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These days, many Americans are looking at retirement differently — even to the point of dismissing it entirely and planning to work indefinitely. Unfortunately, they may be in for a rude awakening if things don’t go as planned.
Recent research from The Pew Charitable Trusts found that one in five Americans never plans to retire , and 53% reported that they plan on doing something other than a “traditional retirement,” when one stops working altogether.
That leaves only 26% who plan on a conventional retirement (which I would characterize as "sitting with his feet up on the porch with an iced tea in his hand ... when he isn’t traveling").
The idea of an easy fun-filled “working retirement” may be a fantasy. The reality is there are high demands on today’s workforce that differ sharply from the idea of working a “dream job” well into retirement.
Deloitte Consulting's Global Human Capital Trends survey showed that 65% of executives believe that the “overwhelmed employee,” affected by too much information, too many meetings, and a 24/7 work culture, are an “urgent” or “important” trend.
If you work in a demanding field, you may be able to handle it just fine today. Stress-wise, however, you may find out later that you don’t want to work past traditional retirement age. Health-wise, you may not be able to work. Energy-wise, you may want to spend your energy elsewhere rather than addressing the demands of a rapid-fire, 24/7 workplace.
A "working retirement" may have the benefits of intellectual stimulation, delaying having to tap your investments, and a paycheck. But you may find that once you reach the normal retirement age of 65 or 66, these benefits might not outweigh your desire to retire completely. If you've planned on “working” as an income stream in retirement, you may have sold yourself short.
It may be easy to imagine yourself continuing to work for years to come. But in reality, like with everything in life, there are many factors that you cannot control.
Planning to keep working probably isn’t the safest choice for your retirement Plan A. If it is, be sure to have a different Plan B in case things don’t work out how you expected.
