Working Longer, Retiring Later – Is the Increasing Retirement Age Really a Bad Thing? by Keith Weber

“I don’t want to retire to sit back and do nothing.  I want to retire so I can finally go do what I’ve always wanted to do!”  This was the constant refrain I heard from my clients for years as I helped them plan for retirement.  For many, the earlier they could retire the better.  In fact, by the late 1990’s, early retirement had come to be viewed as a sign of career and personal success.  The mantra had changed from the 1980’s version of “He who dies with the most toys wins!” to “He who retires first wins!”  But today, with employer pensions disappearing and investment values down, many people are being forced to delay their retirement as they instead continue to pursue their savings “number” that will allow them to finally cross the retirement finish line.  Over the years that line has proven to be a moving target.

In 1950, the average retirement age in the U.S. was 68 years old.  Over the next five decades that age gradually declined until it reached a low point around the year 2000 of 62.  Over the last 10 years the average retirement age has slowly been increasing.  With scheduled increases to Social Security’s “normal retirement age” already in place for second-half baby boomers, most experts agree the average retirement age is likely headed north for some time to come.

But is the increase in the average retirement age really a bad thing?  And is the economy the only reason for it? To both questions I would answer with a firm no.

The early retirement craze hit a high point in the mid-to-late 1990’s.  At that time, major corporations across the U.S. were offering huge early retirement bonuses to all kinds of rank-and-file employees who, due to job disillusionment and an “early retirement equals success” attitude, were all too happy to take the money and run.  But a few years later, a funny thing began to happen.  Many of these early retirees began showing back up in the workforce.  Some came back as consultants or independent contractors, some in new careers and many came right back to their old jobs.  Why?  Was it because the money was running out?  For some, yes, it was a financial decision.  But for many others it was because they felt lost and bored without something to do.  They felt as if they had more to give and more to contribute to the world, and they weren’t ready to let their real talents go to waste on the golf course.

With better health and more energy to give back, early and traditional age retirees in the early 2000’s began to change how we view retirement.  Today, retirement is no longer the 20-30 year vacation to sit back and do nothing, it’s a second chance to make a difference in the world with work that is personally meaningful and fulfilling. A 2004 study by AARP found that over 80% of baby boomers plan on working in some capacity in retirement, with over 55% planning to do so in an entirely different field or industry! 

Psychologists have been telling us for years that people need a purpose.  We need to feel valued and useful. For those who are struggling with a job that’s become tedious and dull (or worse), the idea of having to wait longer to escape into retirement is a huge disappointment.  But what we’ve learned over the last 10 years is that work is not the enemy – meaningless work is.

If you’re disillusioned with your job and dismayed that you won’t be able to retire when you had hoped, maybe it’s time to re-think how you view retirement.  While the idea of sitting back and doing nothing for a while might sound good initially, too many people have found that a life of extended leisure is really no life at all.  The question is do you really want to retire or do you want to finally go do what you’ve always wanted to do?  If the answer is the latter, here’s how you go about doing it

1.  Truly examine your priorities.  Is having that big house, fancy car and sleek boat truly that important to you?  Or do you value having freedom of your time to do what you want, freedom from worry about paying the bills, and freedom from a job that seems to shackle you down?

2.  Ask yourself “How do I want to contribute to the world?  If money wasn’t an issue, what would I really like to do?”  The answer to this is your first clue in defining the next stage in your life.

3.  Ask yourself, “What do I have to do to make that happen?”  Will you have to cut expenses, go back to school or get additional training?  Now you have the beginnings of a plan to help you make that life real.

Keith J Weber, CFP®, CPRC

President, Weber Consulting Group, LLC

Publisher, www.Retirement2020.com

www.kjweber.com

Keith J. Weber, CFP®, CPRC, is the president of Weber Consulting Group, LLC, and is an accomplished keynote speaker, author and expert on employee engagement, retirement and living life to the fullest – topics that are inextricably linked for today’s aging workforce.  Keith spent 20 years in the financial services industry as a nationally recognized financial advisor.

Believing that retirement is more than a financial event, Weber Consulting Group (WCG) studies the social and financial trends impacting retirement.  Through the website www.Retirement2020.com, WCG provides tools to help address the psychological, emotional and lifestyle aspects of retirement.  As a speaker, Keith helps individuals and organizations reignite their passion for work and life through keynote presentations and workshops.  Keith maintains the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation and is also a Certified Professional Retirement Coach. His latest book, Rethinking Retirement, (www.Rethinking-Retirement.com ) was released in July, 2010.

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Rethinking retirement; is a move abroad in your future? by Keith Weber

With the cost of living being significantly lower in other parts of the world, many soon-to-retire baby boomers are wondering if retiring outside the U.S. is a viable retirement option.  The answer is a highly qualified yes – if you’re doing it for the right reasons.

