'About To Be Retired' Persons Views

By: Ian_R_Campbell

In a survey of Canadians now between 50 - 60 years old, said to have an statistical error rate of not more than 3.5%:

• on average 53% said they planned to work following retirement; and,

• almost 50% said they had retirement savings of under $100,000.

The referenced article that discusses the survey simply reports the survey results, without further commenting or suggesting what the survey results imply.

My comments:

• there has to be a direct correlation between persons seeking jobs that otherwise would be retired, whether full time or part time, and youth unemployment;

• countries, and Canada is no exception to this have to employ their youth going forward, or suffer negative consequences;

• countries, and again Canada is no exception, are unlikely going to be able to create enough jobs to employ both people that ought to be retired and their youth;

• that is going to lead to youth unemployment, unless:

  • governments preclude employment for retired seniors - a possibility, but an unlikely one since no government is going to want seniors who are wards of the state, or, heaven forbid, lose their votes;

  • governments incentivize employers to employ people that wouldn't otherwise be employed - a slippery slope indeed;

  • real economic growth results in an abundant number of jobs for both seniors who want jobs and youth - an unlikely event in current and prospective economic times.

The bottom line:

• many retirees who would like to find work to supplement their savings are going to fail in that, and will see their lifestyles decline in their retirement years. This will make them less happy than they otherwise would be;

• some of those who should be retired will take jobs that ought to be available to young people;

• youth unemployment will be higher than it otherwise ought to be; and,

• there will be a greater chance of societal disruption than there ought to be.

Topical Reference: Most fiftysomethings plan to work in retirement to offset low savings, from The Globe and Mail, August 21, 2012 - reading time 3 minutes.

Ian R. Campbell, FCA, FCBV, is a recognized Canadian business valuation authority who shares his perspective about the economy, mining and the oil & gas industry on each trading day. Ian is also the founder of Stock Research Portal, which provides stock market data, analysis and research on over 1,600 Mining and Oil & Gas Companies listed on the Toronto and Venture Exchanges. Ian can be contacted at icampbell@srddi.com

© 2012 Copyright Ian R. Campbell - All Rights Reserved

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