Most Americans including myself assume that we’ll retire.  We think of retirement as natural stage of our lives, not too different from puberty. Everyone goes through it we assume.  The fact is retirement is a modern concept. Historically, and in most areas of the world people have worked up until the day they died.  Of course historically speaking, people have died fairly young. In Zambia the average life expectancy is a mere 37 years of age.  If I could only expect to live 37 year, I can’t imagine I would be thinking much about saving for retirement.

It’s well publicized that Americans are not saving enough for retirement. True enough if most Americans want to stop working and live off retirement savings, they don’t have enough. Over the last generation we’ve seen some reversal in the age old trend of the younger generation taking care of the older generation as an increasing number of younger Americans have become reliant on the largess of previous generation - they’re living at home to a greater degree in the least.  A bountiful retirement is and will be out of reach of many if not most Americans.

At the end of the day, however, I think as society we must accept that not everyone will be playing shufflepuck on 21 day cruises.  Retirement is in the end just another product to be consumed.  Just as I can’t afford a 60 foot luxury yacht, for many retirement is just another one of these luxury goods that they can’t afford.  Of course for some they have chosen or at least haphazardly chosen to consume other luxury good today instead of retirement later.