Shrinking Nest Eggs

Years ago, my image of retirement was a comfortable rocking chair on a wraparound porch where I could watch the world go by.  Now retired, I don’t have a wraparound porch or a comfortable rocker so I can’t watch the world go by.

In our morning paper I read about a woman, 98, who still works.  In fact, she is often mistaken for a young lass of 80 (bless her heart).  She is employed two hours per day, four days a week for McDonalds, enough to pay her grocery bill (apparently she is not paid in leftover hamburgers).

Why is she working?  She is bored and this gets her out of the house.  She wants to interact with people.  She lives nearby and besides, her modest salary buys her groceries.  She also admits that she wants to work until she’s 100 but knows that she is blessed with good health and a certain amount of energy (she sits now and then to rest her weary bones) as she replaces condiments, tidies the tables and greets customers.

The article continued extolling that “millions of elderly still on job.”  It goes on to predict that by 2020 16.3% of Americans over 65 will be gainfully employed, up from about 10% in 1985.  The reasons for this vary ranging from a malignant boredom to an economic necessity (or desire).  In between are other reasons including restlessness, maintaining an optimum standard of living, irresistible opportunities (I just couldn’t pass it up), family woes (children and grandchildren in distress), compulsive spending, shrinking nest eggs and becoming inaccessible to baby-sitting demands (Sorry, I’m not available, my dear).

In addition, people are living longer; many diseases have been conquered and there is more help for chronic ailments which often militated against working.  There is also a sense of still being able to contribute to society.  Previous expertise and skill need not be wasted by retreating from the workplace.

This has been enhanced by employers who have become more flexible, not only with starting and quitting times but also length of day.  Who, years ago, would have imagined working two hours per day, four days a week. Add to this telecommuting, mass transportation improvements with senior discount vouchers coupled with less taxing tasks and it is easier to imagine workers who yesterday were over-the-hill but today are still climbing.

Aerobics, Tai Chi and power walking (or just plain strolling around a few blocks) along with innumerable physical fitness programs have revolutionized the physical state and stamina of many who otherwise could never consider the marketplace.  Some jobs even take on the role of physical fitness not terribly unlike the olden days when retired persons never dreamt of retiring or exercising.  Who needed it when they washed clothes by hand, chopped wood endlessly for comfort, cut their own lawns and shoveled snow by hand.

Now, if you’ll excuse me for a moment while I turn up the thermostat, locate that novel I haven’t quite finished, and plop down in my favorite chaise lounge while I wait for my wife to bring me a cup of coffee (decaf) as I enjoy my senior moment.