17 June Test of Pension-Fund Socialism (Penalties...)

[Paul Terlemezian]

The industrial era relied upon manual labor which became difficult for many people as they aged and their bodies were no longer able to withstand the rigors of the physical aspects of their work.

 

Our concept of retirement and the need to draw upon our financial investments and retirement funds became a critical component of the industrial era. At this critical time in our country's economic life we have more retirees needing to be supported from funds whose values are stagnated. Drucker warns that we cannot penalize those that enable capital formation.

 

A knowledge worker does not face as many physical impediments to their ability to continue to provide value as the manual worker of the industrial era. What would happen if the retirement age were increased by 10 years? Would more people work? Would they continue to spend on the resources that were needed to support their work.

 

A recent study indicated that older workers receive less training than yournger workers. Would this increase in career length result in an increase in the amount of training that was provided to older workers?