By Alexandra Newman
When I retire, I will travel the world.
When I retire, I will spend hours tending to vegetables and reading all the books that have been piling up on my nightstand.
Many of us have these dreams when we’re having a tough day at work. I’m 30+ years away from retirement and I have these thoughts nearly daily.
But, as I see colleagues, friends and family members retire, I see that it’s not always the freedom that we daydream about.
For some, it absolutely is. I think about a former boss who had the goal to retire at 55 and made it happen.
Last week, we here at Area Agency on Aging celebrated the retirement of a dear colleague a few years before his full retirement age.
My mother-in-law retired at 67 and the next day became a freelance consultant, nearly doubling what she made as a schoolteacher.
A few weeks ago, my father-in-law decided to retire, too.
He’d worked nearly 40 years as a middle school teacher at a small school in rural St. Joseph County. At the beginning of the school year, he thought maybe he’d put in a few more years, but as the year progressed, he was over it.
I’m simultaneously happy for them, and so sad for those who don’t have that freedom.
Last month, I met a couple who get respite services from Area Agency on Aging. A care worker comes in twice a week to help with light housekeeping and meal prep, and is a companion to the husband who has Alzheimer’s disease.
“He was never able to enjoy his retirement because of his diagnosis at 62,” the wife said. “He is a creative person and would have had a blast during retirement.”
She herself is just 13 months away from retirement and desperately wants to keep working because it gives her a life outside of caregiving for her husband.
Thanks to the help they receive from Area Agency on Aging, she’s been able to continue to work, but that could change in an instant as his disease progresses.
I have a former coworker who has delayed retirement, even while dealing with extreme health issues herself, because she must maximize what she can collect from Social Security.
Without a pension system for her profession, and without being able to save much for retirement due to a variety of factors over the years, she’s still going to have to work part-time – not because she wants to like my mother-in-law – but because she’ll be living in poverty otherwise.
I think about all the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) families who earn just above the Federal Poverty Level but less than what it costs to make ends meet.
That was my family for many years. My parents weren’t putting money into retirement accounts. They were making sure me and my sisters had food, clothing and shelter.
With constant threats to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security funding, it’s a common dark joke among my peers that our generation (Millennials, born 1981-1996) will never be able to retire.
The truth is anything at any time could force us out of the workforce.
I try not to worry and remember, “we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
When I retire, I will call Area Agency on Aging for the support and services that I need to live the rest of my life independently.
I may take advantage of the variety of volunteer programs AAA has for folks who need something to occupy their time. Some even provide a stipend.
It’s possible I’ll need to use the Senior Employment program to gain some new skills to get back into the workforce.
Maybe I’ll have a question about Medicare or Medicaid or need support because I’m caring for a loved one.
Whatever it might be, I know Area Agency on Aging will be there to steer me in the right direction. Give us a call today at 800-654-2810.
The Generations Column appears each week in The Herald-Palladium.