Gap between expected age of retirement and actual retirement

[golden1]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/168707/average-retirement-age-rises.aspx?utm_source=WWW&utm_medium=csm&utm_campaign=syndication

This article was interesting, in that it bears out a lot of what I have seen in the workforce with older workers, that a lot of workers are "aged" out of the work force before their expected retirement age.  This sort of scares me in a way, because I see a lot of people who are in debt (especially young people with college loans) who say they will just work into their 70's or "never retire".   So they save less for retirement or defer the cost of retirement for cars, student loans, paying a mortgage etc... until they are in their 40s or 50s and lose out on so much compound interest time.  Then they end up retiring earlier than they plan to. 

[garrettld]

This is not surprising to me at all.

I work with 2 guys in their 60s, and they are THE WORST at their jobs. They're so slow that it's painful to watch, and forget about trying to get them to take on additional responsibility, understand new equipment, or use a computer for anything other than the most simple tasks.

They have a deadline on their daily work (same thing every day) that has to get done between 6am and 12pm. They struggle to meet this deadline some days. In fact, they complain as if the noon deadline is unreasonable.

Whenever anyone else covers their shift for them, the work is done by 10am at the latest. Since the work is recorded in a computer, you can simply look up the timestamp and see this. I've personally completed it before 930am. It's amazing to me that they still have jobs.

With that being said, I think my employer is simply willing to keep them around for the 3-5 more years that they're willing to work because it's easier than firing them and finding someone new.

But as time goes on they're going to get slower and slower and the employer will have to do something. It happened in my last job, it happened in the job before that, and it'll happen in my next job.

[Capsu78]

Agreed... I don't buy the "I will just have to work till I am 75..." parachute thinking one bit.  I just don't see that many 65+ folks meaningfully employed at all, at least not compared to the number of Boomers crowding into retirement "Woodstock". Outside of rare retail positions, the only ones who I see that may seem happy about it are small business owners and professionals who are simply wired to keep working... and that sure ain't all of them either!

[Jamesqf]

I work with 2 guys in their 60s, and they are THE WORST at their jobs. They're so slow that it's painful to watch, and forget about trying to get them to take on additional responsibility, understand new equipment, or use a computer for anything other than the most simple tasks.

This is bigotry, plain and simple.  I could likewise point to some fresh-out-of-college (or indeed, still in college) software engineers who write incredibly crappy code that's borderline functional at best.  But should I then conclude that ALL younger people are incompetent, based on those few examples?

[Capsu78]

Actually I do have a cousin who is in his 70's and keeps working- he is a Judge.  His brother and sisters insist he keeps going to work because if he ever retired, he would have no one to kiss his ass all day any more-  and in my family, that would most certainly be true!

[MarciaB]

But as time goes on they're going to get slower and slower and the employer will have to do something. It happened in my last job, it happened in the job before that, and it'll happen in my next job.

...and then it will happen to you...

[Catbert]

I'm not surprised about the disconnect between the age people think they'll retired and when they actually do.  Scary though for those who keep spending and spending (rather than saving and saving) thinking that they can "just work longer".  Whether it's general lay-offs, industry changes rendering them obsolete or disability many of us don't get to chose when we're out of the workforce.

On a similar vain I'm sometimes concerned by early retirees who think that they will get a decent paying, interesting part-time job after retirement or "just go back to work" if investments don't go as planned.  It'll work for some, but certainly not all. 


 

[Eric]

On a similar vain I'm sometimes concerned by early retirees who think that they will get a decent paying, interesting part-time job after retirement or "just go back to work" if investments don't go as planned.  It'll work for some, but certainly not all.

You think?  I see tons of interesting part time jobs all of the time, but I get a sense that they're open because no one can really afford to take them because they need full time money (including me).  Averaging 10 hours per week at $10 per hour is about $5K gross.  That's a pretty big supplement to mustachian level FIRE'd spending.  In fact, if you're at $20K per person, that's enough to knock your withdrawal rate down to 3% from 4%, which is a pretty big deal.

[Thegoblinchief]

My Dad is 78 and still works 40 or more hours a week, but he is the President of his company, so he falls into the hard wired category.

