Chapter 5. End of the Work/Retire Ultimatum
It's only work if you'd rather be doing something else.
Retirement at sixty-five is ridiculous. When I was sixty-five I still had pimples.
A tight labor market is a motivating factor for many senior employers to stay in their current jobs, at least on a part-time basis. The baby boomer generation was followed by a birth dearth that is going to place an even higher premium on senior working skills for the next 20 years. For corporate America, labor shortages may become a fact of life. By the year 2020 there will be several million fewer people aged 35 to 54 than we have today. The law of supply and demand may be moving to the side of the experienced worker for many years to come. What this spells for the individuals looking forward to working retirement years is the ability to write their own ticket in terms of job flexibility and responsibilities. Your workplace will need your experience, and will be more willing to let you work on your terms as the "brain drain" becomes more evident. One scenario that has been discussed frequently is the "rehiring" of retired boomers as consultants. Organizations will hire back boomers at a rate that will allow those boomers to purchase their own benefits—the organization gets the talent they need, but without having to carry benefits expenses.
As stated earlier, two things must change to give us more options regarding our working lives: how we think and the way ...
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