As I read the news and listen to stories about people who have decided to stop working, I worry about their future. The concept that it’s time to take a break from work because one spouse or parent can support you should be reconsidered. Your current income is not what this article is about per see. You should know some things about what will happen down the road.
Putting a job on hold means that you are not receiving credit for Social Security or Medicare. Lots of young people simply can not grasp what this means but it can be life-changing. Your decision now to stop working for what seems to be good reasons will cost you in the future. Particularly if you are in your late 40’s, 50’s, and even 60’s. Why?
Social Security looks back on the last 30 working years to calculate what you are due. The idea is to maximize your earning potential during those years to receive the largest payment possible. There is no such thing as too much money to retire with. Social Security was not intended to be “the” retirement mechanism for the population but it’s now an extremely important part.
“But I do not need to work, my wife earns enough”
Perhaps you do not need to work now because your wife earns enough to support your current living situation. Can you live on one Social Security check later in life? What happens if you divorce or your wife passes away while she is young? There can be severe consequences in not planning for your future even when you are in your 30s.
Consider not only a small Social Security check but the fact that you are neglecting banking money now in your productive years. Are you going to send your children to college? How will you cover all of those costs? Consider this, businesses are now on a fast track to automate jobs, all types of jobs even white collar.
Where will you find a job with a large gap in employment? Experience is valuable to employers well beyond the degree you may have earned. Without those years of experience, your earning potential will be affected as well. This article of course does not consider your current circumstances. Perhaps you want to be at home with your children. The point is that life moves on and employers and Social Security will not count your circumstances in their evaluation of your value.
Ask seniors who are barely getting by
There are so many people who for a myriad of reasons did not plan for their future. Their earnings were low because they did not learn a skill. They may have worked their entire life and have little to show for all of that labor. They expected perhaps that Social Security would be enough. It’s not enough for most people. But, without Social Security, even these people would be living under rocks.
As I mentioned, It’s extremely difficult to grasp what it means to consider where you will be at age 70. Particularly when you are in your 20’s or 30’s. My suggestion to any who will listen is to work hard and save for the future. This does not mean you can’t have fun now, it just means that earning during your healthier years is critical.
This trend recently what I call post-COVID exhaustion will go away. People will want jobs after taking time off. The problem with economies is that they adjust to all kinds of pressures. With fewer people taking jobs, the jobs will start to go away. As I mentioned earlier, employers have been shocked into finding ways to eliminate people. This was a trend well before COVID and will continue to accelerate.
Before you leave your job
Consider what it means to leave your job. Perhaps you have a good reason for doing so and it’s just temporary. Some temporary things can become permanent. I know people who do not want to work, they subsist on their spouse’s earnings or government assistance. They can work but choose not to. Later in life, it will catch up to them.
We do not live in a socialist country although sometimes it seems like we do. Our economy works on the basis that people will be contributors to the greater cause. That most people work and support themselves and their families. Hope is not a strategy. A strategy is to find another job before you quit the one you are on.
If you do not like the job you have, educate yourself to do something else. Most of us can not afford to do what we would like to do and get paid for it. You can be one of those who plan and succeeds at their plans. You learn a skill and go to market with it. Earn income and Social Security credits. Don’t forget to have fun as well.
Please consider reading some of our articles on life and similar topics. “Simple steps to ensure your future is secure” is an article you may be interested in when following up on this one. If you are a Genxer please read this article “Gen X facing retirement crisis now”
If you want to do something with all of that money you are saving, contact our friends at Logan-Anderson, Gulf Coastal Realtors for investing in residential rental property. Take a trip and stay at the beach using Christies Gulf Beach Rentals, vacation rentals.
Some photos courtesy of Pixabay – Soumen82harza
