• Home
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Policy
  • Guest Post
  • Archive

One Cent At A Time

A Personal finance blog to get rich

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Beautiful Life
  • Becoming Rich
  • Beginners Guide
  • Extra Income
  • Productivity
  • Saving Money

Retirement in 21st Century

December 1, 2013 5 Comments

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email

Retirement, as i have come to know from my childhood, consisted leisure and fun activities. The first picture I can remember of a happy retiree is that of a couple sipping on drinks sitting on a beach chair and looking at the sea. I always wanted to do social and community work in my retirement part from fulfilling my hobbies of travelling, photography, etc.

Retirement preparedness

Working during retirement to earn a living never came across my mind. I even thought about early retirement option. But, today as I see it around me, in this country, growing number of workers continue to work in their retirement. And as per various study and trend analyses done,  this phenomenon will only increase over time.

Welcome to 21st century retirement scene. Where people would not really have a retirement phase in their life.

How will it look like?

  • 20% of workers aged 50+ does a job today; 75% of workers aged 50+ is expected to have retirement jobs in the future.
  • People work in retirement for a variety of reasons, including the opportunity to earn more money and uncertainty over social security, inflation or lack of family support.
  • Rising mortality and improving medical care will enable people extend their work-ability beyond retirement age
  • Advent of internet and new age jobs that require less physical activity and even ability to work from home will make working in old age a lot easier. Which does include self-employment option.

As per the surveys conducted, many working in retirement are satisfied. Nearly half of those have no retirement plans in place and they are not planning to quit any time soon either. Almost 10% of respondents stated they wanted to work till they die.

Is working in retirement likely to continue?

If I just think about my situation here. I have a challenging job which requires me to be online almost 12 -13 hours a day. I have option to work at home on as many days I wish. We have people in offshore location such as India and China who work in the same project and do the similar job as I do.

Yes, this job requires a lot of mental exercise and application, which a 70-year-old might have difficulty coping with, for hours a day. But if they can there’s nothing that can stop them. So When I cross my retirement age, I surely can continue some sort of work as I am doing today. Even if I will work with 40 -50% efficiency compared to today, I’ll still be able to manage sizable chunk. plus the experience I’ll gain by then will be enormous.

So, why should I stop if I can earn 50% of what I am earning today working from remote (vacation) places and working with similar efficiency and intensity as working from office cubicle?

I expect that we may be witnessing a new cultural phenomenon related to aging and work, working in retirement is becoming the “new normal.”

Why to retire if we continue to work?

Because, it’s not certain if your expertise would still be relevant in job world by the time you are approaching 60. I am using Java technology, object-oriented languages and web application to do my day-to-day job. If tomorrow new technologies makes developers job redundant, what should I be doing? Quit my job and trying other fields!

Yes, I’d be retiring from my software development job and switch over to something new which I can continue to do, enjoy doing and my health permits me to do.

What are the implications for employers?

It is going to be beneficial for employers as well. Pool of eligible workers will increase. The competition to get the job may bring down the salary as well. They may want to recruit young dynamic employees in management positions but, the positions where retention of knowledge is required may go largely to more experienced senior employee.

Companies may start allowing more and more work at home positions. healthcare cost for the employers may increase but the depth of knowledge these old workers may bring in would offset that cost.

Today when a 60 years old retires he/she takes a wealth of knowledge away from the company, that can be prevented by offering ever more flexible work for those employees.

Conclusion

21st century is bringing in a new sets of rules, where people are no longer trying to “go up the ladder”. Quality of life and flexibility is the new essence. Ease of stress and job satisfaction matters most. Our generation no longer work for the same company throughout the life. We do not stick to same company and same department and wait for our turn to be promoted when everyone else, senior to us, either retires or get promoted.

We switch companies, based on the pay we get, perks we get and quality of life the work and work place brings to us. We even switch between departments in search of better growth option or even to get rid of a difficult boss (to be very honest).

We know we will be able to work long, even beyond 60 -70 years of age. So, we do not just go on working days in and days out. We enjoy life while working our very best. We take regular vacations, we visit places. We party hard and work harder.

We do not wait for retirement to happen, we finish up on our bucket list whenever we can. I already put together my thoughts and reasons to not retire early, if you want to know more.

I guess this is not just my opinion, you can resonate with me as well. Do write a comment about what you feel about your life and your retirement.

LIKE THIS POST?
I agree to have my personal information transfered to MailChimp ( more information )
Join our community of 8000+ subscribers to increase your net worth and build wealth
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Email
The tool that changed the way I manage my personal finance - Personal Capital, The Best Free Personal Finance Tool

Want to start a WordPress blog now? The onecentatatime.com blog is hosted by Siteground Web Hosting. For only $3.95 a month, Siteground can help you set up and host your website/blog quickly and easily.

