Can Time be right?

Yesterday I took my wife to a dental appointment. While sitting in the waiting room I started going through some Time magazines catching up on items of interest. Now, because I'm in a waiting room I usually do not read articles closely as I don't like getting caught having to put down a magazine before I finished the article. So I may be guilty of not completely understanding the article I read.

The article concerned 401(k)'s and seemed to be saying that as an investment device they are not performing as intended. In addition the author(s) seemed to be saying that 401(k)'s were never meant to be a replacement for defined pension plans or to replace social security. In fact the article went on to suggest that the government should develop a system that pays a pension to every citizen at some predetermined age.

I guess we are seeing a flock of authors who seem to feel that U.S. citizens are entitled to retirement funds regardless of their contribution. It also purports 401(k)'s are not providing people with enough value because they are tied to market conditions and of course those have dropped severely in the last year.

Hmmm! I went through the initial start up of 401's and I do not ever recall anyone coming out and saying that these funds were meant to add to pension plans or were a replacement for pension plans. The article is correct to say that companies started using the funds originally set aside for pensions to fund operations. That is true. However, if 401(k)'s were meant as added perks for executives then don't you think the government would not have required the funds be available to all employees instead of a select few in the upper echelons. In addition, upper management was limited on how much they could contribute because of the tax deferment clause, and that there had to be some average savings rate across the board for all employees. I find it hard to imagine how an employee thought they weren't getting something they didn't have before. If the company did not have a pension plan covering all employees, and some didn't how could those employees not view a 401(k) as a retirement program. Where the view that there was a benefit to the plan was viewed was in the possibility of companies matching the employees contribution, then you are getting free money. Even then wouldn't the average "Joe" in the work place think they had a retirement fund.?

What I really object to is the author(s) trying to create the idea that the average citizen is due a retirement program. We aren't due anything in this country except life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We aren't guaranteed happiness, only the pursuit of it. I have maintained for some time that the government should regulate banking, medical coverage, and defense of our welfare. Beyond that, we should be free to pursue whatever economic return we can manage and if we can't build a nest egg then at least a social safety net should provide a floor, but it shouldn't allow me to travel to Europe.

I may have misunderstood the article, but I found it confusing and creating the thought of let "big daddy" take care of me. I'll take care of myself, thank you.

Urban and I have the same problem

I just finished reading an article on CNN by a writer discussing why Urban Meyer, Head Coach of the Florida Gator football team, changed his decision from quitting to taking an indefinite leave. Essentially the pressures of the work created health problems. But in the article the writer also felt Coach Meyer had come to a decision that his coaching days would extend beyond his 5oth year. Urban Meyer's dilemma surfaced during a conversation between he and Steve Spurrier head coach of the University of South Carolina. During a dinner conversation Meyer asked Spurrier why he hadn't quit before he was 60. Spurrier told him that when he was Meyer's age he never thought he'd coach into his 60's. Then the real issue came out, "What else am I going to do" Spurrier stated. Therein lies the crux of the issue.

I am not rich. I do not have a six-figure job. My social security check will probably represent over 50% of my income in my retirement years. My goal when I was a young man was to retire at age 50 and spend the rest of my life fishing, hunting, and enjoying life. Now I am 65 and don't know when I will retire.

Money is an issue. I don't have much debt. Our debt consists of a mortgage on a piece of rental property and a home equity loan that I used to renovate our log cabin. Between the two the payments would be about $600 a month. Not bad. Our living expenses are low, taxes and insurance probably average about another $400 a month. Social security for both my wife and I will probably yield $2500 a month, another $380 in a retirement from Case, say $600 a month in rent income and maybe a little draw from my investments and I can get to around $4000 a month without too much trouble. So net living expenses could be $2500 to $3000 a month. That isn't too bad.

The problem is, what am I going to do? I have a work shop, I have a lot of tools, and Terry keeps my "honey do" list quite long. I now have a boat, a canoe, and I have guns for hunting. I haven't fished in years, I haven't hunted in years. I dream of doing both, but I haven't done them for quite some time. I have a nice set of golf clubs, but I only play golf once or twice a year.

