"Retirement" -- or a New Opportunity?

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I have just been assigned to write an article for Helium.com about the best part-time jobs for retirees.  Helium is one of many online venues where aspiring writers can write on any number of subjects.  I have given them an exclusive right to my article, but there is no reason I cannot expand upon some of my ideas here. 

The word retirement is meant as one's final withdrawal from the workforce.  It has been touted as one of the most enviable goals of the working stiff, a chance to break away from the humdrum of daily existence, the commute, the boss, the struggle up the corporate ladder, the office politics - finally, the chance to spread one's wings and be free of the drudgery, free to enjoy one's final years, free to finally take up all those activities that have been shelved and enjoy life.  Indeed, "early" retirement has been written about and encouraged with some fervor as the quintessential goal.

Yet, proponents of early retirement either have not experienced retirement themselves, or if they have, do not squarely address some of the pitfalls of retiring from the workforce, especially when they espouse early retirement: the anxiety of outliving one's financial resources; diminishing health in one's so-called golden years; the sheer boredom born by unlimited and unstructured time on one's hands.  In fact, our golden years may last almost as long as our working years!

Nowadays, people statistically live much longer than when retirement age was set at 65.  So, how do we negotiate such a span of time? Our immediate knee-jerk reaction might well be to rejoice, throw our hats up into the air and cheer.  Upon further reflection, however, we may be facing a decidedly less golden retirement, with lots of idle time on our hands, without the camaraderie of our colleagues, or the feeling of no longer being useful and sought after for our contributions to the business world.  To be sure, to finally be able to pack up the car on an impulse and drive cross-country is a romantic notion, as is the idea that finally, now we would have the time and luxury to visit grandchildren.  While such pastimes do offer some appeal, it is imperative to realize that frequently, those are merely pipe dreams: the grandkids may be busy with their own friends, or their parents may not wish to cater to you; and when you think about all the details associated with taking a road drip, you decide on a change of plans.  Too, frequently, people find that now that they have finally reached that longed-for goal, it is simply not as sweet as once imagined.

I am not contending that taking trips is not fun, or energizing, or stimulating.  And I am not claiming that visiting family and friends is not rewarding.  I am saying that life is a continuum of experiences, and that working used to consume an enormous portion of our lives that now have become a void.  To preserve sanity, I believe it is critical that we begin to plan how to spend that time.  For many of us, that might involve taking a part-time job, if only to get out of the house and see some people on a regular basis; or to be accountable somewhere.  This experience cannot be overestimated.

Speaking of part-time jobs, there are, in fact, innumerable opportunities for many people, and retirees in particular.  Retirees typically do not have the same exigencies as younger folk.  Retirees may well have a source of ongoing income; may have paid off their mortgages and other debts; no longer need a steady supply of new clothes; and are generally no longer encumbered by the same needs as those still climbing the ladder.  That is freeing - and opens doors to opportunities.

Part-Time Driver

For example, my husband is semi-retired, and works as a part-time driver for Enterprise Rent-a-Car.  In that capacity, he shuttles cars back and forth between various locations in town.  The pay is not great, but it is better than minimum wage.  The hours are flexible and the company provides benefits, such as a 401(K) and paid time off.  It even provides access to group medical insurance.  How can you beat that?

On the Golf Course

My husband also loves to play golf.  His free time and spirit are immersed in golf.  He watches golf on TV, reads golf magazines, collects golf balls, and practices his golf swing in the yard.  He recently handed in an application at a local golf course to be a golf starter.  What is a starter, you ask?  The starter is that gentleman who sits in the golf cart at the First Tee, collects your fee and determines your position in the queue for tee-off.  For that task, he is paid in dollars and gets to play golf for free.  Again, can you beat that?  And how about putting an ad to give golf lessons?  Even a nonprofessional may still impart his or her knowledge to inexperienced folks.

Be an Usher

I, by contrast, love classical music and the opera.  Had I the time, I would volunteer at the theater downtown.  I'd get to meet people and attend as many performances as I could stand.  I might even participate in impromptu acting classes.

Teach Arts and Crafts

I also love to paint, and have sold a number of paintings already.  There is no reason I cannot put a small ad in the local paper and give classes.  I can also teach at the local college in adult education department.  No formal degree necessary. 

