To Work is to Be Human. God worked for six days and rested for one, baking into the created order a rhythm of work and rest that’s as natural as the rising and setting of the sun (Genesis 2:2). Yet our modern notion of retirement evidences a quite different understanding. Instead of the biblical idea that work and rest should exist in an ongoing balance for as long as God gives us strength to serve, we have embraced the idea that at age 65 (or earlier) our working life is over, to be followed by a permanent life of leisure.
Most retirees experienced frustrations and disappointments over the course of their careers. No doubt more than a few feel the truth of Ecclesiastes: “The work that is done under the sun is grievous to me, a chasing after the wind” (2:17). They are understandably eager to swap commutes and deadlines for long walks and happy hour on the 19th hole.
Yet many more feel they still have much to contribute well into their later years — a feeling that is crowded out by the retirement-entertainment complex that prizes pleasure over productivity. They also report missing the sense of purpose, and of human community, that work provided.Marc Freedman, Prime Time (New York: Public Affairs, 1999), viii. Unfortunately, our public systems built around retirement have created a sharp cliff, disconnecting work over a lifetime from a vision for human flourishing in one’s later years.
Retirement Doesn’t Satisfy. Many are coming to realize the vision of retirement as a never-ending vacation simply doesn’t satisfy. “I’d done all the preparation, except to really think about what life was going to be like,” said Sue Ellen King, a care nurse and educator at the University of Florida, in a New York Times feature. In her first three months of retirement, she organized photos, took a trip to Hilton Head, and enjoyed a good many long lunches. But after a brief honeymoon period, she says she felt more and more adrift.Paula Span, “Many Americans Try Retirement,” Then Change Their Minds,” New York Times, March 30, 2018: accessed on April 18, 2018: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/30/health/unretirement-work-seniors.html. Many swap the feeling of meaninglessness in work for meaninglessness in retirement, a phenomenon a growing number of Christian financial advisors see regularly.One such advisor is Joel Malick of Steadfast Wealth in Colorado Springs. See his book: Joel Malick, Alex Lippert, Dean Merrill, Afterwork: An Honest Discussion About the Retirement Lie and How to Live a Future Worthy of Dreams (Independently published, 2021).
Retirement Isn’t Healthy. One BBC study found that retirement can increase chances of clinical depression by 40 percent.Caroline Parkinson, “Why Retirement Can Be Bad for Your Health,” BBC, May 16, 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/health-22553577. And retirement often accelerates aging as people disconnect from purpose, often driving up health care bills well before the actual onset of ‘old age.’ Conversely, another study found putting off retirement can keep your brain sharp for longer.John Anderer, “Putting off retirement may keep your brain sharp in older age,” Study Finds, 30 August 2021, https://www.studyfinds.org/delayed-retirement-keeps-brain-cognition-stronger/.
The Majority Can’t Afford the Retirement Dream. For a growing number of Americans, the retirement dream is a mirage, like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of a vanishing rainbow. In 2019, savings in the average retirement account totaled just $65,000. 25% of Americans had no savings at all, and 28% of those in their sixties had less than $50,000.Kathleen Elkins, “Here’s how much Americans have saved for retirement at different ages,” CNBC, 23 Jan 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/23/heres-how-much-americans-have-saved-for-retirement-at-different-ages.html. Many believe retirement is actually exacerbating the yawning economic and social divides of America, splitting those who own public equities from the 45% who own no stocks at all. Teresa Ghilarducci, “Most Americans Don’t Have a Real Stake in the Stock Market,” Forbes, 31 Aug 2020, https://www.forbes.com/sites/teresaghilarducci/2020/08/31/most-americans-dont-have-a-real-stake-in-the-stock-market/.
Retirement, of course, is not all bad. It was formalized in the US with the passage of the Social Security Act of 1935, which had as its original intent the care for the elderly poor in post-Depression America. Indeed, a Christian, Frances Perkins, helped to pass the New Deal out of concern for the vulnerable.
Today, though, the very idea of retirement has metastasized. It provides the foundation for much of our investing yet, overall, it tends to diminish rather than enlarge the human flourishing God intends.
How, then, should Christians think about retirement? I cover that in Part 2: A Biblical Perspective on Retirement (linked below).