| Mike’s Retirement Plans |
| by John M. Smith, Executive Director Egyptian Area Agency on Aging |
According to most experts, the retirement expectations of the “baby-boom”
generation are probably not the same as their parents’ expectations. As one of
the “baby-boom” generation, Mike’s expectations are certainly different from
those of his parents.
His dad retired at age 65. His parents continue to live in the family home where they raised Mike and his siblings. They travel some, take a few vacations, and enjoy occasional sightseeing trips with their friends and the local senior club. Mostly they stay at home, visit their grandchildren, and tend to their garden.
Mike, on the other hand, expects to retire early--in his mid-fifties, move into his dream home next to the golf course, and travel extensively all over the world with his wife and friends.
Retirement is generally assumed to be the point where a person stops employment completely, although some people may be semi-retired while keeping some sort of full-time or part-time job.
Mike’s dad works part-time fixing machinery, like old lawnmowers and washing machines. He likes to work with his hands and likes the idea of supplementing his retirement income with a part-time job.
Mike never plans on working again once he retires. He’ll put in his “thirty years” on the job and then retire with a nice retirement income as well as income from his personal investments.
When his parents retired in the family home they had a telephone, television set with an outside antennae, a dog, lawnmower, and a garage full of tools to fix things around the house that were broken.
Mike plans on retiring with his Blackberry cell phone, high definition television with satellite programming, high speed Internet connection, a cat, golf clubs, and membership in a nice golf club association where his new house will be located. His lawn care and home maintenance will be included in his golf club association annual dues.
Retirement is a personal decision. Deciding when and where to retire is one of the biggest decisions that people face after their family is grown and gone.
Mike has his retirement planned already. His retirement expectations are so much different than those of his parents. I suppose it’s due to his “baby boom” generation mentality.
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