What If You Can’t Afford To Retire?

““Cessation of work is not accompanied by cessation of expenses.”” – Cato the Elder (2nd centuryB.C.)

Aging baby boomers are starting to realize that there is very little chance most of them will be able to retire at 55 or 65 and live off their savings. That’s because most of those closing in on retirement don’t have enough saved. A recent survey conducted by The Insured Retirement Institute found the following:

* Only 60 percent of baby boomers report having any retirement savings
* 36 percent said they plan to retire at 70 or later
* 27 percent are confident they will have enough for retirement

The survey found that 27 percent of baby boomers are confident they will have enough money to last through their retirement, down from 33 percent a year ago and 37 percent in 2011. Only 6 in 10 boomers report having any retirement savings, down from roughly 8 in 10 in previous surveys.

Of those who were willing to answer, about 40% have an investable net worth of less than $50,000, 60% less than $100,000, and 80% less than $250,000.

If you figure on making 6% on your money, this means fewer that one out of five Americans who are nearing retirement age have the wherewithal to enjoy a passive retirement income of more than $15,000.

How well can you live on $15,000 a year?

And it’s only getting worse. During the Great Recession, government numbers showed that Americans were in a net spending rather than saving mode. Fortunately, that has turned around but the vast majority of Americans are not rich enough to retire and they are getting less rich every year.

I'’ve made the argument that retirement,– the idea of not working, of living off passive income – was a short-lived phenomenon in this country. It was sold to us by the government and by the banking and the insurance industries, yet it only worked (and only partially) for one complete generation:– the parents of the baby boomers, who benefited from the appreciation of their homes.

Other than that, most Americans have worked most of their lives,– just as most Europeans, most Asians, and most Africans have done since recorded history.

Still, it’'s a great fantasy and one you should not give up on entirely.

If you work hard and invest your savings, you can still retire comfortably. But you’'ll have to do those things over a long period of time,– which you may not have. (Or you’'ll have to get lucky, which you shouldn'’t count on.)

But even if you are able to stop working and live off your savings, retirement may turn out to be less than the wonderful experience you’ve imagined. A former colleague of mine retired with a personal net worth in excess of $20 million about five years ago. Since that time, he has done everything you can do in retirement:– traveled the world, spent time with his family, played a lot of golf, etc. But the other day, he pulled me aside and said, “Ray, let’s do something together. I’ve got to get my blood moving again.”

He wasn’t talking about golf. And he’s not alone. The golf courses of America are full of lonely retirees fantasizing about the good old days when they were involved in something meaningful.

And they are right. There is nothing more rewarding than working on something you think is important. And there’'s nothing less satisfying than whiling away your time with distractions, waiting for your body to shut down.

Someone smart once told me that they should invent a new period of life for Americans today. After the working years, there should be something called the Semi-Retirement or Post-Daily Grind or the Golden Working Years, during which you get to (a) do something you really enjoy doing, (b) do it as many hours as you wish, and (c) get paid good money for doing it.

In the Internet age, I believe this is going to be possible for many of us,– and it will definitely be possible for you if you start planning on it now. It doesn’t matter if you are 55 or 35, there is a way to shift the course of what you are doing now toward some rewarding activity that meets all your needs:– intellectual, physical, emotional, and financial.

The trick is to do work that you love. And it may be that the work you are doing now isn’t lovable. A  Rutgers University study found that 70% of those asked would be OK with working into their “retirement years” if they could find some part-time work they could do outside of their current employment.

Work that’s enjoyable (probably something different from what you are doing now) and work that can be done part-time (20-30 hours a week). Does 't that sound like good “unretirement” work to you?

Let’s add two more qualifications:

* The work should be in a desirable location.

* It should enable you to associate with agreeable people.

That meets my three standards –to enjoy what you do, where you do it, and with whom you do it.  

If you can find work that meets those requirements and pays you a reasonable financial reward, you will probably be very happy to forget about retirement altogether,– at least for a while.

In future messages we will talk about how to go about finding such work. Right now, I'’d like you to think about it. What would you do if you could do anything? Where would you do it? What kind of working relationships would suit you best?

It may be that you will decide to become a free-lance copywriter. Or maybe you will work as an Internet artist, or a cyberspace interior decorator. Your love of horticulture may be transformed into a part-time source of income for you. Anything is possible.$

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