About the Blogger Hi I am SB, a personal finance enthusiast with a career in software development. I am an immigrant to the USA since 2005, after being born and brought up in India. This 40 something technocrat lives and breathes personal finance whenever he gets time from the day job, job as a husband and a dad

Some links on this page may be affiliate links, if you make a purchase following the links, I may earn a commission. Read affiliate disclosure here
« Things to Consider Before Starting Business
Some Ways to Maximize Coupon Benefits »

Comments

  1. kathryn says

    December 1, 2013 at 8:41 PM

    My husband and I retired 3 years ago, at age 46 &50.We split our time between Australia (where he is from) and Canada (where I am from).
    During our adult working lives, we saved, scrimped, did without, made do, on lots of things so we could retire early. Most people won’t do that. We dont qualify for any government pension, because we are too young.
    We took equity from our home and used it for deposits on rental houses. Now we have an income for life. Don’t care if we ever get a government pension, because we never counted on it.
    We live a comfortable life, not extravagant, but within our means.

    Reply
    • SB says

      December 2, 2013 at 1:00 AM

      That’s very good to hear Kathryn. Glad you two are living comfortable life now even after retiring so early. But do you love this life more than when you were working and usually were sorrounded by lots of people, friends, new challenges, etc? Don’t you miss those things now?

      Reply
  2. Moneycone says

    December 2, 2013 at 11:02 AM

    One advice I have is don’t count your social security when planning your retirement. Plan without it while you are still working.

    Reply
    • SB says

      December 2, 2013 at 10:13 PM

      absolutely right. Given the current depleting situation we should not bank on Social security at all.

      Reply
  3. Jonathan Cowan @ Pensas.co says

    December 5, 2013 at 12:59 PM

    The older I get the less concerned I am about retiring. If you enjoy working then why consider it! My view is 1) choose to work in something you really enjoy 2) Follow a prudent long term investment plan to protect you if ill health physically stops you from working 3) Work on your golf game in case you change your mind and do retire. Some of the happiest people I know are the ones who refuse to retire!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.



Create your own blog in 20 minutes and $20

Personal Capital, a free tool to change your financial health today

I use and suggest Upstart, for your personal loan need

CreditKarma, a free tool to check your credit scorey

I use Coinbase, for my crypto investments

101 Cents at a Time

101 Ways to Earn Extra Money on the Side
201 Frugal and Perfect Birthday Gifts
101 Ways to Save Money Everyday
101 Ways to be Better and Successful at Work
101 Ways to Save Environment and Energy
101 Frugal and Romantic Anniversary Ideas
101 Low-Cost Men's Fashion Ideas
101 Personal Finance Tips
101 Ways to Reuse Household Stuff
101 Things to Do, When Nothing to Do
101 College Graduation Gift Ideas
100 Tips for Ecommerce Startup
101 Ways to Enjoy Indoor During Winter
101 Ways to Beat Procrastination

Popular Posts

Quick Cash - How to make $100 legally, in a day
Living well on less than $15,000 a Year
Top survey sites for side income
What to do when auto repair goes wrong
Where should I invest my money now?
20 Ways to be productive and happy at work
51 Ways to get out of debt
Be a better person in 15 days, 15 ways
Income ideas for retirees and senior citizens
51 side jobs for college students
Urgently need a large amount of money?
Should I buy or should I rent?
Best Personal loan providers
25 Ways to save environment
25 DIY car repairs to save money
How to decorate office cubicle
How to show your wife you care
50 Financial Rules for Success
51 Frugal weekend family activity ideas
Become Rich By Saving 1 Hour Of Daily Wage
How much do I need to save for retirement?
How to negotiate your salary

Follow us on FaceBook

About Author

SB

Blogger by choice and IT manager by profession. Finance is my passion and gardening is my greatest satisfaction. Born in India, settled in US, Husband and a father. I created this blog in 2011 with a vision to help others. Thanks for your patronage. More info on my "about" page.

View all posts


Subscribe

Join our community of 5000+ subscribers to increase net worth and build wealth

Advertisements

Personal Stories

How I got a new HP computer replaced
Was COVID circulating in USA in fall of 2019?
How my credit score went up 800+
Why I didn’t invest in Bitcoins
How I controlled impulses to buy things
Why this blog is named One Cent at a Time

Subscribe via Email

Site Disclaimer

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in this web site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Read full Affiliate disclosure


One Cent at a Time is published by SB. The opinions expressed herein by him are his own and not those of his employer or anyone else. All content on One Cent at a Time is for entertainment purposes only. By reading this blog, you agree that SB and/or One Cent at a Time is not responsible for any actions taken after reading this blog. For the full disclaimer, click here .

Major Media Mention

One Cent at a Time Media Appearances

Copyright © 2023 One Cent At A Time · Designed by Nuts and Bolts Media