Writing Online

Many retirees nowadays are as familiar with the computer and the internet as their younger counterparts.  I have several online portfolios on display (see http://ambrosiapalette.com) and have also sold through other online venues (http://yael-eylattanaka.artistwebsites.com). 

Travel

Like to travel? Why not organize a trip for a small group? Since I enjoy painting, I could easily organize a small group to go paint either locally or somewhere more exotic. 

I dread the prospect of having days on end with nothing to do.  You might argue that there is never "nothing to do," and I agree.  However, after 40+ years in the work force, it is imperative for my own mental health to still "be needed."  To that end, I have joined Toastmasters, have already earned my first badge (it's called a "CTM" for Competent Toastmaster"), and I aspire to participate in some competitions.

I Don't Want to Retire to Belize!

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My husband and I have been thinking about what our retirement should look like, what we would do differently, what would be our cost of living, etc., etc.  You know the drill.  We are now living in Florida, and given the implosion of the real estate market, we may well stay here!  However, property taxes in Florida are high (we currently pay $3,500 per year in property taxes for our home, while our friends pay a mere $600 per year in Arkansas!).  We both enjoy warm weather, so Arkansas is out of the question.  And as long as we stay in Florida, we would be subjected to the same medical costs that we currently pay. 

Belize keeps coming up in many reviews on relocating abroad.  It is touted as English-speaking, with a low cost of living and gorgeous scenery.  But what about "culture"?  What about some kind of city life, urbanization, a cinema nearby?  Granted that we have not visited Belize, so it's difficult to gauge, but from what I read, it does not have what we are both looking for.  Don't get me wrong: We both love nature, we both love the oceans, and my husband loves golf almost more than he loves me, but we must still live within a civilization that's faintly familiar to what we are doing now.  Besides, isn't Belize the country with the bot fly?  Ugh.  More later.

Immediate Annuities

The term "annuity" refers to a recurring cash payment made by a financial institution to a depositor of money.  Annuities are instruments designed to secure a steady cash flow during a person's retirement and for the remainder of his or her life. 

One such annuity program is the 10 year with cash refund.  Here, the contract states that a monthly payment is made to the annuitant that is guaranteed for a minimum of 10 years, or for as long as the annuitant lives beyond the 10 years, and should the annuitant die before the guaranteed 10 years, any cash that has not been utilized from the initial deposit is returned to the beneficiaries.

Entitled to my Entitlements

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With President Obama making noises about budget cuts, the word entitlements is bandied about in the media with regularity, from some of the most notable minds of today.  They talk about the expenses for Social Security and Medicare as comprising two-thirds of government spending.  Cuts must be made, they say, even in these hallowed areas.  How else is the budget ever going to be balanced?

Excuse me?  "Entitlements" are being discussed as if we are, in fact, NOT entitled to these returns.  I am nearing retirement age, and I have worked and paid into Social Security and Medicare (approximately 15% give or take over the years) for my entire working life, half the prescribed amount as an employee, but the full amount for the past 23 years as a business owner.  As an American citizen, even if I had chosen to work overseas, my income would still be subject to American taxes.  Folks, that makes me entitled to whatever I can get as a benefit for my hard work.  Roosevelt, in his wisdom, wrote Social Security into law as a protective measure from the Great Depression.  But as such, future citizens did not have any choice of contributing or not -- the money was taken out of our paychecks automatically.  We are given the option to escrow or not our property taxes; but not Social Security or Medicare. 

Politicians have long known that Social Security is sacrosanct, as it should be.  It should be so because we have paid into it.  This is not free money that the government is giving us.  In fact, it could be said that the government has mismanaged our monies over the years by pilfering it, or not maximizing its potential returns.  At the current minimal interest rate environment, we are getting almost no returns on our monies.  And the program is supposedly going broke because of the diminishing population.

