| Sargent & Lundy Savings Investment Plan |
| RETIREMENT MYTHS |
| The following excerpts are from an
article in the July 1996 "AAII Journal",
prepared by the American Association of Individual
Investors. The opinions of the author, Michael E.
Leonetti, may or may reflect those of the SIP Committee.
"Some people spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they do their retirement." - Anonymous Retirement is a passage from one lifestyle to another. I often describe the term "retire" by placing a hyphen between the "e" and "t" and creating a new term - re-tire: To put on new treads. Those who take the voyage seriously and do the right kind of planning usually have smoother trip and more fun. Discussions with seasoned retirees indicate that there are many myths and misconceptions about retirement. Often you will hear these myths stated as fact. Here are some of the most common ones: The Piece of Cake Myth Retirement should be the dessert that follows the full-course meal of earlier life. Maybe this is why pre-retirees view the transition as a piece of cake. Many pre-retirees are so occupied with getting out of their career traps that they leave their jobs. Despite the fact that they have planned other phases of their lives, they seem to feel retirement will take care of itself. The opposite is often true. The "Honey, Do..." Myth The word has been out for years that some men put off retirement because they fear their wives will control their free house. It will be, "Honey, do the dishes," "Honey, do the windows," and "Honey, take the dog to the vet." Normally, these individuals need not worry because most women don't want someone under foot, monitoring their activities and invading their space. Spouses need the same autonomy after retirement that they did before. The Hobby Myth One individual tells the story of a man so concerned about retirement that he experimented with hobbies in advance. By the time he retired, he had run through his hobby possibilities and had to find something more substantial to occupy his time. The same thing can happen after retirement. Few people create a complete new lifestyle around hobbies. The Retirement\Early Death Myth We have all known people who are not around long after their retirement parties. The unhappy scenario causes strange reactions - "It's too bad Joe didn't work longer," "The moment people retire they grow old, or "I'd still have Fred if he hadn't retired so early." Retirement can be painful, but is not lethal. Most people who die shortly after retirement probably had health problems before they stopped working. Retirement had nothing to do with their demise. The only connection between retirement and early death may be that some retirees fail to keep active. They relax to the point that their bodies self-destruct. There are many reasons for retiring early, and there are just as many for retiring later. But staying on the treadmill because you fear retirement will cause early death should not be one of them. The Prior Success\Easy Passage Myth It stands to reason that those people who are successful before retirement should find retirement easier to copy with than those who did not do as well. Success breeds success; failure breeds failure. True? Absolutely false! If fact, it often works the other way around. Those who earned high psychic rewards from their careers may have trouble finding replacements after retirement. It may be difficult to find a retirement role that provides enough ego satisfaction. The Paid-Up Dues Myth Some conscientious individuals who have worked hard all their lives feel they are home free when they retire. These people operate under the premise that you pay your dues during working years and then draw interest. A nice dream, but sadly, life doesn't work that way. In fact, happy retirees often pay more dues, not less. Perhaps the most successful retirees are those who have an opportunity to repay society by sharing their talents. The Odd Job Myth If you ask friends who plan to retire in the next few years about their expectations, some will reply: "There are enough jobs around the house to keep me busy for at least 10 years." They think about how satisfying it will be to catch up on all the little chores they have been avoiding. It usually takes only a few weeks to discover the truth. Having more time doesn't make a job any more fun to do. In fact, some retirees hate them so much they return to work for enough money to pay the plumber, gardener, and painter. The "Money Will Go Further" Myth Inflation should have exploded this myth years ago. Although there are financial advantages after retirement, certain factors continue to be ignored. What about increased expenses for home, car and medical insurance? Utility bills? Unfortunately people don't have trial retirements to test how far their money will go. If they did, they would discover that retirement dollars do not stretch any further than pre-retirement ones, and there are usually fewer of them. The Stay Busy Myth Keeping busy is a great idea after retirement, providing you are doing what you want to do. But if you keep busy simply to be busy, you are falling for the myth. Some people think that if they stay busy enough, their retirement problems will go away and they will be happy ever after. Others stay busy to anesthetize themselves against thoughts of aging or living alone. Instead of slowing down to design a rewarding retirement strategy, they spend time and energy on meaningless tasks. The Big Time Misconception Most retirees grossly underestimate that amount of time they will have on their hands following retirement. We live within a 24-hour time box. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is pending, today is center stage. To be happy, both before and after retirement, we must deal effectively with each time block - every day. Actually, time relate to our waking hours. Retirees often do not understand how large a block of time 16 hours is. If it is not filled with meaningful activities, 16 hours can be forever. Some retirees merely treasure their time while others take this time to bore them to death. The answer may lie in planning. Some retirees keep something planned to maintain their excitement and motivation. Others, with the same opportunity, have no special events to fill the time and stretch uninteresting tasks just to get through each day. Summary Both women and men have their retirement considerations. One of the key challenges of retirement is knowing what to do with your time. Give careful consideration and planning to your future retirement years and avoid some of the myths that are still so prevalent. |
This page updated on 9/8/97