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If 50 is the new 30, then 80 must be the new 60. Good thing, because otherwise a lot of people would not live long enough to retire before drawing their last breaths.
A Bankrate financial literacy survey in 2007 indicated that one in five people expected to work until they died. Last year, one in five people said they're afraid they'll never be able to retire. It's true: Bankrate asked the same question two ways and got identical results.
At this rate, the competition for greeting jobs at Wal-Mart will be as fierce as the struggle to get into Harvard.
For the dedicated workers who aspire to devote their entire lives to propelling the economy forward with their unceasing toil, the dream of not retiring can be achieved in any number of ways. We came up with eight.
Spend too much
The most obvious way to ensure that only death's sweet embrace will release you from the bonds of employment is simply by saving nothing and spending a lot.Spending more than you should on things you could easily live without is an effective way to mess up your retirement plan, says Ralph Lunt, a certified financial planner and chartered financial consultant at Strategic Capital Advisors in Cleveland.
Vacations, new cars and expensive home remodeling can all feel like necessities. "You have to ask, 'Can I afford it?'" Lunt says. "Then you have to crunch the numbers. And maybe if you cut back in other areas you can afford it -- maybe skipping a vacation or not eating out so much."
If you don't want to retire, skip the self-assessment and get out that credit card!
Save little or nothing
In America, spending is in our collective DNA, but saving is not.For the slackers who think they might want or even need to quit working at some point, most experts recommend saving for retirement in a tax-advantaged plan, such as a 401k. Further, workers should contribute at least enough to get any matching contributions from their employers. (See "7 ways to mess up your 401k.")
More from MSN Money and Bankrate.com
"It's always, 'Yes, I'll put in enough to get the match, but that's it,'" says Dallas certified financial planner Chanc Woods, a member of the Financial Planning Association. "Why not put in another 2% or 3%? It won't affect your take-home pay that much."
The Employee Benefit Research Institute's annual survey, released in April, said 25% of workers surveyed said neither they nor their spouses had saved at all for retirement.
Ignore other savings vehicles
If your job doesn't come with benefits, as is the case at many small businesses, then obviously you're totally off the hook; working well beyond your twilight years is virtually assured. After all, it's not like there are any alternatives for deprived employees or the self-employed.Delude yourself no further. You do have options. Take, for instance, a SEP IRA (simplified employee pension individual retirement account)or an individual 401k plan for the self-employed.
Slide show
Take a look at the costly culprits draining your bank account. See what you're paying for that daily latte or bottle of water. Click here for the 12 new 'necessities.'
And those who don't want to deal with tax-deferred savings vehicles have no options, right? Actually, they do.
"The younger generation is only putting money into a 401k, if that. They don't know that there are taxable brokerage accounts or Roth IRAs that you can put money into," financial planner Woods says. (See "Build a bigger nest egg.")
With many investment and savings vehicles available, you should not feel limited to only one kind of account unless you see yourself bagging groceries at 85.
Disregard taxes
Some people may wait to screw up their retirement. Though the process of not saving can last a lifetime, actual savings may not when it comes time to get a distribution from a tax-deferred account.Financial planner Lunt says people typically think that once they're retired they won't have to pay income taxes anymore.
Continued: Overestimating portfolio earnings
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