Retire From The Job Not From Life

As we age we start preparing for retirement – and that is fine.

But retirement is not a natural process and for some people retiring is a living nightmare. So the first question to ask is ‘Have I got good health’ and the second question should be’ Can I afford to retire’ and the third and most important is ‘Why should I retire?’

Unlike most food products we do not have a ‘use by’ date stamped on our body so there is no need to retire at sixty five or at any other age for that matter. If we are happy doing what we have done why should we stop now?

The old saying of ‘use it or lose it’ is very relevant to the retired and the less we do now the less we will want to do in the future. The saying applies to everything we do in life.

So the key thing to a long and happy life is to do what you enjoy doing and then keep on doing it for as long as physically and mentally possible.

We will also show later that all humans are living longer, both male and female, though females do have the edge as they tend to live a bit longer for various reasons, some of which are difficult to fathom, but may be biological.

So just because the start age for the pension and most superannuation schemes is sixty five at the moment why stop working?

We will also show later that if the job is stressing us out there is no reason to stop work. In other words ‘dump the job, but keep the work.’ There are heaps of opportunities for part time work and home based employment.

In past years most males stopped work about the early to mid sixties but they mostly only lived for another five years so there were very good reasons to slow down as their life expectancy was about seventy or less. How many men do you know over seventy – probably most of your life time friends and relatives have reached this age, so this proves the point.

You should remember that we are a new generation of baby boomers which has had the best medical care system in the world and with the latest medical advances and sensible and healthy living we can continue living for many years. And employers are starting to realise the folly of dumping older workers who have loads of experience can work smarter, and have all learnt all the tricks of their trade. To lay them off at sixty is a great waste of talent and experience!

There is another serious problem with retiring early. This is that we have an aging population which is costing the taxpayers a fortune in national – and at the moment universal – entitlement in pensions. How long can we expect the country to subsidize this older age group and potential work force? 

It is only a matter of time before the start date for pensions will be advanced to sixty seven or later and probably in the next decade the pension will be means tested. This has been the case in most Western countries, including Australia for some years, so why would New Zealand treat its older citizens differently? And why should wealthy citizens get automatic entitlement to a very generous pension scheme, when they probably already have a private superannuation or pension scheme and investments which will keep them and their families in luxury until they die? This is a world wide problem and does not apply just to our aging population.

The old argument that ‘we have all paid our taxes’ does not wash when the wealthy have always exploited the loop holes in the taxation system – and we will show you how easy it is to do this on the chapter later about companies and family trusts.

The main issue is responsibility and how to live an enjoyable and happy life.

We are all responsible for the way we live our life, and also for the financial implications which come with a longer and better quality of life.

Accept that unless we stand up to the plate and start preparing for the future the balance of our lifetime – whether it is five years or fifty – may not be as we would wish it. The aim of my book “Preparing for Retirement Today” is to show you how to improve your lifestyle and your future.