Is Retirement Really a Fading Goal?

Reader Comments
Back to blog

I think that retirement will be seen by the Boomers as a sentence to decline and premature death. To live a long, healthy life, one must be mentally and physically active to the end.
Whether we like it or not, the moribund economy is doing most of those of us nearing retirement age a favor. We must find ways to remain healthy and alert in order to continue supporting ourselves. Staying out of the lethal clutches of the disease management industry must be a major objective in that goal.
Of course those who must exert themselves physically to work will need more supplemental care and assistance than those whose exertions are mainly brain power.

MetaCynic of IL 9:02PM November 02, 2009

We know things will change as we grow older. Many of us will move to cities in which mass transit will reduce the need for so many cars. Others will move into assisted living facilities so we won't need to cook or do dishes. These facilities offer mini-gyms that make regular exercize easier and it's always easy to get into a game of bridge or canasta. With Net-Flix, we can watch all the movies we want to.
I have visited family and friends for dinner at assisted living facilities on several occasions and the food was excellent. Best of all, I was a visitor and wasn't allowed to pick up the tab!
From what I have read, the boomers who are approaching retirement age are expected to be more aactive and aggressive than previous generations of retirees. I'm not at all worried about "death panels" and bureaucrats telling our doctors how to treat us. There are too many of us and most of us have children who won't tolerate such nonsense.
Congress is working on a bill that will eliminate the donut hole in Medicare starting next year. That will be a major benefit for the elderly who need multiple prescription drugs.
I have a few years to go before retirement, but I am really looking forward to it. I just hope we can pay for it.

Scott of FL 6:26PM November 02, 2009

One thing remains constant. The overinflated egos of the boomer generation continue to rage unabated.

Anon of CA 3:12PM November 02, 2009

Will there be a shortage of home care assistance professionals?
Will there be a shortage of physicians trained in alzheimers and cardiology?
Some folks will drive slower as they age. Those highways will be more fun.
At age 60=70mph at age 70= 60mph at age 80= 50mph at age 90 = 40mph.
Some will lose some vision level causing reduced ability to stay in the driving lanes.
McDonalds or International House of Pancakes will need some patience as some folks forget what they ordered (I've witnessed this).
But, as other posters have said, boomers are going to fool us all in the end. I also am one of those who experienced getting the lottery number 25 and off to Vietnam and Cambodia. That experience provided me with a world wide view.

Ken of MD Nov 1st, 2009 of MD 8:21PM November 01, 2009

As a Draftee in the 60's, and retiring as an Army Officer in the 90's, I am currently employed in the Gulf of Mexico working 12 hour shifts 180 miles off shore. Why? I ask "Why Not". I am healthy,in good shape, I am educated, and bring life experiences and leadership to the table. Sure, I may not be as fast and agile as the typical 23 year old, however, I can hang in there 'till the job is done. If if it get's tough my ethics won't let me quit. How much longer will I continue to work? Certainly between my retirement and social security, I do not need to continue to work. However, work keeps me "young". It allows me to interact and be a contributor (I sure pay a lot of taxes),and yes I feel like I am still learning and growing all the time. I will continue working as long as there is a balance in my life. A balance of time. Time for the self, the family and all the things you do to make life what it is.

Rob de Gruiter of MS 11:51AM October 31, 2009

The comments so far just go to show that the nation's largest generation is as diverse as the rest of the country. The materialists then are materialists now. The activists then are activists now. But we're more seasoned. And this is not your father's retiree cohort.
I took "early retirement" at age 56, to go to seminary and launch a third career (first -- high school teacher, second -- journalist, third -- clergy.) Turns out, many folks in my denomination are a lot less comfortable with a 60-something-new-minister-fresh-from-seminary than I expected.
I agree with a previous post: we will survive. And I plan to do so with my values and integrity intact.
Count on this: the boomer generation will change society's assumptions in ways that none of us expect or can predict.
(Have a blessed day).

Virginia of MO 11:45AM October 30, 2009

We bought the American Dream. Graduate, get your diploma, hook-up with a big, good, strong company like: G.E. Electric, Boeing, Consolidated Freightways, American Airlines, or any other large manufacturing company. Work for 25 or 30 years and stick with it, work hard, play by the rules and retire with a pension and medical benefits. WRONG! By the time we reached retirement age these companies and more laid you off, filed bankruptcy, or just plain downsized and you were flushed down the drain and the carpet was jerked out from under you. So you figure that your blessed retirement is gone and your future is working until death do you part but we will survive because we are survivors.

Sue of TX 10:55AM October 30, 2009

From what I have seen of my friends, in the same age group as myself (1952-1956), some older than I; no one is retiring any time soon. We intend to keep right on working to 80-85, and there will be plenty of jobs to do, yes, even at 80. If we have to, we will create them. We are a very productive group and love to keep busy and yes, very materialistic!! Therefore, money will flow....ideas will be invented to supply this ongoing game. While there are some of us that believe this little depression was invented to keep the baby-boomers from retiring at all (too much tax money to be lost) they are inventing ways to escape the game, some have moved to other countries and lots and lots of them live in caravans as vagabonds, communal groups, traveling the world by motorhomes, trailers in tow and even tents. Non-players, off the grid, so to speak. Some still working and some not. Baby-boomers are very creative and will make their own rules. New game-on!!

joy Starling of VA 10:08AM October 30, 2009

Since the Baby Boomers haven't reached full retirement age yet - 66 - I think its a bit premature to find they are going to find some way to retire no matter the economy. Review this again in 10 years and see. The people born in the 1950's were NOT even part of the anti-Vietnam, anti-material movement. They were too young. Instead, check out the generation born between 1940-1949. The media is always inventing certain demographic cohorts to prove that Baby Boomers are this way, or Baby Boomers were that way. Yada Yada Yada. Enough already. There were a few thousand real political activitists in the 1960's, also a bunch of pot-smoking, free loving hippies who weren't political ly active who liked to wear blue jeans, smoke dope and listen to rock music. These were a tiny minority of people born between 1946-1964.

Betty of CA 4:36PM October 29, 2009

Job loss...Been there. Done that. Yep, still 'there'. And retirement is a lost dream.
For me, losing my job was one of those defining moments in life. I knew I had a choice: I could choose to lose my way (my mind) or rise to the challenge and follow what my Spirit tells me to do, always remembering that I am more than a statistic on the news.
I'll share with you what I was told the day I got "set free" (laid off) from my job: "This is a new chapter in your life. WRITE ONE HELL OF A CHAPTER!" And I did just that! Will you?
So if you just need a break from the doom and gloom, let me send you a FREE book download...no strings attached, really!
Sign up now: www.noexpertsneeded.com
Yes, times are tough, but it doesn't mean that we can't still 'give back' to one another. Sharing my story is simply my way...
take care,
Louise Lewis, author
No Experts Needed: The Meaning of Life According to You!
www.noexpertsneeded.com

Louise Lewis, author of CA 3:09PM October 14, 2009