Work Wanted: Dispel the Retirement Myths That are Keeping You from the Life You Want

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. 0132354640_0 IntroductionOld Myths, New RealitiesAs a baby boomer, born between 1946 and 1964, you are likely to think differently about your future than did past generations. You are poised to enjoy a healthy active life for two or three decades after age 50 and live well into your 80s or 90s. You can look forward to many active years and a variety of unprecedented opportunities and choices for work and leisure.You will likely want to make your own choices. This requires you to challenge attitudes and practices among employers and in society that do not serve you well. As a boomer in a managerial, professional, or technical occupation, you have strengths, capabilities, and opportunities that you can leverage to advantage. Even though you may have the income to “drop out” and play golf, travel, or simply retire, you may instead want to continue your lifestyle, continue to earn income, grow your retirement assets, and sustain your fitness in order to work and enjoy other activities. You may continue working, gradually phase into retirement, switch to another company or different type of work, go back to college, or become a free agent professional (consultant, contractor, volunteer, or entrepreneur).Everyone has his or her own situations and stories to tell. Bruce and Carolyn reflect circumstances that many boomers share:Bruce is thinking about his future plans but has near-term priorities. He and his wife, Carolyn, have three children. He has been an electronics engineer with a high-tech company for 20 years and at age 55 is a highly respected expert at the top of the company’s technical career ladder. However, his salary is topped out and he expects only modest increases from here on. His annual bonuses have dropped because his division’s profits are not growing as fast as other divisions. He has thought about retiring, but the company has reduced its pension and retirement health care benefits. He has accumulated about $1 million in the savings plan (401k), but has recently seen the balances decline as the stock market has wavered. It is difficult to put away more money into savings. Carolyn has been working part time as a book keeper for a local medical practice.They have a daughter about to go to college, an older daughter attending fashion design school, and a son who recently left the Army. All three are living at home and relying on their parents for support. Mark, at age 23, returned from service in Iraq a year ago. He has found it difficult to find and keep jobs or to take college courses because of the adverse effects of prescription drugs he must take to alleviate pain resulting from injuries received. Bruce isn’t sure what their futures hold, but he knows that he’s being counted on for encouragement and financial support.Bruce enjoys his work, and especially the challenge of staying abreast of new technical advances that may enhance the company’s products. He is old enough to be looking ahead to retirement, but is expecting to stay at work in his current job, as long as he can. He was invited to join several colleagues in forming an independent engineering consulting business, but felt the financial risk was too great. He enjoys hiking and fishing in the nearby mountains with friends and maintaining his classic Ford “woodie” wagon. With his family, he devotes considerable time in church-related activities. “In five years or so, I’d like to make some changes. Carolyn and I want time to do new things together. I’ll probably keep working, but maybe part time in a smaller business. In the meantime, we’re both going to keep working and help our kids get out on their own.”The Boomer GenerationBoomers feel responsible for shaping their futures. Overall, boomers have been forceful in shaping their destiny in the past and are likely to shape the nature of work and retirement to meet their new goals. Accordingly, you will not be alone in pursuing opportunities t