BlackRock CEO tells us to work longer.
BlackRock CEO, Larry Fink, has been under fire for suggesting that people work longer to aid with the retirement crisis. This stems from his Annual Chairman’s Letter which includes the sub-title “Time to Rethink Retirement.”
If you don’t know, BlackRock is massive managing $9 Trillion making them the largest asset manager out there. More than likely you may own funds that Blackrock manages in your 401(k) or other investment vehicles.
What I wanted to focus on with Fink’s sentiment is why it gets us worked up and why it is also a really good idea. In the work I have been doing on the future poor in this country I believe both sides of this argument are missing something that the other side needs.
First off is to acknowledge that something is not quite right in the retirement system we are running here in America. Both sides see that, but there is disconnect on why? Those upset by Fink’s statements start with the idea that you have a billionaire making recommendations for working class people. That often doesn’t fly very well. Because of that, the idea of telling people to just keep working can seem flippant or dismissive of larger issues. One of the points brought up is that most retirees don’t choose when to retire but have to due to circumstances beyond their control, like health. Work may not always be an option.
It is well documented the lack of retirement savings in this country and is the basis of my thesis that if we try to make that old game work, people will be poor. Fink is right to a certain degree about continuing to work, but may not be the best messenger. Working is the cheapest and easiest way to get income, the main problem for the retirement equation. This is where we miss something critical in the retirement conversation. We miss the ethics of work and its social value beyond the paycheck.
It is true that we often base things, like retirement age being 65, on outdated ideas or completely different circumstances, but this does not absolve us of the ethics of aging in America and that is where both sides must meet. I argue that work is one of the best things that you can do for yourself socially and economically. We must bring both of those things together as we talk about retirement and yet, we have pushed it into the economic realm alone and told people that they are on their own to make it work.
How do we have more socially beneficial ways of aging in America?
How do we reframe the social and economic value of work?
How do we continue to ‘rethink retirement’ for the good of us all?
How have you started to think of your retirement?
Here is a link to Fink’s Chairman’s Letter.
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-annual-chairmans-letter
Here is a link to the original article.
As always, if you come across a financially related article you’d like to send my way please do!
Best place to send them is to me.
More next time!
Jonathan