F I N AN CE
YOU’LL
NEVER RETIRE
...& THAT’S A GOOD THING
R
Retiring at 65 is much too conventional, so don’t do it.
Guys who’ve looked after themselves and managed to
avoid chronic health problems like diabetes are living far
longer than their parents, and maintaining mental acuity
well into their 80s. What’s more, medical experts are
calling for increasing numbers of Baby Boomers and Gen
X-ers to live past 100.
So why waste 20 or more years on retirement? A
person can only play so much golf, and unless you
have a bankroll that can fund endless travel or multiple
vacation homes in exotic locations, you’re going to be
bored. Very bored.
Retirement is for the nearly dead
Most people don’t realize how arbitrary the age 65
retirement number is, nor how sinister the thinking behind
its selection.
Way back in the 1880s, German Chancellor Otto Von
Bismarck was facing a lot of civil unrest from Marxists who
were agitating across Europe and spurring his countrymen
to call for socialist reforms. To placate their demands,
Bismarck put together a plan for his government to
contribute to a national pension system for older Germans
who didn’t have jobs.
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HO T
RUS S I AN
BRI D ES®
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Specifically it was meant to cover those who had been
disabled, or were lifelong invalids who required state care.
Initially, the German government established 70 as the
age at which people would begin receiving benefits, but
then lowered it to 65 after Bismarck died.
The reason? The majority of 19th Century Germans
died before or shortly after their 65th birthdays, which
saved the government the trouble of having to pay out
pensions to most of its population. Before the turn of the
20th Century, a 55-year-old man was, quite simply, old and
could expect to die inside of 15 years.
By the time the U.S. established the Social Security
Administration during the Great Depression, age 65 had
become a worldwide norm for mandatory retirement.
You’re not old, not even close
Today, a 55-year-old man is downright youthful and can
expect to go at least 20 years before experiencing any
serious declines in health.
There are also important economic considerations.
During the past 25 years, according to the Center for
Retirement Research in Boston, the age at which people
experience their peak earnings has shifted. In 1985,
workers hit their career and wage peaks in their 40s; but by
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