I know a real mixture of older folks. Some are razor sharp and others are doorknobs. Same could be said of the twentysomethings I know.

Physical fragility is more an issue than mental.

[samburger]

On a similar vain I'm sometimes concerned by early retirees who think that they will get a decent paying, interesting part-time job after retirement or "just go back to work" if investments don't go as planned.  It'll work for some, but certainly not all.

You think?  I see tons of interesting part time jobs all of the time, but I get a sense that they're open because no one can really afford to take them because they need full time money (including me)...

Seeing is very, very different from getting.

[deborah]

The problem with the original graph is that is shows people are leaving the workforce on average 4 years before they anticipate leaving it. That means they have 4 years less stache than they anticipated.

It could be you are an ER candidate, and you think don't anticipate being ER as early as you actually are. However I suspect that many of these people have physical ailments, need to become carers, or are fired and cannot get a job for the last 4 years they anticipated working. Such people may have planned to be OK, but end up not being OK.

[Ian]

Thank you for this. Any time articles about the expected age of retirement come up, I always want more facts on whether or not people in those age categories will actually have the choice to continue their work. This gives a solid start to that answer.

[TreeTired]

I don't know when I "planned" to retire...  60?   65?  66?    I didn't realize it at the time (when my last job ended),  but I retired at age 54.    What a gift that was!

[dcheesi]

I've watched this process with my brother, and with coworkers in my own industry. In my brother's case, he was at least given a cushy "early retirement" buyout package. But because of some old debts, he still needs to work, and he found it exceedingly difficult to find a new job (admittedly right after the housing crisis), despite having a very easily transferable skill-set . When he did find one, it was at a much lower level of responsibility (and pay); in fact he started out as part-time and had to wait for a full-time opening.

In general, it seems like workers in their 50's tend to get pushed out as soon there's a hiccup in corporate budgets. They're prime targets because they earn the most, and because it's assumed that they won't/can't adapt to new job requirements or technologies. But of course they also find it very difficult to find new jobs for the very same reasons, plus the assumption that they won't be around very long anyway.

One of the reasons I follow this forum, despite the fact that I enjoy my job, is that I want to have the reserves in place to be able to exit the workforce gracefully if I'm pushed out after age 50.

[oldtoyota]

On a similar vain I'm sometimes concerned by early retirees who think that they will get a decent paying, interesting part-time job after retirement or "just go back to work" if investments don't go as planned.  It'll work for some, but certainly not all.

Same here. When I see people who have "going back to work" as their fallback plan, I view them as optimistic about age discrimination.

[sol]

I would be thrilled to retire four years earlier than I expected.

(I expect to retire in less than four years.)

[Jamesqf]

I know a real mixture of older folks. Some are razor sharp and others are doorknobs. Same could be said of the twentysomethings I know.

Yeah - plus you have to remember that a certain percentage of the doorknobs in the older generations managed not to survive to become older folks :-)

Physical fragility is more an issue than mental.

Even then, it varies.  Witness my neighbor, who will hit 100 this fall.  Was out rebuilding a shed yesterday...

[oldtoyota]

I would be thrilled to retire four years earlier than I expected.

(I expect to retire in less than four years.)

I thought you wanted to keep working. Did you change your mind?

[mxt0133]

Same here. When I see people who have "going back to work" as their fallback plan, I view them as optimistic about age discrimination.

When I hear about "going back to work" I think along the lines of self-employed work.  I agree that trying to get a corporate job at a later age can result in age discrimination.  But if you are self-employed and can do the job on a contractual basis then I don't see how age will factor in that situation.

Again look at MMM's approach to 'going back to work' he never stopped working or making money.  He has the option to do things that he like and happens to get paid for it.  Now if you retire and just do nothing then yes, having to go back to work with outdated skills is not the ideal situation to be in.

[sol]

I thought you wanted to keep working. Did you change your mind?

I change my mind more often than I change my underwear.  Today's plan is top secret.

[frompa]

"I thought you wanted to keep working. Did you change your mind?"

"I change my mind more often than I change my underwear.  Today's plan is top secret."



For some reason, this exchange strikes me as hilarious.  Come on, SOL, WHAT'S THE PLAN??????