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| "Old and young" by Mikhail Nesterov (1862-1942) |
Given this dramatic demographic change, is it a mistake to “cling to the notion of retirement at sixty-five—a reasonable notion when those over sixty-five were a tiny percentage of the population but increasingly untenable as they approach 20 percent” (36)?
Thinking about my dad (who is 65), I am grateful that he is able to retire within the next year. His current job exhausts him and I know it's poorly affecting his health, probably greatly lowering his lifespan. I understand that the older population is rapidly growing, but that doesn't change the health limitations of old age. In my opinion, if retirement isn't an option at age 65 then the average lifespan in our country will drop greatly. Perhaps a gradual retirement would be a better option.
ReplyDeleteYes even lowering the age of retirement could help. I believe even with labor laws preventing us from working to much is in motion we are still dangering our health and possibly our relationships with others. People are reminded to take a bit of a break from time to time. I stay firm to this notion. The US is a beautiful nation that strives for maximum health and a long life full of happiness and success. This is true but we need to make sure that regulations and laws that continue to keep us safe and secure are used and are constantly getting better. I agree with you with very much Linzi.
DeleteMy tennis coach was sixty-six when he retired this year. We had believed it to be good timing not only due to our team's success this year, but because he had gotten old enough to where we were concerned about his ability to withstand the heat on the court with us. In that case, retirement available at age sixty-five sounded perfect. One may argue, however, that those with indoor jobs that are of lower health risk don't need to retire as early as those with more strenuous careers. So, what if the retirement age varied according to career? It's difficult to try to place a blanket number that defines a worker's ability to do their job.
DeleteAs I read more of these post I am seeing different view points of this topic. I don't actually think that there is a "retirement age", but our country seems to pin point 65 as the acceptable age in which someone can stop working and began their "golden years". So I believe it really matters on the person and if their health doesn't prevent it.
DeleteI agree that Americans generally believe that 65 is the ideal age for retirement. However, economic changes have made this more difficult. Many are left with little choice but to postpone their retirement due to financial disadvantages. I think that if this trend continues, Society's idea of an ideal "retirement age" will be gradually pushed back due to sheer necessity.
DeleteI can understand all the different views on this topic. I agree with the other responses, it is hard to place a specific number on retirement. There are so many things that have to be considered such as: job, health, work environment, and many other factors. I agree with you Linzi, I think a gradual retirement would be a great option!
DeleteI believe a lot of people want to retire early. Sometimes they do not because of a strong work ethic or simple boredom, but most want to retire before they think of themselves as too old to do the things they want to do. People want to have a little money saved up so that they can travel, or buy a boat, or whatever they want to do. However, with the recent health care and standards of living the percent of those over 65 is growing. More companies are having to raise the age or years of work to reach retirement. This is a major strain on those working because even though you are still alive, your body is still eventually going to fail you. Your body is not meant to do physical labor after so many years. At one time this age was considered 65 but with recent developments it is being questioned for an older age. I agree with Linzi Thompson that a gradual retirement sounds like a great idea.
ReplyDeleteTyler your opinion on this question is based on achieving life- long wants and dreams. This is on the mind of many older people and its common among senior citizens too. Why not save up money to use for your leisure during the last years of your life? It only makes sense and hopefully by working enough during your lifetime you can do so.
DeleteIn someways, I do believe that we shouldn't cling to the idea of retirement when we are 65. I understand that there are people out there that will be unable to work by that age or even sooner. Some people are just more fragile and easily worn out at this age. However, there are people in the world who are still able to do hard labor after the age of 65. For example, my grandpa is over the retirement age of 65, and he still has a job in construction. It may not be fantastic for his body since he has hypertension, but he loves his job. I know that he will have to retire at some point, but he wants to keep supporting his wife and himself for as long as he can. As Linzi Thompson stated, gradual retirement may be better for humans as they age, there will be some people that just plain out refuse to retire, and you can't exactly force a person to quit just because they are old.
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother is 64 and because of her troublesome mobility problems she is not able to teach any more like she used to. Overtime she began to lose her long-term memory and she started to misplace certain object such as; her phone and her keys. She doesn't live in a nursing home, but instead she lives with my papa (grandma) and my aunt. I do see where you are coming from though- some people are able to stick with their jobs longer than you would expect them too. My grandpa probably could if he didn't use all his energy and time into taking care of my handi-capped aunt. My grandmother just couldn't keep working, but she sure misses it time to time though.