Listening to others, reading about Urban Meyer's dilemma and I have come to understand what I have done to myself. I have taken my work into my life. Work defines who I am. All of my adult life I have lead organizations and managed people to achieve some outcome. I am very good at it. I have built self-sustaining organizations. I have provided people who worked in my organizations the opportunity to participate, to become part of the success, and to grow and develop their own careers. My interest has been in solving problems. I lie awake at night thinking and devising methods to overcome issues and enhance the outcome for the organization. When I work I have no hours. If I need to be in early I am. If I need to stay late I do. Nights and weekends my mind turns to the issues, the opportunities, and the outcomes. My workdays do not fit a routine or a schedule, I've never allowed them to.

My youngest daughter has built a wonderful life devoted to her family. Yet, the genes run deep. I know she gets caught up in the mental busyness of work. She doesn't sleep well because her mind turns to the issues. Yet, she does maintain a scheduled work day, in by 8 out by 5. My work day begins when I want it to and ends when I want it to. That is the magic of my job and what I enjoy. However, when home on a weekend, or as now between Christmas and New Years I find my ambition stymied. I don't do a lot of work in my shop, my "honey do" list gets ignored or feebly worked on. I can feel a restlessness and concern of what I should be doing. My health becomes an issue, aches and pains I don't notice when I'm working now make me feel old. I sometimes feel like I'm just sitting around waiting to die. I'm only 65 for cripes sake, and I'm in good health. I should have 20+ years ahead of me, many of them with me able to physically do things. Yet I find myself lethargic and worried.

I enjoy it when my wife is off and we can do things together. I don't feel so restless and directionless. Perhaps that is the curse create for ourselves when we allow work to become part of the meaning of life, instead of using work to allow us to develop meaning in our life. I don't know the answer, but I do know and understand Urban Meyer's dilemma. It is a problem many face when they reach that stage in life when success isn't the issue anymore. It becomes more personal than that. Good luck Urban Meyer, we'll both need some.

Current literature tells us that the Baby Boomer age begins with those born after 1945 and lasts until 1964. Obviously there is some overlap, but I was born in 1944, and I am right on the cusp. Writers discussing the Millennial Generation say that those on the cusp exhibit the traits of both generations. For me I guess that means the generations of the Mature Worker and the Boomer. I am an old Boomer or a young Mature, what the hell! My parents did not plan for, nor did they get to enjoy retirement together. My Dad lost his business at age 64, moved to Milwaukee and started over pumping gas in a station on the Midnight shift. My Mother worked as a Salad Girl for a private tennis club in the Milwaukee area but passed away at age 66 from breast cancer. She was employed when she passed away. My Dad continued to work full time until age 85 when he did retire he lived another 9 years until he succumbed to prostrate cancer some 12 years ago.

My parents never saved much, they raised four children over a span of 40 years. Neither worked for employers that contributed to a pension. They never owned a home. Dad did not invest in the stock market although he talked about it. For part of his adult life he owned his own Real Estate and Insurance company that provided a living but not much.

I have a small pension from J I Case. I have saved money, I have an investment portfolio of mutual funds with one stock I purchased 23 years ago. We do own property, we live in a log cabin on five acres of land and own an additional five acres adjacent to our property with a home we rent out. Our home will be paid off within the next 14 months, we may pay off the rent property, or the note will be substantially reduced. We have no debt other than a home equity loan and the two notes on our property. We have over one years worth of expenses in a saving account. So we are substantially better off than my parents. Yet I worry, a life threatening illness could wipe out or savings, inflation could eat up our retirement. However, those things existed for my parents. While my Mother did not live to a ripe old age, my Dad did and enjoyed his years.

Social Security will comprise about 50% of our retirement income. The projected demise of Social Security will probably occur after we are gone. So, there may be some advantages to being an old Boomer. Time will tell. In the meantime, I continue to work. I have thoughts of working until I am 68, perhaps 72, who knows. There is some time in the future when I do want to change careers. I would like to write. I would like to spend some time fishing and hunting. I have a great desire to spend time near my childhood home. I want to spend time with my lovely wife and partner these past 16 years. So there is another career awaiting me, one of my own making and imagination.

I don't long for it. It simply means that I will be getting older and giving in to the aging of my body. However, it will be liberating because any commitments I feel tied to will fall away and days will be at my whim. So, I am an aging boomer with years to go before I sleep, and miles to go before my keep. Hope I make it.