Everyone over 40 thinks about retirement. Nearly everyone looks forward to it. And younger workers look forward to the opportunities which retirement creates.
But will you retire? This week’s announcement by IBM that it can’t afford to continue it’s retirement plan is just another in a string of Telltale warnings. We heard a lot of press last year that Social Security might not be there for many retirees (at least not like they imagined.) And we hear that some big-time business threats, like the problems at GM, are more than a little bit due to high pension costs.
Just a few years ago the stock market was skyrocketing and everyone felt their pension plans were in great shape. After only a few years of anemic market performance now corporations are claiming they can’t promise retirement.
Who’s problem is this? Why, it’s yours (and mine.) No matter what we want to believe, what we Locked-in on when we were younger, and what happened for our parents there is no doubt that retirement is going to be different for the Boomer generation. But have you Disrupted your thinking and made plans? Or are you ignoring these Challenges, so clearly being reported, in favor of Lock-in to old assumptions?
I’ve talked often about how easily businesses ignore their Challenges and avoid Disrupting their Lock-in. But this one is personal. The pension Challenge affects us as individuals. It requires we as individuals find some White Space to rethink our retirement plans. Have you started? Or are you content Defending and Extending your past beliefs? The Challenges are large – and the personal risk is high. Maybe it’s time you think about how you’ll handle this Challenge; before it becomes a problem you may not be able to solve.