There has been a big flap lately about the government ‘forcing’ people to keep working until they are older instead of letting them retire at 60 or 65. Got me to wondering.
Look how long we live now (baring the killer problems that can arise from obesity, tobacco, over indulgence in alcohol and drugs and the odd car wreck or drive by shooting) as opposed to way back when ever this age was selected for retirement. Way back then when the dinosaurs ruled the earth you were really old when you hit 60. You were maybe five to ten years max away from falling down dead from old age.
Now, 60 is the new 50! Or so they tell me, 40 is the new 30! By and large this is true as folks are generally healthier and more active at the advanced age of 60 or 65 than they were when the retirement age was set.
Retirement, according to Wikipedia, “is the point where a person stops employment completely.” Who really does that now? I’ll not go into the “who can afford to do that now!?” question. Even folks who can afford to just stop working completely usually find something else to do now days simply because they are not only still physically able to work but because they simply get bored stiff sitting at home and after a while even the ol’ fishin’ hole or the garden can loose it’s appeal especially on a constant basis. Personally, I’ve even gotten bored reading a few times. Might be because I’ve been having to re-read books because of not having enough extra to buy new ones but let’s not get into that. It is what the library’s for anyway.
The point I keep meandering away from is this: if you actually like your job, are good at it, and in good enough health to keep doing it, why the heck should you have to retire? Yeah, yeah, I know. To make way for the up and coming next generation with their new ideas and willingness to change. Ha!
My opinion is the main reason most employers want to dump older employee’s, and sometimes find reasons other than retirement to do so, is because they tend to make more money than the younger, fresh hires, and are also more likely to actually use the medical insurance the company may be providing. Indeed, it may only be the older employees, working under an old contract, that even have medical insurance in this day and age.
Frankly it may be time for us old farts, umm, I mean retired persons, to do something wild and wickedly wonderful. Even those of us who are disabled in one way or another. Maybe we should, as 60 is the new 50, start our own small businesses. What have we got to loose?
Yeah, I know. Our shirts, our homes, our IRA or 401k, maybe even our social security benefits or disability pay. Thing is folks, I’m not all that sure we’ll be getting those nice little (emphasis on that word ‘little’) government pay checks that much longer anyway. And with the way the economy itself seems to be headed, along with the price of energy, we may be loosing our shirts, homes and retirement plans anyway.
Why do I say start up small businesses? Because I really don’t believe many of the local and bigger businesses will hire those of us who are or are near retirement for much more than minimum wage. Of course minimum wage is better than no wage. However, I’m sure that most folks who’ve lived long enough to retire also have all kinds of ideas on how to do a number of things better, and they still have the energy to carry it off.
Having your own business has got to be better and more fun than being a greater at one of the big box retailers anyway. Doesn't it?
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