3 Myths About Retirement + Why You Shouldn't Retire

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Thou Shall Prosper" by Rabbi Daniel Lapin. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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Is retirement necessary? What are myths about retirement that make people believe it’s the last step in a career?

In Thou Shall Prosper, Daniel Lapin teaches that you shouldn’t seek to retire. He says that people commonly believe three things that lead them to think retirement is not just necessary, but also desirable.

Take a look at three myths about retirement and why Lapin argues they’re not true.

False Belief 1: Work Is Meaningless

Lapin says one myth about retirement many people hold is that work has no value; it’s just something they have to do to survive. People who believe this only work to make enough money to eventually retire and don’t see any reason to work a day longer than necessary.

However, Jewish wisdom teaches otherwise: Work gives meaning to the worker’s life, and helps to improve the world for everyone. Remember that your money is a reflection of your accomplishments and your contributions; therefore, if you choose to stop earning money, it means you’ve chosen to stop contributing to society and to limit what you’ll achieve in your life.

(Shortform note: Whether it’s accurate or not, the belief that work is meaningless is quite common; according to a 2015 survey, nearly one in five US workers feel that their jobs are useless and that their work does nothing to improve the world or society. Many people also reject the idea that their job is what gives their lives meaning. For example, in Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl says there are three ways to find meaning in your life. First, find it through achievements and accomplishments (which could be work-related, but don’t have to be). Second, find meaning in positive experiences like finding love and beauty in the world. Finally, derive meaning from negative experiences such as a difficult job—but only if you can find meaning in your suffering, like working that job so you can support your family.)

False Belief 2: You Won’t Be an Effective Worker Anymore

The second false belief people commonly hold is that you’ll become less productive as you age. However, unless your career relies almost entirely on your physical abilities, Lapin argues that you’ll actually get more productive as you get older. This is because you’ll have more money to invest, producing ever-increasing returns. You’ll also continue to grow your network of contacts throughout your life, which will provide more and more opportunities to generate wealth.

(Shortform note: You won’t necessarily become less productive as you age, but you might find that the kind of work you’re able to do changes. In From Strength to Strength, Arthur C. Brooks says that your creativity and reasoning skills will decline as you enter middle age and beyond; however, your experience and knowledge will continue to grow throughout your entire life. Therefore, you should look for a career path that will let you take advantage of your changing skill set as you age. According to Brooks, this typically means finding some sort of coaching or advisory role where you can use your accumulated wisdom to guide others.)

False Belief 3: People Are Supposed to Retire

The third false belief is that people aren’t meant to spend their whole lives working; they’re supposed to spend their last years relaxing and enjoying the life they’ve built.

However, Lapin argues that as you get older, you might find that you don’t want to retire. Instead, you may want to be as productive as possible up until the end of your life, to make as much of an impact on the world as possible.

Further, he notes that people commonly become more spiritual as they age. Continuing to create wealth can be a spiritual endeavor because your work benefits the whole world.

Causes and Benefits of Working Longer

Some people seem to agree with Lapin’s argument here and aren’t looking to retire; for instance, a survey of American workers found that about 40% of them plan to keep working for as long as possible. However, it should be noted that many of those respondents said they planned to keep working for economic reasons. In other words, they’re working past retirement age because they can’t afford to retire, rather than because they want to change the world or because they find work spiritually fulfilling.

With that said, continuing to work into your later years—70s and beyond—has numerous benefits:

Working benefits your physical and mental health. Many retirees spend the majority of their time sitting at home. Holding a job will help you stay active, which can keep you in better shape physically and stave off depression.

A job gives you a purpose. As Lapin said earlier, your job can add meaning to your life; it gives you clear tasks to work on and goals to achieve, and it helps you to make a positive difference in the world.

Working longer improves your retirement. The longer you delay your retirement, the more money you’ll be able to save for when you retire (if you do). One research paper found that delaying retirement by just a few months has the same impact on your savings as saving an extra 1% of your earnings over the course of 30 years. Therefore, delaying retirement by years or even decades will enormously increase your retirement funds.

3 Myths About Retirement + Why You Shouldn’t Retire