Retirement is a few years away for me, but I pray I will be able to afford it. Mine is not a lengthy prayer. It is just enough to keep the Higher Power interested in my fate. It is the sort of prayer you might whisper after you have had your hair dyed. You hope no one really notices that the gray has vanished, having been edged out by a revitalizing force of nature (mine's called Jet).
The retirees featured in this month's cover story are healthy, active and in pursuit of days and nights filled with bocce, bowling, dinner and dancing - the good life.
Why not? They deserve to relax and enjoy some of the fruits of their labor. They are, as the young ones might reflect, "livin' large and in charge."
That is their reality.
And then there is Lucille Bouges, the great-great-grandmother from Lakeland, who at 92 is caring for six little ones ages 2, 3, 6, 8, 10 and 11. After reading her story in the St. Petersburg Times on Feb. 10, I wondered if Mother Bouges had ever enjoyed a dinner out with friends, gone dancing, played bocce or been bowling. I wondered if her pension would be enough to help with her family, or if she had a pension. What about a 401(k)?
I knew plenty of Mother Bouges types when I was growing up. "Little old ladies" who would do whatever it took to keep their families together. An extra job, or jobs, to make ends meet; taking grands and great-grands into their homes was the norm.
But at 92 I think Mother Bouges deserves time off too; by her own account, she is doing what she wants to do. "What else could I do?" she asks. "I want my babies to stay together."
That is her reality.
Every generation has some reality it is living with. If I were 20-something it might be that Social Security will be nonexistent by the time I need it. (Actually, if all those national polls and studies are right about what lies ahead for boomers, my dreams of retirement could be about as real as the solvency of Social Security.)
In "Staying Ahead of the Curve: The AARP Work and Career Study," a study done for AARP in 2002, researchers interviewed 2,518 workers ages 45 to 74 including a national sample of 1,500 workers.
The study is an interesting barometer of what workers are either thinking, planning or hoping for in retirement. Here are excerpts:
* Workers ages 45 and older want to continue working and to have viable work options later in life; 69 percent say they plan to work into their so-called retirement years and 84 percent say they would work even if they were financially set for life.
Before going on, I'd like to say no one asked me about my motives for work or my dreams of retirement because I am 100 percent certain I would not be a part of the 84 percent who said they would work even if they were financially set for life! Come on, I enjoy my job, but ... (I hope my bosses aren't reading this).
* More than a third (34 percent) of respondents say that during retirement they plan to work part time "for interest and enjoyment."
* 19 percent say they plan to work part time for needed income.
* 10 percent plan to go into business for themselves.
* 6 percent intend to work full time in a new career.
* Working for "interest and enjoyment" sure seems like an ideal way to have one's cake and eat it too. Let's hope that reality checks such as insurance premiums, health care and prescription drug costs and Medicare, do not dim our quest for that enjoyment.
Here's more:
* 56 percent say they will keep working to pay for health costs for themselves or others in the family.
* 55 percent say they will continue to work only because of the money; 76 percent say money is one of the major reasons for working; 67 percent say "saving for retirement" was a motive.
* 80 percent think most people cannot afford to retire.
Working is not always about the pay. Who hasn't looked at a pay check and thought that the information staring back at them was just a preamble to what they truly deserve? We forge ahead anyway for reasons of fulfillment. Here's what the numbers showed:
* 68 percent say that being productive motivates them to work.
* 89 percent feel their job makes a contribution to society or helps people.
* 65 percent say that work gives them a reason to get out of bed in the morning.
"Staying Ahead of the Curve" is a gold mine of interesting facts and stats that I did not know about the 45-plus worker. The full report can be accessed from the AARP Web site at this link: http://research.aarp.org/econ/multiwork.html
Some people will actually leave the job market for good, go some place and play bocce or cards, sit on a beach or bowl and actually forget about what it is like to punch a clock. But there's a good chance many of us will still be a part of the grind, more than we care to be.
According to the survey: ". . . In 2000, 13 percent of the work force was 55 and older, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By 2015, this figure is expected to rise to 20 percent. During the same period, the highest growth rate in the U.S. work force will be among workers aged 55 to 64.
"The change is fueled in large part by the leading edge of the baby boom population, which is now crossing the age 55 threshold in large and expanding numbers. It also reflects the fact that Americans are leading longer and healthier lives, enabling them to extend their stay in the working world."
I take some comfort in knowing that I am living a longer and healthier life. So what if living longer means I'll also have to work longer. At least I'll have a job, right?
- Seniority editor Sheila Reed can be reached at 727 893-8452 or at toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8452. Write to her in care of the St. Petersburg Times, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731; or send e-mail to sreed@sptimes.com
