Some researchers believe the average life span after retirement is 18 months. If this is true then the wise advice would be to delay your retirement for as long as possible!
Creative artists, musicians and writers are known to paint, compose and play well into their 80s because they never ‘retire’. Obviously this does not apply to farmers, tradies and others who engage in hard manual work.
The government therefore has to declare a mean retirement age to provide security to those who deserve some leisure years after a lifetime of toil for family, community and country.
The retirement age for men was set at 65 years 100 years ago. At that time only about half of all men made it to 65. Those who lived longer could expect to spend around 11 year in retirement. Today around 85 per cent of men live to 65, and those who do can expect to spend more than 19 years in retirement.
The demands for physical strength and endurance have also decreased with a myriad of labour saving devices available in every sphere of our lives. Medical breakthroughs, technological advances and healthier lifestyles have us living longer and enjoying a better quality of life than ever before.
The big question for governments to address is how we pay for people who are living longer in retirement. We are approaching a surge in retirement as baby boomers begin the conversion to grey nomads. Our taxpayer base is shrinking and it is unfair to saddle the young with an increased retirement burden now that we are living longer.
We have a range of disability pensions to look after those who are not able to work and who have to take an early retirement because of physical incapacity.
A good indication of the physical shape of baby boomers is the number of them trekking across the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. This is regarded as one of the toughest treks in the world but we are seeing more and more people in their 60s completing the trek. The oldest trekker over the past few years was 81.
The decisions people make during their working lives will determine the quality of their retirement. If they have a prudent savings plan they will grow their retirement nest egg. If they eat healthy food, do not indulge in excessive alcohol consumption, stay away from drugs and exercise daily they will enjoy quality years in retirement.
Governments cannot be expected to pick up the tab for those who choose to abuse the opportunities they have. But they do have to ensure that proper social safety nets are provided for the less fortunate in our society.
