The 7 Lies Of Retirement That You Must Face To Improve Your Life
The sad truth about life after retirement.
Olivier Le Moal, Jacob Lund | Canva Retirement is projected to society as relaxation and freedom. It is the ultimate reward after working for one's entire life. But this picture-perfect stage of life is not what it seems in reality. Retirement undoubtedly has some benefits. But nobody is telling the whole truth.
"Retirement is a trap. Our relentless pursuit of retirement security in the future comes at the expense of living fully today." — Ernie J. Zeli
The reality of retirement is much darker than most people want to face because we like fairytales. But life is not a fairy tale and will disappoint you brutally if you do not accept reality. The truth will initially hurt you, but it will also help you change your current life to avoid the trap of the rigged games.
Here are the 7 lies of retirement that you must face to improve your life:
1You will live the retirement dream you planned.
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Society paints retirement as a time of relaxation and leisure. Because of the mainstream narrative, we believe that retirement will bring us freedom without the burden of work. However, the reality of retirement can be quite different from this idealized image. Many retirees face financial struggles, healthcare expenses, and loneliness.
The promise of carefree days often gives way to the harsh realities of aging, like health issues and financial insecurity. This is not necessarily the reality for all, but let's face it: when you get older, you will encounter many health problems and increasing medication costs. Both my parents lived a healthy and long life, but one of my sisters died of cancer at the age of 54.
"One day, you will wake up, and there won't be any more time to do the things you've always wanted. Do it now" — Paulo Coelho
2You'll retire at the age you planned.
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The age at which one can claim full benefits keeps increasing, forcing people to work longer than anticipated. The retirement age is constantly growing in most countries, undermining the promise of freedom and leisure in later years. It's as if society has built an inflation-like wage trap to extract every hour of labor from its population. It seems harsh, but you instinctively know that social security is nonsense.
3Having a lot of free time will make you happy.
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The most rewarding aspect of everybody's retirement is finally getting out of the daily grind of work life. People often dream of finally pursuing their hobbies, traveling, and simply relaxing without being constantly hustled by their employers. This is simply a lie. I know people who always wanted to travel when they retire, but their lack of energy, money problems, and health issues stop them from pursuing that dream.
But there are other aspects like psychological impact:
- Lack of structure — We are creatures of habit and usually have a structured schedule. Retirement removes this framework, and many people feel disoriented and lack purpose.
- Identity loss — For many people, their jobs are essential to creating their identity. Without work responsibilities, people question their value.
Another aspect is that the Social Security pension is frequently less than the minimum wage, regardless of where you live. Typically, a pension is insufficient to ensure a decent retirement. In other words, you cannot and should not rely on social security because it will be too late to change things once you reach retirement age.
4You will feel like all your hard work has paid off, finally.
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The idea of working hard now to enjoy retirement later can be highly misleading. Many people sacrificed their health, happiness, and relationships to pursue a distant retirement dream, only to realize too late that true fulfillment cannot be postponed indefinitely.
Two of my friend's fathers died within a year after reaching retirement age. None of them had a chance even to explore the dream they were chasing their entire lives. Are you willing to take the risk and work hard your entire life so that you can relax and enjoy life when you're older? And what if you do not make it to retirement?
5Your savings will be there when you need it.
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The financial industry frequently offers retirement planning products and services, claiming to provide a worry-free future. However, hidden fees, market volatility, and deceptive promises can trap people in a cycle of financial dependency. For example, every bank tells us that the stock market will rise by roughly 7% every year based on historical trends. And this is a lie. If you look at your portfolio stock market during the pandemic, it did not grow by 7%, and the same was true during times of war.
6Your social security will provide a cushion for you to fall back on.
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For many, the idea that Social Security will provide a comfortable retirement is another fiction that governments and financial institutions propagated. The truth is that social security payments are not guaranteed, and there are ongoing concerns about the program's long-term viability. The promises of security and support are frequently broken when retirees need them the most, leaving many feeling betrayed and abandoned by the system they have paid into for years.
I have never met somebody satisfied with their pension. Nonetheless, every generation gets less than what they deserve. This explains why the wage trap works so brilliantly. Older people are busy trying to survive, while younger generations deal with challenges. Nobody stands up for retired people.
7You won't have to work anymore.
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Most people believe that they will finally be able to quit their jobs. But this is simply not a reality due to the constantly increasing costs of living, inflation, and the growing costs of health procedures and medication. As I mentioned before, the Social Security pension will only cover the very basic costs of living. If you do not have enough savings or income, you will be forced to rejoin the workforce again. That can be problematic, though, because of the rapidly shifting job market and ageism.
Jerry Keszka is a writer and solopreneur. A 2x top writer on Medium in Entrepreneurship and Productivity, he guides people to live on their terms and avoid traps of predesigned life.