What if we branded or tattooed the term “OLD” on people’s forehead once they reached retirement age? It would be a way to publicly acknowledge that the people who qualify for Social Security and/or Medicare are in mental and physical decline…and are not as valuable or essential as the rest of us. It would also help explain why these people drive so slow, can’t remember anything and are terrible with technology.

Yes, some of these people may have had a nice career and even achieved some meaningful things, and some may feel that they can still do more. But now that they have entered the retirement zone, it’s time for them to step aside and take their place out in the pasture. It’s not always easy to do and some may try to fight against the forces of society, but that’s what happens when you get old—you get cranky and are set in your ways.

Now that I have alienated half of my readers and most of the baby boomers across North America, let me emphasize that these thoughts, ideas and beliefs are exactly what the problem is with traditional retirement age.  The issue is two-fold. First, social norms and culture haven’t adapted to longer life spans and working years.  Second, Corporate America continue to use an age-based approach to productivity and retirement that is not only old and outdated, but it also stigmatizes people in the workplace.

To prove my point, take a look at the Growing Old in America: Expectations vs. Reality study from the Pew Research Center. In the study, they asked nearly 3,000 adults, ranging in age from 18 to over 65, when a person was considered old. Not surprisingly, the starting point for when old age begins depends on who you ask.

• The average response of adults under 30 is that old age begins at 60. More than half of whom said that old age actually begins before people hit their 60th birthday.

• Adults between the ages of 30 and 49 think old age begins at 69.

• People who are currently 50-64 believe old age starts at 72.

• Respondents who are 65 and older say old age begins at 74.

What is also interesting is that among the respondents who were 65-74, only 21 percent said they feel old. Even among those who are 75 and older just 35 percent said they feel old.

One of the biggest reasons why perceptions about “old age” coincide so closely with traditional retirement age is because of when someone is eligible for Social Security and Medicare. Old age benefits as they were once labeled, were established almost 85 years ago when life expectancy was 30 percent lower than it is today.  Technically speaking, most people were supposed to die before they received a single penny, let alone get payments for 30 plus years.

Surprising to many people, work can actually be very good for people. Unfortunately, it still carries this stigma that work is bad and that as soon as you can stop doing it, the better off you will be. I crack up every time I hear about the FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) movement because it assumes life without work is better.  So, I say, go ahead and retire early, you’ll likely find yourself alone and without much to do, particularly with all of your peers who are still working. Most early retirees don’t stay retired for very long, they just find new roles, including jobs that create a more engaging and fulfilling life because they have the financial means to not get stuck someplace they don’t like.

We have to stop vilifying work and instead move toward helping people find work that is fulfilling and meaningful. You’ve heard all of the clichés like, “Once you find a job you love, you’ll never work again,” but few people, including advisors put this into practice. It’s always about hurry up and save more and get out of the workplace. Fact is, work provides purpose (even if a client doesn’t necessarily like every aspect of their job), routine, goals, social interaction and physical labor, which may just be walking in from the parking lot every day.

Turning to Corporate America, age-based complaints and lawsuits are on the rise. When the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was enacted the number of complaints filed typically ranged from 1,000 to 5,000 annually. Compare that with 2008, when a record 24,582 age discrimination complaints were filed, in large part due to the Great Recession, when many workers felt they were laid off because of their age.

In 2017, there were 18,376 age discrimination complaints submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). However, it is still believed that most incidents are not reported. Additionally, one AARP study found that 6 out of 10 older workers have seen or experienced age discrimination on the job and 90 percent of respondents say it is common.

What I find interesting is that people filing lawsuits against major corporations are not 65, 70 or 75. They are 55, 56, and 58-year-olds. And we can’t forget the story of the Dutchman Emile Ratelband, 69, who petitioned a judge to change his birthyear from 1949 to 1969 citing age discrimination and doctor reports that he checked-out 20 years younger.

While changing your birthyear by 20 years may seem extreme, from a pure number’s perspective, Mr. Ratelband is not far off as to when a person should be relabeled as old or eligible for Social Security. By my own calculations, Social security retirement age for early benefits should be 80 and full benefits at age 85. This comes from simply adding 30 percent or 18 years to the original age and life expectancy established by Social Security Act in 1935. 

The other problem with traditional retirement age is how people perceive others in retirement as well as those who work past traditional retirement ages. Once again, since people have been brainwashed to think work is bad and leisure is good, many of them assume life in retirement is the best thing ever and so they can’t wait to get there.

However, not everyone in retirement finds that to be the case. The problem is, you can’t really tell anyone that retirement isn’t going well because they will think you’re crazy. Think about it from an non-retired person’s perspective, “You’re telling me that you have enough money to never work again and you finally have all the time and none of the work distractions to dictate what you do, and you’re not happy about it?

People wrongly assume that having enough money to stop working and enough time to do what you want, will somehow make them happy and that it will be easy to replace work friendships, routine, physical exercise and purpose to name a few.

This causes some people to suffer in silence as they struggle with their new roles and identity in retirement. (It’s referred to as disenfranchised grief and is a very normal part of the transition process.) This is why it’s so important for people to develop a written plan for the non-financial aspects of retirement and why the financial services industry needs to offer these types of services instead of just financial products and advice.  

On top of it all, is another stigma with continuing to work past normal retirement age. Unfortunately, people don’t assume that you love your work and have found a way to balance it with your personal life. Instead they assume you are either a workaholic, didn’t save enough, don’t like your spouse or prefer to avoid the grand kids for now. Nothing may be further from the truth, but once again, because our culture bases so much on traditional retirement age, negative assumptions pervade through society.

Reality is, it’s time for a major overhaul with traditional retirement age. If we want our clients to thrive and flourish in the later half of their lives and careers, we have to take steps to help them understand the value of work, prepare them to push back against social and cultural stigmas, and most importantly, help Corporate America move away from an age-based approach to retirement and productivity. Now who wants a tattoo? 

Robert Laura is the president of Wealth & Wellness Group, the founder of RetirementProject.org and a pioneer in Certified Retirement Coach training. He can be reached at [email protected].