The reality is that many American workers today are facing a double dose of disappointment.  According to the Conference Board, employee job satisfaction is at its lowest level in over 20 years, leading many employees to look longingly at retirement as a way out of jobs that have at best become tedious and dull.  The catch-22 of course, is that with stock prices and home values down, financing that retirement has become a real challenge.  As a result, many are beginning to wonder if their retirement dreams lie outside U.S. borders.

But today, retirement is clearly more than just a financial event – it’s a lifestyle event.  Today’s new retirees are reaching their “normal” retirement age with better health, more energy and a strong desire to give back.  In a recent survey only 20% of baby boomers now view retirement as a time of rest and relaxation, while over 80% view it as the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Today’s retirees don’t view retirement as a time to “withdraw” as the dictionary defines it, they view it as a second chance, a time re-engage and finally do what they’ve always wanted.

For those who have always dreamed of living abroad, retirement may well provide the perfect opportunity to do so. But for those who are simply doing it for financial reasons or for the romance of the idea, it may well not turn out as planned.

Over 20 years as a financial advisor, I’ve watched several clients retire outside the U.S. only to have most of them return within a few years.  Most of them simply needed time to decompress from their stressful or tedious jobs and eventually found that the allure of retiring to another country was not all they dreamed it would be.   To figure out if retiring outside the U.S. might be right for you, ask yourself these questions:

1.  How will you stay in touch with the people most important to you?  That beachfront property may well soon feel like an island if you’re cut off from the family and friends who mean the most to you.

2.  How will you find a sense of purpose and contribution?  While the idea of “doing nothing” sounds great when you’re running around the rat race, veteran retirees overwhelmingly advise that having a sense of purpose and being able to contribute is critical to feelings of self-worth and personal satisfaction.

3.  How will you maintain your health and mental acuity?  Learning another language can keep you mentally sharp at any age.

4.  Will you be able to pursue your hobbies and passions?  The culture and environment you live in needs to feed those things you love to do.

Keith J Weber, CFP®, CPRC

President, Weber Consulting Group, LLC

Publisher, www.Retirement2020.com

www.kjweber.com

Twitter: @KeithJWeber

LinkedIn: Keith J Weber

Or join the LinkedIn Group Retirement2020

Keith J. Weber, CFP®, CPRC, is the president of Weber Consulting Group, LLC, and is an accomplished keynote speaker, author and expert on employee engagement, retirement and living life to the fullest – topics that are inextricably linked for today’s aging workforce.  Keith spent 20 years in the financial services industry as a nationally recognized financial advisor as well as in financial institution investment program management and broker-dealer executive management.

Believing that retirement is more than a financial event, Weber Consulting Group (WCG) studies the social and financial trends impacting retirement.  Through the website www.Retirement2020.com, WCG provides tools to help address the psychological, emotional and lifestyle aspects of retirement.  Now as a speaker, author, coach and consultant, Keith helps individuals and organizations reignite their passion for work and life through keynote presentations and workshops.  Keith maintains the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation and is also a Certified Professional Retirement Coach. His latest book, Rethinking Retirement, (www.Rethinking-Retirement.com ) was released in July, 2010.

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Rethinking retirement; is a move abroad in your future? By Keith Weber

With the cost of living being significantly lower in other parts of the world, many soon-to-retire baby boomers are wondering if retiring outside the U.S. is a viable retirement option.  The answer is a highly qualified yes – if you’re doing it for the right reasons.

The reality is that many American workers today are facing a double dose of disappointment.  According to the Conference Board, employee job satisfaction is at its lowest level in over 20 years, leading many employees to look longingly at retirement as a way out of jobs that have at best become tedious and dull.  The catch-22 of course, is that with stock prices and home values down, financing that retirement has become a real challenge.  As a result, many are beginning to wonder if their retirement dreams lie outside U.S. borders.

But today, retirement is clearly more than just a financial event – it’s a lifestyle event.  Today’s new retirees are reaching their “normal” retirement age with better health, more energy and a strong desire to give back.  In a recent survey only 20% of baby boomers now view retirement as a time of rest and relaxation, while over 80% view it as the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. Today’s retirees don’t view retirement as a time to “withdraw” as the dictionary defines it, they view it as a second chance, a time re-engage and finally do what they’ve always wanted.

For those who have always dreamed of living abroad, retirement may well provide the perfect opportunity to do so. But for those who are simply doing it for financial reasons or for the romance of the idea, it may well not turn out as planned.

Over 20 years as a financial advisor, I’ve watched several clients retire outside the U.S. only to have most of them return within a few years.  Most of them simply needed time to decompress from their stressful or tedious jobs and eventually found that the allure of retiring to another country was not all they dreamed it would be.   To figure out if retiring outside the U.S. might be right for you, ask yourself these questions:

1.  How will you stay in touch with the people most important to you?  That beachfront property may well soon feel like an island if you’re cut off from the family and friends who mean the most to you.

2.  How will you find a sense of purpose and contribution?  While the idea of “doing nothing” sounds great when you’re running around the rat race, veteran retirees overwhelmingly advise that having a sense of purpose and being able to contribute is critical to feelings of self-worth and personal satisfaction.

