What will you do if you find
yourself alive and well at 90 or even 100 years of age? This idea isn’t as far fetched as you might
think. Advances in science and medicine
are making health and longevity a very likely prospect. The
biggest concern is how you are going to afford to keep yourself in the manner
you have become accustomed.
Work is a good thing. A job
not only provides intellectual stimulation but often makes up the bulk of your
social network. Many people can’t wait
for retirement, but others find the
idea frightening and socially unacceptable. If you want to work longer but find your job
too physically or emotionally challenging you could be caught in the
middle. For your own mental health you might need to
consider working part time or looking into a second career. Delaying
retirement is certainly something many have thought about.
Is working in your first career field even an
option? Pilots, military personal,
police officers and others have mandatory retirement laws. High stress careers such as nursing,
teaching, or corporate leadership roles are difficult to sustain. It isn’t unusual for people to want more
sanity in their lives as they grow older.
Some businesses are good about adapting the work
environment to meet the needs of older employees, but others just want to have
them gone. However, recent articles in
business journals are reporting that there is a growing demand for temporary and contract work. This type of work might be perfect for the
mature worker who would love to be able to take breaks between assignments. Hopefully, by the time the baby boomers reach their 80s mandatory
retirement laws will be changed so that older workers will have more options.
If you retire at 65 what are you going to be
doing in your 80s, 90s and possibly longer?
Some will delay retirement, plan for a second career, do volunteer work,
or just quite working altogether. Some
will return to school, turn a hobby into a career, work at something mindless
but socially fulfilling, or end up being a caregiver for a spouse or
grandchildren.
Those who are able to stop
working altogether will have time to enjoy sports, hobbies, and travel as well
as spending quality time with their families.
Some people are eager to pursuit advanced
degrees or take life long learning
classes for the sheer joy of learning. The increasing availability of college courses
provides wonderful opportunities for the senior student.
Hopefully you will have a
ready answer when someone asks you what you are going to do with all of your
extra time. It would be nice if you
could be enthusiastic when you near 100 as you were when you were 50.
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