My father always used to say that his goal was to stop working once his 70th birthday arrived. His logic was that at that point, he'd have put in his time in the workforce and would be entitled to a more relaxed lifestyle.
But my dad turned 70 late last year. And as of now, he's still holding down a full-time job.
Some of his friends who are retired have encouraged him to join their ranks. But I keep telling Dad that it's in his best interest to keep working as long as possible. Here's why.
It's not just about the money
My father contributed steadily to his workplace 401(k) plan for much of his career. He has amassed a decent-sized nest egg.
Image source: Getty Images.
Also, because my father continued to work throughout his 60s, he had no need to file for Social Security during that time. The only reason he filed for benefits after turning 70 was that there was no financial incentive to wait any longer, since you don't get credit for delaying Social Security once your 70th birthday arrives.
The point is that while collecting a paycheck from work is certainly helpful for my father, he has access to other sources of income. So the reason I think he should continue working isn't mostly financial. Rather, I'm convinced that working is essential to his mental and physical well-being.
My father is the type of person who can be content sitting at home, reading the paper and watching reruns on TV. Those are fine activities for a rainy Saturday. But they're not what I want my father to be doing with his time day in, day out.
I'm worried that if Dad retires, he'll struggle to stay busy, get bored, and annoy my mom, who's busy being a full-time caregiver to my elderly grandmother. I'm also worried that the restlessness will make him feel bad about retiring and regret that decision.
Furthermore, while my father largely works from home these days, he does get out for work meetings. And I'm a firm believer that getting out of the house is an important thing.
Granted, if Dad were to retire, he'd perhaps have more time to take walks and exercise. But still, having a place to go for professional purposes on occasion is a good thing. And if my dad wants to get more exercise while working, he can always take some of his already remote meetings from the treadmill he has in the house.
All told, I think holding down a job is a good thing for my dad, even though he's clearly at an age at which it wouldn't be unreasonable to retire. So I plan to continue to encourage him to keep working as long as it's not overly stressful for him.
To be clear, it's not that I think my father hasn't paid his dues. He absolutely deserves to retire if doing so will make him happy. I'm just not convinced that's actually what's going to happen.
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