Props for the 60-year-career

Have you heard that the new future of work is the 60-year career? Don’t worry about it if you are already over age 45 and have been dreaming of retirement for a decade. This story isn’t in the cards for you. But it will be for the younger generation, and the news is just hitting the major media outlets (WSJ, The Atlantic, The Guardian). It’s being approached as a “get used to it” fact of reality, with good arguments. But it never feels good to have something shoved down your throat.

Now I’m over 50, so I could ignore this new normal—except I chose one of the few professions that has been ignoring it from the get-go. (Have you heard about professors? A recent tweet by Carly Maris pointed out that Harrison Ford playing Indiana Jones #5 shouldn’t raise any eyebrows, because an 80-year-old professor not retiring is the most accurate part of the franchise.) So I never planned to retire. Now you may be different, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get on board with the 60-year career. This new story could be the fairy tale you’ve been looking for. Here is why you will love it:

The 60-year career isn’t a sprint.

First and foremost, shifting from a 40 to 60-year career means there is more time. There is more time for mentoring, more time for job-switching to fit your interests, more time for vacations, and more time for part-time work when life gets crazy busy with family or illness. To be fair, the current world of work isn’t structured this way, but it will be.

The 60-year career is more secure.

We need to redefine security. Part of the sprint in early life is saving for the future, including retirement. And that crunch comes as you juggle kids and student loans. Yet, less than half of Americans save enough for retirement. So imagine being behind that eight-ball for decades, with retirement looming, with the stress and insecurity of an uncertain future. That results in postponed retirements as people begrudgingly work a few extra years when they lack funds to retire. What if the equation shifted so that you always planned to work a little on the side? How much do you have to save when getting a social security check and a part-time income as well? If you aren’t stressed about saving enough for 20 years of leisure later, can you enjoy the work-life balance a little more now?

The 60-year career spaces out professional development.

That means you don’t have to be locked in and saddled by student loans. Forbes says the degree is in decline. More and more young people are ditching college for work, recognizing that work experience can teach them what they need to be successful. Online, free, subject-specific, high-quality courses are plentiful. If you want to be a web designer or financial analyst, you can learn most of what you need online. Some careers will still have certification credentials requiring degrees, but that may change to apprenticeships and work-focused education down the road. Spaced-out learning while engaged in the service of work is a dream, compared to the long and expensive slog through 12-20 years of classroom education.

The 60-year career evolves.

Gone are the days of working 40 years for a pension. The average employee stays with their job for less than five years. Moving in and out of the workforce is more typical in a longer career. After a few years or a decade of work, some might find their niche and shift into a new area, gathering a degree or certification along the way. The pathway to learning and doing and finding a fulfilling job will constantly be evolving. The 60-year career doesn’t leave you trapped in a single avenue.

The 60-year career supports health.

When retirement started as a concept almost 150 years ago, the idea was to put older workers on the shelf and clear the way for younger workers. Retirement became institutionalized as governments jumped on board with safety net benefits like the Social Security Act in 1935. But this was never about the health of older citizens. While disability insurance is good, stopping work to idle away time on a golf course can be health-destroying. Even controlling for prior health, working-age peers have better health than their retired counterparts. If we do it right, working gives people more than a paycheck. It supports social, cognitive, and material benefits that all boost health. Getting that for six decades rather than just four is a plus.

The 60-year career is about balance.

One of the biggest health benefits of retirement comes if a new retiree focuses more on health and fitness (which only happens occasionally). In a long career course, workers don’t have to sacrifice their health to get ahead now. As the 60-year-career is institutionalized, more aging workers will drop their hours to 25-30 hours a week to make time for exercise. More workers will choose a 30-hour work week if they have families and split childcare responsibilities. There is time to enjoy and actualize each day—and we can avoid putting all the proverbial eggs into the retirement basket.

Maybe you have been worried that you might retire too late. Have you encountered someone who retired with grand plans for world travel and seeing family just before their dreams were crushed? Within a short period of time, maybe the person had a heart-breaking medical diagnosis? There is no way to know what the future holds. This old system of saving our hopes and dreams for a future carefree retirement has been toxic for generations. There is a reason we have memes about grumpy old men. But the answer isn't earlier retirement--it's finding the joyful balance each day.

So jump in and start living out your 60-year career. I’ll be there with you--as the 80-year-old professor working 20 hours a week, job sharing with the 30-year-old with two kids at home—so we can each achieve the good life now. No waiting (or retirement) required.