DeleteVery interesting that you brought that up though!! For people that are able to work beyond the age of 65, how long do you think they should work till they retire? Do you think it varies depending on the person and the health they have or do you think that there is an "average" age?
DeleteHonestly I think how long a person is able to work depends on how well they are able to manage themselves. Like my grandpa, he has good control over his needs. He takes his medication when he's supposed to, he doesn't overexert himself, his family helps him when they can. However there are some stubborn people who absolutely refuse the use of medication and it makes them unable to keep working. There are also people that are just to debilitated to do steady jobs that require hard physical labor. By debilitated I mean that they have severe arthritis, difficultly breathing, short-term memory problems, and problems getting around in general. I don't believe that a person should stop working just because they are 65, I think they should work as long as they can if they really want to continue their line of work. It should be their choice if they have the ability and the desire to keep their job.
DeleteAs what I know about my grandmother I see that holding onto the notion of 65 is a mistake. My grandmother is retired at the age of 64, but she probably would've been able to work more if she didn't not start at the age of 12. Her work ethics were great but when she did labor she worked way too hard due to her being a perfectionist. I believe that through time we as people will learn from our ancestors and try to lay off from hurting ourselves through hard and adamantine working methods. It is important to know that you can retire whenever you are financially stable enough or when your body/ health can no longer take on implacable labor.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it is a bad thing to “cling to the notion of retirement at 65”. Many people are very unhappy in their jobs, and retirement is one of the only things that get them through the day. For them, retirement serves as an “escape”. I think it is a common belief that people who are happy in their careers want to continue to work for as long as possible, which is true for some people. However, there are some who, although they love their job, want to spend their time in ways that they choose. Retirement allows people to travel and visit family without having to work around a job schedule.
ReplyDeleteRetirement is evolving into a more broad and great idea. This is what I mean by this. About fifty years ago we would never have expected such an idea as retirement being a greatly discussed topic. Nowadays you could retire as soon as your economically stable and healthy. Thus the age of 65 could even be decreased. But then we see those that have to work their whole lives to even form a stable amount of money in their bank account to even consider retiring. So I imagine in the near future that people will give retirement more thinking and pondering at very young ages. Retirement is no longer a concept that you think about when your old but actually you can now think of it as a life-long commitment (saving funds as soon as you can work).
DeleteThe thing about retirement is that people have a choice. Nobody is forced to retire at the age of 65; they can continue to work if they wish to. There are different kinds of jobs that can have different effects on the human body. For instance, a job that involves hard labor and it located outside poses higher health risks for an individual than an inside job that involves typing at a computer. I believe that the retirement age should remain at 65 because some people are more fragile than others and some people have harder jobs than others. Also, a reason that our lifespan is increasing is because we allow people to retire at the age of 65! We let them rest and enjoy the rest of their lives, rather than working them until they’re at the breaking point.
ReplyDeleteThus we see another major problem in our country arise. We see a "furthering" and outstretching of the retirement age. And like you said there are many jobs that impact the human body in different ways. I believe that some jobs/careers can probably well last in the late seventies or early eighties. But others don't allow this and we must wake up to this fact before we hurt and worsen any possible disability or health problem that the aged person has. But I think it is all based on well you are off health wise, economically, and socially (achieving what you wanted out of the job).
DeleteI have a grandfather entering his seventies who continues to work, and claims he has no desire to stop working in the near future. This mindset seems to be increasingly common. It appears that there is a rising trend among this generation in which people are opting to remain active in their careers for longer stints of time some continuing to work through their mid-to-late seventies. There is a growing mindset that one's ability to actively earn an income and make a personal contribution to society is key to maintaining one's personal identity. People tend to base their self-worth on their ability to maintain a productive career.
ReplyDeleteDue to economic complications, many find it difficult to retire in their mid-sixties. Many people end up taking part-time jobs to make up for the expenses that retirement checks can't cover. Many would prefer to remain in their original career field for a while longer, rather than retire at the expense of potential financial struggle throughout their later years.
--Tyler Rhoades
I want to discuss a little about what you last talked about. Economically we need to understand that people are not all on the same "pay check" so to speak. Doctor's are probably more financially secure at the age of 65 than a teacher. But also that doctor might want to continue contribution and time into their profession due to a personal self-worth and identity. People are diverse and sometimes money isn't the root reason for retiring but instead money and being finically protected enables the person to not quit their job but keep with their job. Wanting to either share their wealth with family or grow upon what they already have.
