This is a repost from Forbes.
There are two kinds of dads: that in-control, flat-belly dad featured on Father’s Day ads and the American dads facing real economic anxiety. Your older dad may need that tie after all, even if he is over 60. If he is an average older man, he will try to stay in the labor market and will continue to look for work if he loses his job.
The stark truth is American men have inadequate retirement balances. The average married middle-class household in the middle 40% of the income bracket – an annual income of $79,00-$115,00 – has an average of $130,000 in their retirement accounts. This would yield about $700 per month for the rest of their life starting at age 65.
Even the average high-income married household with an older worker has just $250,000 in their retirement account. This is a fraction of what Dad needs to keep the house and living standards intact.
Did you know that men are not more likely to have pension plans than women? Over one-third of men and women approaching retirement have no retirement plan (401k) or Individual Retirement Account Plan at all. And high-income men aren’t exempt from low retirement account balances; it is shocking that among the highest earning men, 15% have no retirement savings at all.
Even if they want to, men are not likely to work much past 65 to make up for inadequate retirement savings. In fact, about 40% leave their jobs before they wanted to. Studies find that a large majority of these men say they retired. But, it wasn’t because they had enough money or because they wanted to stop work. They retired because they said work became too difficult or unpleasant. They felt pushed out because of a younger supervisor or a feeling that it was time.
Being pushed out might be on the rise for older workers. Prudential Insurance is helping employers see the importance of pushing people out for fear they will stay “past their time.” Every year an older worker stays on the job, the higher the risk that seniority salaries and health benefits cost more than the value added of the employee. They reckon that on average older workers hanging on because they can’t afford to retire could cost over $50,000.
When the next recession hits, I fear older men will be more likely to be pushed out of their jobs. That tie may be appreciated after all. Though women are almost as likely to work as men, men are more attached to their jobs. Older men feel the need to earn. The feeling of being the primary breadwinner is especially true of the third or so men with college and advanced degrees.
Most older men are married. Researchers at the Census Bureau and University of Houston found marriage has different effects on men and women. Married men work longer, married women are more likely to retire earlier.
Many people thought that less educated men retired earlier because they were less likely to be married. But another reason is that their jobs have become very hard to do. Men who retire early are more likely to be represented in manufacturing, construction, and transportation and warehousing. Older men have more physical job demands than women do. In 2014, the latest data we have, 35% of men between the ages of 55-64 have physically demanding jobs.
Dad's attachment to work is not just physically demanding. If he loses his job, he may also need a therapist. Men with little wealth men tend to become depressed if they lose their jobs after age 60. That said, older men are less likely to be depressed than women. They are less likely to die with morbidities and illness. It's unlikely he will die in his boots and not have a retirement may be lower than you think. 14% of men die without retiring.
I don’t want to be glum, just realistic. Love and connection to family makes a huge difference on elderly well-being! Really, money alone does not determine happiness.
So, be kind to Dad on Father’s Day. Listen carefully to his concerns about working at older ages.
