Everything we think about retirement may be wrong. That is the warning coming from one of the country's most influential business leaders, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Larry Fink, who caused a huge stir last week when he wrote in his annual letter to shareholders that it is time to rethink when and how we should retire. Fink even called the idea of retiring at age 65 (when most Americans qualify for social security benefits) "a bit crazy." He further warned we could be moving toward a retirement crisis in America due to the combination of people living longer, social security heading for insolvency, and a growing number of Americans not saving enough for retirement.
Fink expanded on his warning in an interview with Bloomberg TV. "Our entire retirement system was based on statistics from 50 years ago, whereby most Americans retired between 60 and 62, but then most Americans passed away at 67," he said. "(With advancements in medicine and technology), today statistically, for a couple 60 years old in good health, at least one of them is going to live over 90."
"The thought of retiring at 60, with 30 more years still in front of you...we need to have a dialogue, we need to have a conversation about this," Fink continued.
In addition to living longer and staying healthier, many older Americans either want to or need to keep working past age 65. Fink points out that some 57 million Americans have no savings or retirement, while millions of others are behind or had to tap into their retirement early due to other financial difficulties. "I just think we need to have a conversation about whether we should reevaluate how long we work," said Fink. "Because we all need purpose in life."
"Most people can find purpose maybe with their grandchildren, their children, their community...but many people find purpose in their jobs."