Several solutions have been proposed, among which was privatization, which was not received very well.  I suppose people are afraid of managing their own monies; or feel incapable of such feat; or the government does not trust us to take care of our own financial affairs; or the government does not want to hand over a relatively large chunk of money out of its coffers.  Any number of explanations is valid here.  But these are irrelevant.  What is relevant is that the program is maligned as just another "entitlement" program.  Forgive me, but I have owned a duplex that I rented out on the Section 8 program, and have therefore been on the giving end of that "entitlement" program.  There were some very able-bodied people taking advantage of the government's largesse, people who could get jobs, people who did have jobs but didn't report them -- in short, people who manipulated the system in order to get some free money.

What about people who cross our borders in order to get free medical care?  Are those not entitlement programs?  Did those people contribute the least bit into that care?

Please, don't insult my intelligence.  The Medicare system is closely tied to our medical delivery system, and as such, I can see the enormous waste generated in that area, the inefficiencies and downright fraud; doctors who order too many tests (I can personally attest to that); medical costs that are simply outrageous, almost criminal (an aspirin dispensed at the hospital for $85?!?).  If the government wants to get involved, let's see it control some of those costs.  But not what I have contributed with the sweat of my brow.

I wonder if anyone has proposed a wholesale refund to everyone who has contributed into the system, and simply doing away with it outright?  Just give out a lump sum of all your contributions to date, without recourse to any future assistance from the government.  Yes, it would be a large outlay, but there would be no further debt overhang, and the recipient would then be in charge of managing those funds and his or her retirement.  Of course, the fear mongers would tell you that wouldn't be the end of that, and those recipients would still be out there with their hands out looking for government assistance.  I don't know; I, for one, would rather manage it on my own.

Another thing: I know a few, shall we say, well-off individuals, people who have "made it."  A couple of friends of mine who are retired have a cumulative income of approximately $250,000 a year from pensions, Social Security and savings; and yet they choose to do nothing with their money - they don't travel, don't eat out, don't go to the movies.  Fine.  That's their choice.  But there are others who have made huge sums of money, and yet are still entitled to and receiving Social Security benefits.  Shouldn't people with incomes of greater than $X, be barred from receipt of benefits?  After all, there is a limit of $106,800 income above which Social Security is no longer paid.  So what if a person makes $1 million?  What about the likes of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett or George Soros or the (undeserving) executives on Wall Street who received those huge bonuses?  These are inequities which must be addressed fairly, rather than talking in sweeping terms about so-called entitlements.  It is not enough to lament the great expenditures that the government has.  It would be far more constructive to create some rigorous oversight conditions to the gratuitous doling out of monies from the government.  There is a reason why Medicare is so corrupted with fraud - government money is too easy to come by.  The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is another example where banks received huge sums of money from the government, with very little oversight or accountability required, with the result that they have been hoarding monies, unwilling to lend, yet all-too-willing to enrich themselves by investing in the stock market and give enormous bonuses to their executives.  Methinks somethin' wrong here!

On "Complaining" from Synapsot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMu5-pzayKc&feature=related

My "take" on Costa Rica

I subscribe to International Living Magazine.  I've enjoyed it for years for its descriptions of far-off places where we might retire, as well as to simply read various travelogues and impressions of the authors.  Many wonderful things have been said about Costa Rica for several years: the low cost of living, the stupendous panoramas, the girgling streams, the volcanoes and wild life, indeed, the calm and relaxed lifestyle that makes Costa Rica one of the few countries on earth where people's lives are the longest.  But ...

We took our first trip to Costa Rica two years ago.  Granted, it was at the height of the real estate bubble, even there.  We stayed at a pleasant-enough B&B in San Jose, the capital, from where we took a few side trips.  We went to the celebrated volcano Arenal for some R&R, as well as to view properties, and so to gauge Costa Rica's potential as our retirement haven.  We were pleasantly surprised when a developer's agent personally picked us up in San Jose and drove us to the development in Arenal, a full 3 hours away, through winding mountain roads that were, frankly, gorgeous, lush, tranquil, majestic -- the very adjectives that Costa Rica has enjoyed for lo these many years.  But ...

