Retirement Blues

Volume 2, Issue 16- April 15-52, 2011

International Tribune

It is heartbreaking.  Everywhere around the world, pension plans are in trouble.  My parent’s retirement is in jeopardy and, I can only imagine, also yours.  This is the generation that proved to us that we can put a man on the moon, gave us the medicinal magic of Viagra and Prozac for a more enjoyable life, and the possibility of bringing down tyrannical regimes wherever they are just an internet away.  

Yes, indeed, our parents deserve the best.  They certainly are entitled to more than what the social security system and their 401-Ks initially promised them while they were toiling to make sure they can retire comfortably.  What went wrong?

Life expectancy has increased thanks, in large part, to better nutrition and the breakthroughs in modern medicine.  Statistics shows that since 1970, the average man can live five years longer in the industrialized countries according to the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development).  We are now living longer than our great grandfathers.  This new-found longevity, by necessity, requires more subsidies to survive.  Many governments have proven that they are incapable and simply do not have the wherewithal to fund the soon- to-retire seniors.  Not after a myriad of crises that shocked the world: the global economic recession, ballooning national deficits, and the constant threats of either country bailouts or government shutdowns.   

This is not just an American nightmare.  Nations all over the world are also rethinking, recalculating, reducing, and reshuffling their policy on how to support the aged.  Pension reforms are now forcing senior citizens to put in extra working years in order to bank in money into their 401-Ks, and ironically, also to help out their government at an extended time.  On the other hand, most private companies are in a hiring freeze- of all ages. The reality is, corporations simply do not have enough financial resources to extend the employment of their aging workforce nor to hire the elderly.  Corporate policies could be blatantly discriminatory.   Inexperienced labor is cheaper.   Most companies would invest more on the younger population with the belief that they bring energy, fresh ideas and more drive.  It is just another board room strategy when it comes to trimming down company expenses.

From France to Spain, millions of citizens are protesting over their government’s retirement age extension and cutbacks.  Just last year, the nationwide protests against President Sarkozy’s pension reform paralyzed public services for almost a month.   It was nearly a government shutdown but disguised as the undeniable French citizen’s civic duty.  These are examples when I feel the world can take notes from the French valor and “savoir faire”.     

Overall, people are angry. They feel robbed from what they are entitled to.  There will possibly be more of this kind of citizen’s uproar soon, and not just in the streets of Paris but all over the world.