The status of a worker who has bid adieu
for working is known as Retirement. This happens when a person has reached a
determined age, when the body conditions don't let the person to work any more,
or even for individual choice.
In many societies, the retirement with a
pension is considered a right of the worker. There are so many political and
cultural battles on the matter of considering this retirement as a right or
not. Many national constitutions in the Western Countries have mentioned this
as a right.
The idea of a fixed retirement age is of
recent origin, being introduced during the 19th and 20th centuries in most
countries. Prior to that, in the pre-pension era, the absence of pension arrangements
signify that, most workers had to continue to work until death, or depend on
the support of family or friends.
Currently, there are systems to provide
pensions on retirement for most developed nations in old age that may be
sponsored by employers or the state. By means of the family, support for the
old is still mainly provided in many poorer countries.
Although, the age in between 55 and 70 is
considered as the retirement age, in general, it will differ from country to
country. Further, the retirement age will also be differentiated by means of
gender in some countries.
There may be earlier retirement age for certain jobs
that are most dangerous or fatiguing ones in particular.
While most view 65 as normal retirement age
in the United States, many retire before then, sometimes with contributory causes for
example job-loss, disability or wealth.
However, the Old Age Survivors
Insurance or OASI, better known as Social Security system has age 62 as the
earliest retirement age and 70 as the oldest.
Retirement age for teachers in France is
thirty years after employment and age 50 for train engineers on the SNCF, the
national railway.
Policeman and soldiers in the United States are typically allowed to retire at half pay after only 20 years of
service or three-quarter pay after 30 years, allowing people in their early
forties or fifties to retire.
Many scientists, lawyers, TV anchormen and
professors still work well into their 70s.A Retirement is often portrayed as a
wonderful experience in the media today, senior citizens lead active lifestyles
and thanks to medical advances, they live much longer.
A longer lifespan also
means that retirement funds will have to stretch for much longer.
This means that before you decide to retire,
you have to educate yourself on the ins and outs of retirement and ensure that
you have properly provided for your life in old age.
Life devoid of a proper
retirement plan can be frightening, particularly if you do not have family who are
able to help you out financially.
In any profession, nothing is more valuable
than experience since experience comes with age. If you have the experience and
are still up to date with the developments in your field of work, why not
negotiate a higher salary for yourself and retire only when you are truly
ready.
Even working part time after retirement can
be fulfilling to someone who loves his or her profession and can't imagine life
without working everyday.
What are your options for saving for retirement?
- Retirement accounts like 401(k) plans and SEP IRAs allow you to
save for retirement with pre-tax dollars and many plans offer matching
contributions.
- If don't have access to a retirement plan at work you may be
able to make tax-deductible contributions to an IRA.
- If you have contributed the maximum to your work and IRA,
consider the advantages of an annuity for even more tax-deferred growth
- Ensure to check your annual Social Security Statement to make
sure your wage records are accurate.
By means of superannuation, pensions, or savings,
retired workers support themselves. Generally, the money is provided by the
government, but sometimes granted only by private subscriptions to mutual
funds.
In this latter case, subscriptions might be
compulsory or voluntary. In some countries, an additional bonus is granted una
tantum (once only) in proportion to the years of work and the average wages;
this is usually provided by the employer.
The financial weight of provision of
pensions on a government's budget is often heavy and is the reason for
political debates about the retirement age. The state might be interested in a
later retirement age for economic reasons.
The cost of healthcare in retirement is
large, because people tend to be ill more frequently in later life. Increasing
numbers of older people, combined with an increase in the cost of healthcare,
has led to the funding of post-retirement health care becoming a political
issue.
There is then pressure to reform healthcare systems to contain costs, or
find new sources of funding.
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