Raising The Retirement Age
Welcome to Bonsai – the latest of my miniature opinion pieces.
There is much talk about raising the retirement age, but I reckon we are hitching our britches to the wrong buttocks.
Conventional wisdom is that the retirement age should be raised. This idea has blossomed on the logic that the nation simply cannot afford to keep it at 65. By 2030 it is estimated that superannuation will cost 20 billion dollars a year. Now that’s a lot of money. You could buy a handful of super yachts for that, or a couple of English football clubs.
The thought of ballooning costs is enough to scare an accountant straight. The National government have promised to not raise the retirement age – not because they think it’s affordable, but because if they do, they will get voted out faster than a politicians tongue. Delaying retirement for most kiwis is about as appealing as hosting a 5 year old’s sleepover or booking a Tahitian holiday only to discover that the in-laws are coming too.
The thing about retirement, that rich people forget, is that it’s when most people can stop work. Forty five years of sweat and toil come to a glorious end. At last, workers are free to do the things they have always wanted because now they have time (rich people have always continued to do the things they wanted throughout their ‘working life’, so retirement is really just more of the same).
The point being that retirement is freedom from work – the greatest gift you can receive.
So, I’ve come up with a solution – an idea so radical that you could call it the Bain-insky plan.
In order to really improve the happiness and well-being of a much greater section of society, I propose that instead of raising the retirement age, we actually lower it. This way, freedom comes earlier. I’m thinking that a good retirement age would be thirty – yes you heard me correctly, thirty! Those who want children will truly be free to do so and those who don’t can be young and free. Many will choose to work, after all, the money will probably be better, but for those who wish to, they can retire and live life with the blissful joy of a suckling baby.
Of course, all you doomsayers out there will ask, how could the country afford it?
Well, the most obvious solution is tax. Not income tax, but invent a new retirement tax on foreign exchange. On average, the New Zealand dollar is involved in over 100 billion dollars worth of transactions per day. Just slap on a 1% tax and we rake in a billion a day.
That should easily cover it.
Instead of a mere 20 years of freedom, (when lets face it, we are past our best) we can have 55 years of personal growth, relaxation, adventure, family and fun!
You have to admit, its a great idea.
Richard Alexander Bain