Skip to main content

Is Retirement About To Retire?


Remember Retirement?

Remember the rotary phone, life before remote controls, micro-wave ovens or Viagra ? Are we about to say "remember retirement"?

Last year a resident of an upscale Independent Living community I managed requested a private and somewhat urgent meeting with me. It was important for him to explain in person why he and his wife were giving their 30 day notice to move out. He said "we worked hard, were successful and invested well, but never expected to live this long or for our investments to crash. We are running out of money and can't afford to live here anymore". "I may have to find a part-time job".

That was the first of many conversations like this one and prompted me to take a look into several factors likely to affect retirement as we know it today.

Only 11 percent of Baby Boomers are planning to stop working entirely when they reach retirement age. About 9 percent of Baby Boomers we be affluent (defined as having a pre-tax income greater than $100,000 if retired). One quarter of Boomers have no savings or investments at all.  Life expectancy continues to increase.

Employers have cut back their defined benefit and retiree medical plans to respond to cost pressures and excessive regulation. We don't have the generous retirement benefits of previous generations and we are not saving enough to fund retirement.

It’s inevitable that Social Security and Medicare benefits will be reduced in some way, to respond to the large number of baby boomers who will be retiring in 10 to 20 years. The long term affects of the Affordable Care Act are still unclear.

Is it possible we will allow the reward for a lifetime of hard work and good stewardship to die a slow and painful death or will it simply look different?



Rick D Watkins

 How are you treating life?

Linkedin





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Comments:

Popular posts from this blog

 Weight Loss Surgery Lessons and Customer Engagement There is a television show about extremely overweight people wanting to have weight loss surgery. During the first doctor's appointment, the patient's initial weight is taken, and they are given a 60-day weight loss goal. Reaching this goal determines eligibility for the surgery. Each patient receives very detailed instructions on how to meet their goal. Following the instructions are guaranteed to work. Most patients return for their two-month check-up only to realize their weight loss was minimal or they gained weight. Unfortunately, this process may repeat itself for over a year.  The scale does not lie.  At some point the patient realizes this is a life-or death situation and they need to make a complete Lifestyle change to meet their goal and be approved for the surgery. It was as simple or challenging as following the initial instructions.  So, what does Customer Engagement have in common with weight loss sur...
Post a Comment
Read more

Trust and Assisted Living

Trust and Assisted Living trust : to believe  that someone or something is reliable, good, honest, effective, etc. : to have confidence in (someone or something) : to believe that something is true or correct : to hope or expect that something is true or will happen You might say entrusting an assisted living community with the care of your parents or loved one is the ultimate act of trust.  It's common for the adult children of assisted living residents to live hundreds or thousands of miles away. It may have taken months or years to convince mother to make the move into an assisted living community. She isn't completely sold on the idea but is willing to give it a chance. It still sounds too good to be true; a community filled with loving people that will meet her every need and always have a smile on their face. It better be, because mom trusted your advice.  The key to building a family "trust account"  Imagine...
1 comment
Read more

Questions You Should Ask Every Assisted or Senior Living Community

During my 30 years in senior living operations and sales I've failed to understand why families or future residents rarely ask detailed questions relating to management. Even more alarming is that the checklists many are using to assist with their decision-making process does not mention them. Delivering consistent quality care and service in such a dynamic atmosphere is difficult. Imagine what it takes to provide quality meals, housekeeping, activities, maintenance, assistance with specific resident needs such as medications, bathing, grooming, mobility, emergency response, communication with physicians, pharmacies, families, therapists, hospice, home health and so much more 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Each residents needs and expectations are unique and changing. Residents and families trust the community team to deliver consistent service. The importance of employee satisfaction is often overlooked. It directly impacts the quality of care and services delivered. It's si...
Post a Comment
Read more