3.  How will you maintain your health and mental acuity?  Learning another language can keep you mentally sharp at any age.

4.  Will you be able to pursue your hobbies and passions?  The culture and environment you live in needs to feed those things you love to do.

Keith J Weber, CFP®, CPRC

President, Weber Consulting Group, LLC

Publisher, www.Retirement2020.com

www.kjweber.com

Keith J. Weber, CFP®, CPRC, is the president of Weber Consulting Group, LLC, and is an accomplished keynote speaker, author and expert on employee engagement, retirement and living life to the fullest – topics that are inextricably linked for today’s aging workforce.  Keith spent 20 years in the financial services industry as a nationally recognized financial advisor as well as in financial institution investment program management and broker-dealer executive management.

Believing that retirement is more than a financial event, Weber Consulting Group (WCG) studies the social and financial trends impacting retirement.  Through the website www.Retirement2020.com, WCG provides tools to help address the psychological, emotional and lifestyle aspects of retirement.  Now as a speaker, author, coach and consultant, Keith helps individuals and organizations reignite their passion for work and life through keynote presentations and workshops.  Keith maintains the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation and is also a Certified Professional Retirement Coach. His latest book, Rethinking Retirement, (www.Rethinking-Retirement.com ) was released in July, 2010.

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7 ways online job boards can help your job search

By: Julie Rains at partner blog Wise Bread.

There was a brief period, before the last recession, when my career-services clients actually found jobs on online job boards. They’d post résumés and interview requests, and job offers quickly followed.

For the past several years, though, clients have told me they felt as if online applications led to a black hole: Résumés were submitted but companies never made contact. Even a rejection letter would have meant progress, indicating that a human was somehow involved in the decision-making process.

Though I don’t recommend online boards as a direct path to a new position, I do find them extremely useful in a job search.

For someone launching a job search, online job boards can provide a wealth of information. I have had consistently good results with Monster.com, though there are many other general boards, industry niche boards, and aggregators of job listings, such as CareerBuilder.com, Indeed.com, and Dice.com.

My focus is on finding well-written, detailed job descriptions that indicate specific responsibilities and requirements. Many descriptions are vague and useless to me; others, however, seem to have been constructed to outline highly specific needs for real jobs with viable companies. A bit of fluff promoting the company and its tremendous benefits and great working environment is fine but should be accompanied by a multi-bulleted list of duties, beginning with an overview and then mentioning key areas of accountability as well as position requirements.

Here’s what I use these job descriptions for:

Do a reality check. One of the first things a job seeker should do is define his ideal job or target position based not only on career goals but also on education, experiences, knowledge and skills. Figuring out whether such a position actually exists is a natural next step, made pretty easy with a keyword search.

Pinpoint a job title. A job title is useful in conveying goals to a hiring manager in words that she’ll understand. Postings with position descriptions can be useful in matching real-world job accountabilities with a job seeker’s professional capabilities. Though organizational structures may vary among companies, there will often be enough similarities to pinpoint a job title. Job seekers can then reference this title in communications with potential employers or those who may offer referrals, and use the title in searches of the careers sections of target employers.

Uncover obstacles to landing that perfect job. In some cases, a job seeker has most, but not all, of the qualifications. Not being a perfect candidate shouldn’t rule out searching for that type of position. But, if certain skill sets or types of experiences are requested repeatedly by a number of employers, then a job seeker could consider taking a class or learning a new technology, for example, or figuring out how to communicate why his experience is similar to the experience requested by the hiring manager.

See what companies are hiring and where the jobs are. Though I like to read articles about what industries are hot, what companies are hiring, and which geographical areas are experiencing an economic boom, I use specific job postings with real companies to make decisions about where to concentrate a search.

Refine or write the résumé. My modus operandi is to create a first draft of a résumé and then use job descriptions to make adjustments. I might add a position duty or a computer skill that seemed insignificant but appears on most job postings. For a job seeker writing her own résumé, the online job descriptions could be useful in creating or fleshing out the résumé.

Find keywords. Job seekers may be fearful that they won’t use the right keywords and their résumés will never be selected by computerized screening systems. Scrutinizing well-written, detailed job responsibilities and requirements can provide the job seeker with current keywords.

Craft a cover letter. Customizing each free cover letter to match the exact requirements of each target job can be time-consuming and energy-zapping. Instead, craft the letter to meet the descriptions and requirements for a handful of similar positions, and use that letter as the base for subsequent letters.

I typically don’t give unsolicited advice to individual clients, but, if asked, I will mention that putting oneself out there (posting a résumé for anyone to see, with no privacy settings) has not been particularly fruitful for many job seekers. To avoid the black hole of Internet searching, some clients have found that referrals from business associates (former co-workers, vendors and customers), direct inquiries to targeted companies, and communications with those in industry or trade groups are more helpful than blindly posting to online job boards.

Have you used online job boards to find a job lately? Share your experiences in the comments.