What is retirement?

Retirement is generally accepted as being the period of life when a person is eligible for retirement benefits and, therefore, able to leave the workforce.

In the United States, the Social Security Act established by President Roosevelt allowed for people to receive Social Security benefits at 65, thereby setting the retirement age as such. It’s not a law that people retire at 65, but more of an ideological expectation. After all, why would a person not want to retire? Or at least, that’s the common perception. And that perception continues globally.

The problem is, at the time of the establishment of the Social Security Act, life expectancy was 61.7 years. So people basically had to be dead for three years before they’d be eligible for a check. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0005148.html)

Guess what the life expectancy is today?

78!

So, what now? Are we supposed to work a job until we die? What if we work until 65 or 70, but get sick before we retire?

Or do we have it wrong altogether? What if we pursued enough wealth early enough in life that we could step back (forget the word retire) at a very young age and enjoy our days? Why are we succumbing to an arbitrary number that doesn’t apply to you or to me?

Are you willing to risk the opportunity to really have and enjoy those Golden Years we hear about?  I believe you can have your Golden Years and enjoy them too! And they don’t need to be decades away when you’re physically not able to do the things you once longed to do.

You can use real estate to exponentially grow your income—to plant a money tree—and usher in a better lifestyle for yourself at a much younger age than 65. Forget the word retirement and focus on living right now.



*Parasailing picture courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net