By
Rabie Bekker
Is retirement planning still an option? Yes! And now more than ever.
Until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most workers continued to work until they died. Life expectancy was short and generally, pensions and the thought of retiring, was non-existent and, as a result, there was no need for retirement planning.
Germany was the first country to introduce an old-age social insurance program in 1889, and thus the notion of retirement was created, although pirates had operated the first known Group Life Scheme, with cover for loss of limb and life.
In the early 1900s manual labour dominated the working environment and few workers were expected to live beyond age 63 but, as life expectancy grew, this increasingly required the youth to subsidize the pensions of the elderly.
By 1937, 20 US workers supported each retiree however, by 2011, when the first baby boomer turned 65, there were about two workers per retiree.
Nowadays, most work is mind and knowledge-based and science and medical technology allows many people to live longer than their money lasts. In addition, the money people manage to accumulate, increasingly faces the ravages of inflation.
As a result, work contracts are being re-structured upwards, after bottoming at age 60 and the social systems simply cannot fund retirees. The simple fact is, far fewer people can now afford to retire!
Live Longer
And the situation will grow worse. Huge advances in medicine and medical technologies will increasingly let people live longer. What was once the stuff of science fiction is now reality. For example, Skin Printing directly onto a burn victim, 3D Printing that can be used to create artificial body parts, Reverse Engineering that has seen the development of a sunscreen pill based how coral reefs protect themselves against the sun and major discoveries in genetic engineering - already more than 60 genes responsible for our ageing have been identified.
It is generally accepted, the first person who will live to 150 years has already been born and first person who will live to a 1000, will likely be born less than 20 years after that person reaches 150. Children born from 2033 onwards, could live beyond 400!
Fortunately many already recognise this trend. Employment agencies are emerging with a focus on the over 60s, there is healthy growth in older consultants and many company retirees are starting their own businesses.
It is possible to plan for a comfortable and enjoyable retirement.
- Plan to be in the financial position to retire and strive for 100% plus,
- Aim to work or contribute to society until no longer able to,
- Wake up with a purpose,
- Stay educated especially from a financial point-of-view,
- Seek ways to make your retirement “pay”,
- Regularly work your interactive and flexible Tempo Financial Plan options designed to move with the times.
