That amount of money can certainly create an income stream but that circumstance likely would need additional income streams beyond Social Security. That could be jobs, monetizing a hobby, some sort of "passive" income or maybe something else.
I put passive in quotes there because passive still requires work to be done either by the retiree or paying someone else. Example; we have a cabin we rent out short term on Airbnb. It has to be cleaned every time of course. Either we can do it which means more money for us or we could hire someone to come clean it which would be less money for us. We clean it now but if we stick with this until we are old, we're going to need to outsource but either way, work is involved.
The second article, linked above in red, went over the benefits of working one way or another to an "old"age which are financial of course but also there's plenty there related to successful aging. The engagement, mental stimulation and the physical activity keep people healthier for longer and stave off depression and dementia.
Invariably, there will be a comment or two questioning the motive of the author to suggest working later or waiting to take Social Security in those types of articles. I don't think it is necessary for people who have what they need financially to still work but some sort of thing that gives structure, purpose and as mentioned above engagement, mental stimulation and physical activity is still crucial to aging successfully.
What things do you love doing? Whatever the answer, do those things. If they pay, fine, if not, fine. If you're reading this blog, you're less likely to need the money when the time comes but IMO, we all need the engagement and all the rest that goes with staying very active.
The housing on top of Walker Fire Engine 86 where we fill water rusted out. Three of our guys (two firefighters and our station boss) fixed it yesterday. A couple of weeks ago, one of them fabricated a new housing and then they installed it. The two firefighters are 67 and our station boss is probably 82. There were many trips up and down from the top of the truck both on the foot pegs and a ladder. All three guys are very engaged with the department. They all epitomize successful aging.
There's no money here obviously but what's the difference? The guys who are 67 (68 now?) both packtested this past spring. The packtest is a 3 mile hike in 45 minutes or less wearing a 45 pound pack that is the annual physical standard to fight a wildfire. Aside from the desire to engage with the fire department, all three have favorable body composition for aging which is to say none of them have big guts. Yes, more diet and exercise stuff from me but the odds for successful aging go way up when you avoid gaining weight as you get older. Lift weights and cut carbs.
It is never too late to solve problems or make improvements. A 60 year old who is undersaved and overweight can help themselves on both fronts. And if someone simply cannot make meaningful financial improvements in the manner outlined above, physical improvements will give more optionality for eventually addressing the financial issue later. If you get fit, you'll have more options for what you can do to keep working.
I've been preaching this here since I was 38, I'm 57 now. Some of the details have evolved as I have learned more but I've walked the walked and can tell you life is much easier when you make just a few good financial decisions early on and stay at least moderately fit. From there, life becomes far more fulfilling with active engagements beyond your day job.
No comments:
Post a Comment