Old Age is Inevitable. Best to Prepare for It

 

It was probably a coincidence that Roger Federer, one of the most dominant tennis players in the world decided to announce his retirement at the age of 41, when the world’s media was focused on the newly crowned British sovereign who had waited 70-years to take a job. This happy coincidence has brought to mind one of the most pressing issues that we face today – ageism or at least discrimination against people who are past a certain age.

I speak from personal experience as a “nearly fifty-year-old” who is continuously looking for work beyond my day job. I have applied for simple manual part-time work for organisations claiming to be “desperate” for workers, only to be told that they’re doing quite well thank you very much. After rejecting me, they promptly put out the ad again, claiming to be desperate. As a sixty-year-old colleague advised, it’s time that I appreciate that I am “past the sell by date,” and be grateful for my dreaded corporate existence.

Everyone gets it that you should not reject a qualified woman or ethnic minority based on their gender and ethnicity. Nobody seems to get the idea that you’re wasting valuable resources when you reject qualified candidates who are over a certain age.

Still, what does one do about it and I think one of the most prominent memes on the internet about the current British King:

https://shutupandtakemymoney.com/73-year-old-man-finally-gets-job-prince-charles-meme/

 

 If you think about it, King Charles is the living example of the great parallel issue with ageism – longevity. Think about it, his only purpose in life was to wait for his mother to die. However, she took over 70-years to do so and by the time he could sit on the throne, he, himself was an “Old-man,” with grandkids of his own. Given that both is parents lived past 90, it looks like he has around two decades to reign and by the time his son is ready to take over, he’ll be in his 60s.

Now, you can argue that the British monarchy is an exception in that they don’t need to worry about where their next meal comes from. However, the point remains, people around the world are living longer and longer lives. However, whilst people are living for longer, their working lives are getting shorter. Concepts like “iron-rice-bowl,” are increasingly outdated as corporations rise and fall according to the financial quarter. Pension plans around the world which were designed in a different era look increasingly outdated.

The reality is that however plentiful your pension fund may look; you will probably out live it and be at the mercy of children focused on their inheritance. In Singapore, our compulsory savings scheme is starting to look like a mirage where more money is placed into it but the withdrawal requirements look increasingly challenging.

So, what can people of a certain age do? Like the British King, one will have to find purpose beyond a certain career path. As the longest heir in waiting, Charles ended up coming up creating a lot of projects to keep himself busy until he had to take the job.

Whilst King Charles was an anomaly in as much as he’s never had to worry about money, the rest of us need to find ways to make sure our hobbies pay. Just about every “self-help” book tells you that you need to diversify your source of income by putting your savings in things like unit trust (Mutual funds to Americans), stocks and so on. Whilst it is good to have investments, one also needs to develop knowledge of what one is investing in and avoid obvious scams.

I started blogging because I thought it was fun. However, it turned out that its probably one of the few side-gigs that I can hold without too much distraction from my day job and my family. Hence, I encourage people to support my advertisers, even if online advertising revenue is famously pathetic. Unfortunately, “alternative” news sites in Singapore’s part of cyberspace are notoriously short of funds too.

Still, what can one do except be on the constant look out for things to do. Like or not, most of us will need to find a way of making our post-work-life pennies last.

Whilst King Charles has become the living symbol of how we need to find purpose for increasingly longer lives, Mr. Federer offers us some hope as someone who has aged well. Professional athletes usually don’t last past 35, so if you think about it, Mr. Federer has had a career that has gone past the average by six good years. The most interesting part of his career was the fact that he actually came back after a slump of a few years when he won the 2017 Australian Open against one of biggest rivals. He was the second oldest person to win a Grand Slam when he won the 2018 Australian Open at 36. His land grand slam final was in 2019 when he lost a thrilling five set match in the final of Wimbledon against Novak Djokovic, who is a good six-years younger and fitter. By way of a comparison, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi who were considered the “hot” items in men’s tennis in the previous generation retired at 33 and 36 respectively.

So, what does Mr. Federer’s longevity at the top ranks of international tennis suggests? Perhaps it’s a sign that old age doesn’t mean you lose your edge. Mr. Federer obviously found a way to stay relevant and at the top of his game for a long time. So, if he can do it, why can’t the rest of us.

Old age and longevity are going to be challenging, it’s something we need to work around whether the system allows to or not. Better to prepare for it while you can rather than wait for a penniless old age.