DeleteYou make a great point. I suppose one's reasons for how they leave a career are comparable to why they enter it in the first place. The size of the paycheck is definitely an element of the decision-making process, but it ultimately boils down to one's personal passions and priorities.
DeleteMy grandfather, who has been of retiring age for a few years now, still refuses to do it just yet. He claims that he wants to keep working because that is what he enjoys and what he wants to do. Holding onto the notion that 65 is the end of somebody's working life and contribution to society is a mistake, because you can't put a value on somebody's experiences. If somebody who is old enough to retire hasn't they will be bombarded by questions and pressure to go ahead and retire, from both colleagues, friends, and family. Not everybody is willing to do that though, whether it be from financial reasons or personal reasons, many people wish to keep working, and we shouldn't take away somebody's ability to live life the way they want too.
ReplyDeleteI like your point that some people prefer to continue to work in their old age, and in my opinion, if they are willing and able to continue working, then they should be able to do so. While I agree that holding on to 65 as the set retirement age is an unrealistic standard, I do wonder what the best option is as far as retirement age, because it does have to be taken into consideration that old age can cause health problems that may lead people to retire, whether they want to or not.
Delete-Amanda Kramer
While I do not believe the notion of retiring at the age of sixty-five to be a bad thing, I do believe it is becoming less of a practical decision for most aging Americans. As more individuals begin to draw from Social Security, it becomes more and more apparent that the monetary input of younger generations is not enough to sustain the needs of the elderly. Countless numbers of retired citizens wake up every day faced with the decision of whether to purchase food or prescriptions, as they only have money for one or the other.
ReplyDeleteAs the population gap between the young and the old continues to close, these financial problems will only increase. Unless a solution is formed to meet the financial needs of retired citizens, be it through increased Social Security checks, private funding, or gradual retirement, I believe there will come a day when work exhaustion kills more individuals than disease or old age. Retiring at sixty-five is becoming more impractical with each passing day.
Currently, the answer would be no. Even though we have been able to help with most of the side-effects of aging through medicine, surgery, and other forms of what could be referred to as “troubleshooting” from a human perspective. However, if someday it were possible to slow the latter part of aging through the replacement of lost stem cells, direct DNA alterations (which could involve hyper-sleep and machines that would correct DNA based on a copy that was made before significant damage had been done, maybe late 20s, or 30s), or through the transformation of nearly the entire human body into machinery (while most things could be seen as a relatively easy transition, such as legs being replaced with hydraulic systems of sorts or veins by wires and transmitters, parts such as the brain might prove to be difficult to replace, due to its central role in holding an individual’s identity and up keeping consciousness),then it would be fit to increase the age at which retirement starts, as most would be able to live much longer without the inevitable and slow deterioration we know of and accept as "getting old" in society today.
ReplyDeleteLowering the retirement age would only put more of a strain on social programs like Social Security, Medicare, etc. Once people retire, they often look to these government programs as a steady source of income. These programs are already struggling due to the Baby Boomer generation.
ReplyDeleteMany people struggle with retirement for financial reasons. I have two sets of grandparents. The first set didn't have well-paying jobs, but they were very frugal with their money. They were constantly saving for their retirement, always investing it. When it came time for them to retire, they were living off of the interest of their money. Even to this day, they make more money off of interest than they can use.
The second set weren't as frugal. They spent money as soon as they received it. My grandfather was in the Navy. After he retired, he sold his benefits. They did not put hardly anything away for retirement. Even to this day (at the ripe age of 67), they are both still working Monday through Friday. On the bright side, they plan on finally retiring in December. Both situations have taught me financial lessons.
In my opinion, it is hard to set an appropriate date for everyone’s retirement when we are all so different. Some of us will live to one hundred and others to eighty. One person gets fifteen years of retirement and the other gets thirty five. It is harder to set a retirement date in this day and age when the elderly make up such a large percentage of the population. It takes tolls on working class people to pay for the retirement of those who weren’t capable or smart enough to have retirement plans or save enough money. At the same time, though, we think of ourselves as a country that offers equal benefits and opportunities to everyone, so who are we to say Jim Bob can retire at age sixty five because he has arthritis but Sally Sue seems fine so she can’t retire until seventy five. It is a hard line to draw and today’s society makes it even harder.
ReplyDeleteLaura N.