Could there be anything worse than retirement ?
Could the traditional “retirement lifestyle” be the worst work life experience of all ?
Could there be anything worse than watching the clock tick by, participating in activities that are just time fillers, not having the finances to do anything else ?
Could you end up in this position where you would be doing nothing of value ? Is this the future you are planning for ?
You may have heard that 60 years is the new 50 ? well it is because we are living longer and healthier lives than ever before.
People over 50, are saying NO! To working the 9-5 job just to fill in time and build retirement savings.
There has been no better time in the history of business to start and women will not be alone.
In the US, according to its Chamber of Commerce Foundation[1], over the last 15 years, women-owned businesses have grown by 150% more than all other small enterprises and account for 30 percent of all businesses. The Foundation also reports that the new woman in business is often a sole operator meaning they have no employees and have often been corporate executives, technicians and other professionals who have chosen to strike out in their own.
Women more than men are more likely to consider a late career change into business.
Research released in 2011 by Babson College and the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor found that more than half of women aged 55 to 64 feel that they have the capability for entrepreneurship and it is a good opportunity to start a business given the right opportunity and support[2].
Hello to self-employment, and the gals over 50 will not be alone
Self-employment is growing with US Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute estimating that that women in businesses could create over 5 million new jobs across the their nation by 2018[3] .
In the UK, self-employment was higher than at any point over past 40 years and data from the IPPR[4] in the same year show that this growth has been the fastest of all western European countries. In these countries, self-employment is increasing at a faster rate for women than men[5] . The IPRR research also suggested that in the UK one in five older workers (aged 55–65) are self-employed looking to top up their pension. Self-employment is also valuable for mothers looking for flexible work. Being your own boss has great advantages, with nearly half of Europeans expressing a preference for this way of working[6].
In the US, self-employment in publishing in increased by 25% in the last 14 years with estimated numbers of 6,500 self-employed in Internet publishers, averaging about $45,000 in earnings per year. Thirty-five percent of these web publishers are women. The female self-employment rate is also high among art and design workers (38.4%), media and communication equipment workers (35.4%), and other sales and related workers (32.3%).Self-employed women also dominate many occupations involving person-person work, such as psychologists, therapists, counsellors, nurses, and social workers.
Retirement Uncertainty
The Stanford University’s Center on Longevity[7]— Retirement Planning in the Age of Longevity Conference held in 2012, acknowledge that people considering retirement are confused.
Uncertainty 1: How to Plan
FACT : "Only one-third of pre-retirees say they have a retirement plan, compared to just 57% of retirees".
Uncertainty 2: Estimating Expenses
FACT: " Only 1 in 3 pre-retirees have a plan for how much money they will spend annually in retirement and where that money will come from. 1 in 10 say they “do not know or have not thought about it"."
Uncertainty 3: How to plan
FACT: "The accumulated evidence suggests a prevailing tendency for people to underestimate their longevity and with men under-estimating more than women"
Uncertainty 4: When to retire
[1] Women-Owned Businesses: Carving a New American Business Landscape
http://www.uschamberfoundation.org/women-owned-businesses-carving-new-american-business-landscape-0
[2] Babson College. http://www.babson.edu/Academics/centers/blank-center/global research/gem/ Documents/GEM_US_2011_Report.pdf
[3] https://c401345.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/pdf/State_of_Women-Owned_Businesses Report_FINAL.pdf
[4] The IPPR is the UK Institute for Public Policy Research, an independent registered charity
that conducts research into the political and scientific factors that impact on public policy and living standards of all sections of the community.
[5] http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/self-employed-workers-in-the-uk/2014/rep-self-employed-workers-in-the-uk-2014.html
[6] http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2015/01/being-self-employed-becoming-new-normal
[7] http://longevity3.stanford.edu/about-the-center-2/
Recent Comments
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Ha ha ... I am not sure