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Not planning on retirement is OK
Tim Eavenson
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TEXT OF COMMENTARY
Kai Ryssdal: It's early yet to know exactly what the collective loss of wealth is going to mean for us all. But some things are going to have to change, retirements among them. Some people are going to have to stop working later than they'd planned or, perhaps, not retire at all. Commentator Tim Eavenson says he'd be OK with that.
Tim Eavenson: I'm fairly convinced that retirement is a scant possibility for me, but that's not so bad. At age 28, I am fully prepared to work until my dying day. I can't afford to contribute to a 401(k) because I don't have any income left over at the end of the month. I have approximately zero in savings and $200,000 in student loan debt. I do believe that Social Security's going to last a while, but not until I am 75, or 85, or whatever they change the retirement age to by the middle of the 21st century.
Honestly, what I'm hoping for right now -- my best-case scenario -- is that I can make a little more down the road, and pay off my loans before my kids turn 18 so I can get them through college, and sock enough away to become a part-time counsel somewhere when I'm older.
I'm not bitter. Honestly, the concept of retirement seems a little selfish to me. I mean, expecting to retire is a luxury just a few generations old -- it's not exactly the entitlement people like to call it. I would happily give it up in exchange for some other benefits. For example, I would love it if the government could somehow fold Social Security money, if there is any, into funding for single-payer health care. I'd work until my hands fell off if I knew my son could go to the doctor and we wouldn't have to file for bankruptcy.
Plus, if I didn't have to think about affordable health insurance, I'd have more freedom in choosing where to work, instead of my plan now, which is to get into the biggest corporate mega-firm possible so I can insure my family for under $1,000 a month.
I mean, money is meant to be used to make us happy anyway, right? Why would I want to wait until I was in my 70's to be happy? If I ever have enough money to put away, I think I'd put it to use. I'd rather feel the pride of watching my kids graduate, knowing they won't be saddled with the debt that I had. Or take vacations with my wife in our youth. Or actually pay off a mortgage. You know, crazy stuff like that.
Kai Ryssdal: Tim Eavenson is an attorney in Chicago, Ill. He
writes about labor law when he's not lamenting retirement.
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Interesting comments by Mr. Eavenson and commenters.
My first reaction is to confirm something I have noticed in my ten years in Washington, DC, that the current college-aged generation has borrowed a lot to finance their very expensive higher education. This is a major trend, what will the impacts be? Is this trend occuring just in the USA is it the same in other societies or generations? What have been the imopascts? Also, who is making money on this arrangement?
But his comments speak to the larger issue of the inter-generational equity. During this period of change, it will be interesting to see how (or if) we can reform the expectations of each generation. And how we navigate the fairness issue, and allow for a better understanding of our legacies on the future workers. As a non-baby boomer, I like the concept of making sure that each generation pays for their own legacies!
Your "best-case scenario? -- is that you can make a little more down the road, and pay off your loans before your kids turn 18 so you can get them through college?"
Amazing! The fact that you rack up 200K in debt before even starting your career tells me you don't understand how that debt is robbing your future. Considering the probable cost of a home along with other costs of lifestyle choices, it appears you'll have more going out than coming in for many years; the very anthema to achieving wealth and financial security.
If you currently can't save for your retirement because of your lifestyle and debt, you're not going to be able help your kids through college, because you have to start their education saving now.
Though parents can help with their childrens' education, their primary responsibility is to plan for themselves in order to not be a burden, in their old age, to their children.
I recommend that you meet with a financial planner and get your priorities and plans in order before any of your many assumptions go awry.
You are absolutely right that I have luxuries because of my career choice (an office job, the possibility of part-time status later) and that there are so many people for whom working indefinitely is physically not an option. What I said was strictly limited to my own circumstances, and I’d hate for anyone to think I was preaching to them that they shouldn’t plan on retiring.
My point was not even that I don’t want to retire – it was only that after focusing on some other things (paying off debt and getting kids through college), I’m not sure if retirement will be an option for me, and I’m okay with that. But I would never begrudge anyone else – especially someone doing back-breaking or labor-intensive work – their ability to retire.
You said, "At age 28, I am fully prepared to work until my dying day." Let's hear what you say after you've worked for 30 or 40 or more years--but not at a lawyer's salary; try it at minimum wage or even at a middle class salary. Try it after the privatizing of retirement savings plans and then watching what you have invested in your IRA or 401K plan for 20+ years disappear because the private companies got "irresponsible." Or try it after you have paid into a state retirement fund for years and then legislation lowers or cuts your benefits. You may not be so willing to dismiss retirement then. Try it when you have survived cancer and its treatments while still having to work and then being unable to retire or cut back on work without losing health insurance. Try working until you die with hands gnarled by arthritis, hips and knees in need of replacement, poor memory, failing eyesight, hearing loss, or any of the other aspects of aging that make working harder or put you risk of mandatory retirement and job loss. You are too young for this topic.
@Robert Clark: comment guidelines include the warning: "Personal attacks, profanity and general harassing attitudes will not be tolerated." I hope the moderator pulls your message.
@Tim: Thanks, I don't believe in retirement myself or the entitlement mentality that is often in conjunction with it. I do think it is wise to prepare for whatever may come up in the future, however, as you say, there are many reasons to put the money to good use now. It would be a shame to horde our earnings and later self indulge for a decade or more while our children struggle to pay their bills and our neighbors miss house payments.
Mr. Eavenson, I am sorry you have such a doom lookout for your retirement. At the age of 28, you still have many years to put together some type of retirement plan. Although you have some good thoughts about health care, I want to bring out a point of which I disagree.
• We live in a society in which we pay way to much attendion to a diploma and not the education. Although I firmly believe in a good education, I do not think a diploma is the everything. Getting a college that takes 20 years to payoff or lands you a $8.00 per hour job, does not seem to be something of a good choice. I see too many people, both young and old adults get a degree and still have no common sense or passion for what they do in life. Find your PASSION.
When I first read your article, I laughed at the thought of paying $200,000 for an education that landed me a job that would take me 18-20 years to pay off, wow. I would try and get a refund.
Back to your comment, if you start laying out a good BUDGET, you will be able to to put together a retirement plan. I can give you one piece of FREE advice. A book by David Ramsey, current cost $20.00. When you are done with the book, give it to your Dean.
Tim, I can guarantee you that you have no idea about what you are talking about. Wanting to work and being able to, are two very different things. You seem to think that your body and mind are going to stay the same, and that you will have the choices you have now. As you pass through the decades ahead, the understanding will be made clearer and clearer. And as you pass the 60 bench mark, think back to when you wrote this, and I am certain that you will just have to shake your head and admit, you know he was right, I had no clue…
Too late I realized that, because I am an artist, there IS no retirement. Have you ever heard of any artist who
did retire - before he died? But what I wouldn't give to know I could see a
doctor about my arthritis and not have to worry about sticker shock. Forget
retirement: I can keep painting and writing. But please give me reasonably affordable medical care.
While Mr. Eavenson may have the luxury of a middle lass office job, I will not be able to preform my job until the day I die due to the heat, heavy lifting and 11 hour days of artisan baking. His ignorance of the fact that there are people who work with their bodies to produce the goods that everyone uses is outrageous. shame on him for undermining this workers safety net. If the world he is contemplating should come to be I for one hope that my limbs will hold out, and that death comes swiftly.
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