Are You Prepared for a 60-Year Career?
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How is a 60-year career defined and why might it replace the 40-year model?
and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise.
It's lunchtime in midtown Manhattan, and at Bryant Park, where lots of workers come looking for some sunlight, fresh air, and time away from their desks, we found 23-year-old Daniela Levante from Long Island, New York.
What do young workers in Bryant Park think about working into their 70s?
She's an assistant buyer for a discount retailer. She's been working there for just over a year, but we wanted to get her thoughts on something way down the line. Retirement.
I've heard a lot that our age range will have to work more than the normal 65, so I'm definitely trying to do anything I can to not have that happen to me.
Daniela has just started contributing to her 401k. She, like many young workers, realizes that just having a 401k might not be enough. She also understands that the blueprint for a traditional retirement may not apply to her generation.
I don't want to be in my 70s working full time. So it's definitely scary. It makes me worry for the rest of my generation as well, because I think not everybody has a good grasp or understanding of how to avoid that happening.
This is a special edition of Your Money Briefing for Wednesday, September 13th. I'm J.R. Whalen for The Wall Street Journal. Today we begin a three-part series that could change the way you think about the future of work, your career, and retirement. Most people look ahead to their mid-60s as around the time their working years will end, capping off a 40-year career. But people are living longer, healthier lives, and living expenses are certain to keep rising. So for a lot of us, our working life is likely to last for two more decades, a 60-year career.
There are very few people who can work 40 years and save enough money to not work for another 30.
The shift to a 60-year career won't be this thing like a light switch where it's off and then it's on. We're going to be gradually making our way.
So what exactly does a longer career entail? And how can you start preparing yourself for one? We'll speak with Laura Karstensen, the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, and WSJ personal finance reporter Joe Pinsker, after the break.
Listen at schwab.com slash washingtonwise.
Mention retirement to someone during their working years, and it's likely to conjure up images of rest and relaxation, probably starting in their 60s, enjoying the money they saved up in their 401k and other plans along the way.
Which demographic groups will be most affected by longer working lives?
The reality, however, is likely to be quite different.
So the standard timeline of a career that's probably in many people's heads when they think of what a career is, is that you leave school, you work for maybe about 40 years, and then you retire if you can afford to.
That's Joe Pinsker. He covers personal finance for The Wall Street Journal. And he's previously written about the idea of a 60-year career for The Atlantic.
The shift to a 60-year career won't be this thing like a light switch where it's off and then it's on. We're going to be gradually making our way towards that period of time being the relevant one for a career, just gradually.
So what's one of the things causing this shift? Longevity.
What does Stanford's Laura Carstensen say about biological limits to working longer?
More people are living healthier lives, lasting well into their 80s or even 90s, meaning they have to sustain their lifestyles for longer. While it's difficult to know just how our population may change in the next century, some demographers have made predictions about how long the children of today's generation will live. One study by the University of Southern Denmark predicts that most babies born since 2000 in countries like the United States, Japan, Canada, or France with long life expectancies will celebrate their 100th birthdays.
So while this may not be as super relevant to people who are currently in the generation of being workers in their 50s or 60s or 70s, this is something that's going to be hugely important for people who are really young right now.
To get a better idea of what this might look like for younger workers, we spoke with Laura Karstensen, the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
How is a 60-year career defined and why might it replace the 40-year model?
0:01–0:41
2
What do young workers in Bryant Park think about working into their 70s?
0:41–3:28
3
Which demographic groups will be most affected by longer working lives?
3:28–4:13
4
What does Stanford's Laura Carstensen say about biological limits to working longer?
4:13–6:00
5
How could flexible work hours and weaving education through life make a 60-year career feasible?
6:00–7:44
6
What practical steps can individuals take to avoid burnout and prepare for a longer career?
7:44–9:27
7
How should personal finances and retirement planning change for a potential 60-year career?
9:27–10:46
Speakers
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