The History of Retirement

I was thinking about what I would write about next, and I have completely missed the obvious. How did the concept of retirement come about? What is the history of retirement?

After doing some research for a while this is what I found. I have included some historical perspectives. I will keep it brief but also mention some historical milestones.

The word retire means to draw back, to retreat from something. The practice of leaving one’s job or stopping work due to reaching  a certain age has been around since the 18th century. The government policy of retirement was not adopted until the late 19th century and 20th century in many countries.

A chair on the beach during a sunset  - the history of retirement

Romans – The History of Retirement

In 13 B.C. the Roman Emperor, August, paid his Roman Legionnaires who had served for 20 years. Regular taxes first financed the troops. In the 16th century in Britain and several European countries troops were offered pensions starting with officers which was gradually expanded to enlisted men. The first civilian known to have received a pension was an official who worked for the London Port Authority. In 1684, he was paid half of his working income which was deducted from the pay of his replacement. What!!!! Can you imagine you are lucky enough to replace the next guy to work for half the pay? 

In 1880 certain United States municipal employees including firefighters, police officers, teachers started receiving pensions.  In 1875,the American Express Company began to offer private pensions. By 1920’s a variety of American industries from railroads to oil companies and banking institutions began offering pensions.  When factories began replacing farms skeptics were concerned that the older people would not be able to understand and work the machines. 

American Retirement

Prior to that in 1880, half of Americans worked on a farm with an overwhelming majority , 78%, of American men worked past 65. In 1905, the co-founder of John Hopkins, William Osler, believed that “Men older than 60 should leave the workforce.” He believed that man’s best work was done before the age of 40 years old and that by sixty he should retire, and that “after the age of sixty the average worker was useless and should be put out to pasture.”

With the onset of the Industrial Revolution soon the concept of retirement was becoming more mainstream in the U.S.A. Due to the demanding nature of factory work, workers were more likely to show signs of aging: slowing down on assembly lines, use of excessive sick days and taking jobs from younger workers. In 1929,during the Great Depression these issues became worse. Many of the older population resisted the idea of retirement. In 1935, the Social Security Act passed enabling workers to fund their retirement at the age of 65. 

Recent Retirement

In 1951, the issue of retirement was still intense. The Corning company assembled a round table with the goal of how to make the concept of retirement more popular. Santha Rama Rau, a writer and student of Eastern and Western cultures stated that ”Americans did not have the ability to appreciate doing nothing.”

Interestingly, many governments are reversing their policies raising retirement ages preventing the aging population from breaking their budgets. In 2013, 18.6 percent of people 65 and older were looking for work. In 1985, the percentage was 10.5 according to the Labor Department figures. Older people are enjoying better health and working longer. Senior citizens have so many choices how and at what capacity they are able to return to work. Full-time, part-time or volunteer options are unlimited. The history of retirement is an interesting journey to where we are now.

Tent illuminated by the night sky in a forest

We have arrived at a wonderful time of possibilities!

Thanks for being here,

-Soraya

Want to read more about my journey to retirement? Here it is, retirement!