Work, Retire, Repeat: The Uncertainty of Retirement in the New Economy

In the United States, workers have given up on the idea of dignified retirement for all, due to the highest risk of poverty among elders compared to peer nations. Teresa Ghilarducci's book Work, Retire, Repeat argues that the solution to the financial straits of American retirement is simple: people need to just work longer. However, this call to work longer is misleading in a multitude of ways, including its endangering of the health of workers and its discrimination against people who work in lower-wage occupations. Ghilarducci's book shows how relatively low-cost changes to how we finance and manage retirement will allow people to truly choose how they spend their golden years.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 06 March 2024
Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

While the French went on strike in 2023 to protest the increase in the national retirement age, workers in the United States have all but given up on the notion of dignified retirement for all. Instead, Americans, whose elders face the highest risk of poverty compared to workers in peer nations, are fed feel-good stories about Walmart clerks who can finally retire because a customer raised the necessary funds through a GoFundMe campaign.

Many argue that the solution to the financial straits of American retirement is simple: people need to just work longer. Yet this call to work longer is misleading in a multitude of ways, including its endangering of the health of workers and its discrimination against people who work in lower-wage occupations. In Work, Retire, Repeat, Teresa Ghilarducci tells the stories of elders locked into jobs—not because they love to work but because they must.

But this doesn't need to be the reality. Work, Retire, Repeat shows how relatively low-cost changes to how we finance and manage retirement will allow people to truly choose how they spend their golden years.

The first step is to expand Social Security benefits. Social Security is the foundation of retirement security for most Americans, but it is currently only available to those who have worked long enough to qualify. Expanding Social Security benefits to include more workers, such as part-time workers and those who have taken career breaks, would help to ensure that everyone has access to a dignified retirement.

Another important change is to increase the age of eligibility for Medicare. Currently, Medicare is available to Americans aged 65 and older. Increasing the age of eligibility to 67 or 68 would help to ensure that retirees have access to affordable health care.

In addition, we need to encourage employers to offer retirement savings plans to their employees. Many employers currently do not offer retirement savings plans, which leaves workers to rely on Social Security and other government programs to provide for their retirement. Encouraging employers to offer retirement savings plans would help to ensure that workers have access to a secure retirement.

Finally, we need to address the issue of income inequality. Income inequality is a major factor in the financial struggles of American retirees. Many retirees are living on fixed incomes, which are not enough to cover their expenses. Addressing income inequality through policies such as raising the minimum wage, implementing universal healthcare, and investing in education and job training programs would help to ensure that retirees have access to the resources they need to live a dignified retirement.

In conclusion, the dire realities of retirement in the United States are a result of a complex set of factors, including the increasing age of retirement, the decline of traditional pension plans, and the rising cost of healthcare. However, there are solutions to these problems, such as expanding Social Security benefits, increasing the age of eligibility for Medicare, encouraging employers to offer retirement savings plans, and addressing income inequality. By implementing these changes, we can help to ensure that all Americans have access to a dignified retirement.

Weight: 590g
Dimension: 236 x 160 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780226831466