Seven months short of my 50th birthday, I’ll soon be eligible for old folks’ discounts. I’ve always wondered about that.
My youngest is in college and the army is paying his tuition. The older two are out of school and gainfully employed. My wife and I have excellent health, and more discretionary income than we’ve ever had before. But now they give me a discount. Seems sort of silly. Discounts should go to those just starting out, paying student loans and having babies and buying houses. Not to old relics who don’t owe anybody anything. We’re set in our consumption patterns, not terribly price sensitive, and unlikely to respond to senior citizen inducements.
But then our whole system of rewarding people for age makes little economic sense, when you think about it. We’ve had our whole life to prepare for the infirmities of old age, and just as our peak earning years are ending, we tax our kids to pay for our doctor’s visits, vacations to warmer climes, and recreational vehicles. It makes perfect political sense, however, and it is unlikely to change until the coming demographic train wreck makes drastic changes inevitable.
This whole retirement thing makes me a little nervous. I’m just hitting my stride, and yet I’m only 12 years from being eligible for social security. This year, for the first time ever, more people retired at 62 than at the traditional 65. With life expectancy over 80 for females, and nearing that level for males, the average American will, I guess, plan on spending 20 years without gainful employment. It seems like such a terrible waste of experience, and wisdom, and talent. Not for me. Like my grandfather, who was still driving a tractor at 85, and my father, who still does manual labor at 71, I plan on working until I drop.
I may, however, have to seek employment elsewhere. My daughters and sons in law work with my wife and me, and they will be ready to assume the reins well before we’re ready to give them up. Over the road trucker, Wal Mart greeter, running a hedge fund, or writing an advice column, I’m interested in a lot of jobs, and I’m sure I can find one that will make allowances for my creaky knees and cranky personality. The only way to avoid serious strains in our retirement programs is if millions of boomers follow our example, and use the issuance of their AARP card as the excuse to start another career, instead of starting two decades of retirement.
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