This study starts with the assumption that Americans should retire at age 65, which is to say that despite massive changes in health, life expectancy, productivity, and the fundamental nature of work as we shift from the physically demanding manufacture of real goods to a service economy, we should be using the same definition of "retirement age" as our grandparents used.
Exactly, when Social Security was started it was expected that you would live into your early 60's, nowadays the average is about 75 and it's common to live past 80. Yet the retirement age has change very little in the last 70 years.
Anecdotally I know quite a few people who are still working well into their seventies, all of them working construction in some form. (I spent several summers working for a remodeling firm so my sample is somewhat biased) But these guys are working in a physically demanding job, and doing it by choice. Sure they cannot do as much as they used to be able to but they are certainly doing enough to be productive. They all work part time, regularly go away for weekends, vacations, etc. and working just enough to make money and enjoy their life.
It's very possible to have the relaxed lifestyle that people look forward to in retirement without having to completely stop working, regardless of your job, but especially these days where, as you noted, most people work in a service economy.
Sitting around and doing nothing (or driving around the country in an RV, etc.) is the most depressing thing I can think of doing. I hope when I'm >65 I am still working, if not in an operational role, in some kind of investor or advisory role.
Retirement from a physically demanding job makes sense when you can't do that job any more, but enduring a job/life you hate, just to reach (hopefully) retirement and finally enjoy life, really seems like the wrong model.
You are correct, but is a goal like mine (taper off working gradually) even possible? I dunno, because it's 30+ years away, but it would be nice to not have to work 40-50 hours a week, and then one day stop working all together.
So social security is going to go bust and the markets are losing people money, how is a 20-something techie to build funds for retirement? Go back to stashing hard earned cash in a fireproof safe? Never plan on retiring?
20 something? Invest aggressively, see the fact that many markets have lost (and are still loosing to a lesser extent) as an opportunity and invest. The market as a whole is likely to improve over time and this could even be seen as a good thing for the younger investers buying in now.
This is not really a problem for the 20somethings. It is a problem for the 50-60 somethings. Many of them were still invested aggressively instead of shifting to more conservative options as retirment approached. This recession was also so widespread that even many invested in relatively cautious positions have lost huge amounts.
Meta: why would anyone upvote a comment that suggests there might not be any vehicle for savings and investment outside of "fireproof safes" and "compulsory government retirement contributions"? I say this as a proponent of Social Security.