When we finally arrived at the development, an exclusive cluster of 21 estates on a hillside overlooking Lake Arenal (unspeakably stunning vistas), we were granted an overnight stay at one of the smaller villas, which was still a full 2000 square feet, with a fully equipped kitchen and elegant bathroom.  The villa had all the bells and whistles, everything a human could desire.  But the villa was the only home occupied in the development, and although we enjoyed our overnight stay, it was clearly not a good sign.  Our 2000-square foot villa was priced at $210,000.  I'm sure that was supposed to a bargain.  The other estates ran in price from a minimum of $600,000 up to $1.2 million.  They were unoccupied.  All of them were unoccupied. 

But our biggest objection was the distance between that development and the nearest grocery store.  If we wanted to go for a pizza, we would have had to drive 45 minutes on a dirt road.  Once at the village, the only amenities included a pizzeria and another small Costa Rican restaurant with plastic tables and chairs, and a small grocery store. 

To be sure, that is perhaps the very appeal of such a place -- its remoteness, its peace and solitude, which resonates with city slickers tired of the rat race.  But I suspect that even those poor souls who move to such a place overjoyed at first about no longer having to shovel snow soon find themselves bored to tears when they cannot find a cinema with the latest English-speaking movies, or when simply grocery shopping is an all-day event.

We did enjoy Lake Arenal.  The day following our stay at the development, we were graciously brought by our host to our next stop, a hotel at the foot of Mt. Arenal, from where we went on a zip line adventure, complete with horseback riding, hiking and a ride on a tractor.  That was fun.  And since we cannot control nature, nor place a special order, we had our zip-line adventure in roaring rain! 

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Zipping at 30 miles per hour 400 feet above the canopy, we had to keep our eyes shut tight because of the stinging rain, and therefore could see very little of the canopy.  We wore ponchos, but the rain was so strong that it drenched us down to our very underwear.  That was fun.  I swear, it was fun!  That is definitely not something we would do in our "regular" life.  Coming down from the zip lines required that we ride horses, some of whom were frisky -- and kicked up mud as they clip-clapped down. 

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Dirty, soaked to the marrow, cold and hungry, our next stop was the local hot-springs spa at Arenal.  Since my husband is Japanese, I have had the supreme pleasure of enjoying the Japanese "onsen," or hot-spring baths in the mountains, so the prospect of another such delight closer to home exhilarated me.  But whereas we were promised a voucher for a visit to the spa, no such voucher was honored.  Be that as it may, we were on vacation, and so we paid our way cheerfully.  The experience was not as it was in Japan.  But of course, one must guard against making comparisons between countries and experiences, even though such comparisons are inevitable.

We took a van back to San Jose where we also saw some potential properties that might be in contention for retirement.  But their prices were not the bargains we expected.  In fact, many of them cost more than a similar property in Tampa, where we currently reside.  The most discouraging aspect of what we saw in San Jose -- and I suspect that is the case throughout Costa Rica -- is that all houses have bars on the windows, all front doors and driveways are heavily fortified by steel bars, and all roofs have foot-wide rolls or barbed wire around their perimeter.  That does not speak well for the level of safety in that country.  We met an American gentleman who had actually purchased a house in one of the most desirable areas of San Jose.  The day after the closing, the house was burglarized.  I asked him about property insurance, and he replied that he bought it, but the company would not pay.  I don't know any more details than that.

To be sure, Costa Rica offers a tantalizing array of outdoor activities, gorgeous weather, mountains, beaches, wildlife and dreams to the adventurous souls.  But it was not a place that we would consider retiring to.

Social Security Benefits Rejected??

I was taking a walk this afternoon when I met one of my neightbors.  We chatted a bit about his and his wife's planned move to their house in Sedona.  He indicated that "as of tomorrow morning, it will be 36 months to our leaving."  He added that he was 63 (unsolicited), and was waiting to collect his full retirement benefit from Social Security.  I chimed in about a benefit which I have in my own arsenal: He could apply for Social Security right now, at 63, and immediately suspend his benefits.  At 63, his benefits would be reduced, but his wife could collect spousal benefits for the next three years, based on his current benefits.  When he becomes 66 and applies again to collect his full benefits, his wife's spousal benefits are then stepped up to whatever she would be entitled to based on his full benefits.  Astoundingly, he said, No, we're fine just as we are.  She is making more money than I am, so we'll just wait.  Just wait?  This is essentially free money.  It is a benefit that he and his wife are entitled to.  Why not at least inquire to verify this information?