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Live With It: Retirement Must Shrink

Longer lifespans, older population mean quitting age has to rise

By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 26, 2009 12:13 PM CDT
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(Newser) – With people living longer and having fewer children in developed countries, the population is aging even as the workforce shrinks. And with retirement ages in the 60s, retirees are living longer on pensions. Those demographic shifts make a policy shift inevitable: we’re all going to have to work longer, the Economist contends. The retirement age for state-backed pensions should be 70.

It doesn’t have to be a disaster; in fact, many baby boomers say they’d like to keep a toe in the work world. “Many people benefit in mind and body from having something to get them out of the house,” the Economist notes. And although older people may not be as productive as their younger counterparts in some tasks, they could be assigned different, more appropriate jobs; Japan’s Hitachi already uses such a strategy.

Quitting time shouldn't be until 70, says the Economist.
Quitting time shouldn't be until 70, says the Economist.   (Shutterstock)
The age of retirement must rise, says the Economist.
The age of retirement must rise, says the Economist.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
oldgoat
Jun 27, 2009 7:01 AM CDT
Just because a person lives longer doesn't mean that they are able to continue to do the same work, especially in the manual labor field. Getting to be a catch 22.
schmidtkoff
Jun 27, 2009 2:10 AM CDT
i have worked for 50 years. and i don't want to work for another 10;. i'm tired of it. i was NEVER without a job or career. i paid my dues, never collected welfare, foodstamps or whatever. i deserve to retire at 62 or 65. how many of the younger gen. say that?
SBS
Jun 26, 2009 8:44 AM CDT
Agreed. According to the outlook several years ago the current job market was going to be one of the best ever for young people. But this was based on baby boomers retiring. Many boomeers are staying in their jobs now due to uncertainty about the economy or they lost half or more of their 401K.

65-and-ups to triple by 2050
Associated Press

 
baby boomer • elderly • Japan • work • retirement • retirees • aging • baby boom • Hitachi • demographic trends

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