Why You Cannot Afford To Retire Until You Are In Your Eighties

As you are saving for retirement, when are you thinking you will ACTUALLY be able to do so? Are you thinking 60-65? Maybe you are one of those who thinks they are going to be able to work till you are much older? Well, the unfortunate part is you may not have a choice.

1) You Do Not Understand What Retirement Means

Retirement is supposed to be the end of your wokring days. In which case you are not going to be bringing in any NEW money every month. Without additional income coming in, you are going to want to make sure you are setting money aside every paycheck now to be used in place of your missing income in the future when you stop working. This is a very simple concept, but it is so often lost on so many of us. In many case, we just assume we are going to have social security. In other cases, there is a misunderstanding that everything is automatically being deducted for the amount needed for returement in every paycheck.

2) “We Are Going To Stay Young Forever”

Yes, this is one of the worst one’s which so many often face. When we are young it is hard to believe we will ever get old. This same is true with possibly not working some day. Work becomes a part of our life. Being without it may seem unatural to some. The sad truth though is that we will all be there some day. When we have this mindset there is little to no motivation to want to plan for a future where we will be old and not able to work. Thus, we do not take the time to sit down and plan it out.

3) We Start Too Late With The Endgame

When the mindset shifts from being “we are going to be young forever” to “oh crap, this thing will actually end one day” we have to make drastic plans. This may happen to some when they are in their 30’s, but unfortunately for many this will not happen till you are in your 40’s. This about the time when things stop working (i.e. joints, endurance, etc). If we are wanting to retire at 65, we would only have about 25 years to set aside enough money to live on for an addtional 20-30 years. It may even be impossbile at this point. In this circumstance we would be forced to work until we are much older than 65. Combine this with addtional medical expenses that tend to creep up as we get older, and it is clear to see why we have so many eldery folks going back into the workforce.

If you are reading this when you are younger, take action now to start plan for retirement. If you are reading this and you are middle-aged, it is not too late! You can start allocating money over to your retirement now. Even if you are close to retirement, start saving. Every little bit you can start now will help you in the long run.