“But that’s the way we’ve always done it!” is a statement that stops us from adapting as the world changes. The concept of retirement as we know it needs to be turned on its head.
A while back I heard an interesting story that brings to mind the dangers of institutionalising specifications. I’ll share parts of it with you to help you see why this resonates with me.
The US railroad is four feet and 8.5 inches wide. Why? It was built by the English, who also built the tramways using machinery designed for wagon-wheel spacing. They used this machinery because this was the spacing of the old wheel ruts of long-distance roads in Europe that were built by Imperial Rome many centuries before. The original ruts were first made by the wheels of Roman war chariots which were designed to be just wide enough to accommodate the rumps of two war horses. During all that time no one questioned the thinking behind this and it continued for centuries!
Now, if you are as confused as I was, let me explain how horses tie into retirement. I cannot vouch for the authenticity of this story, but it highlights that what may have been relevant for a specific reason years ago, i.e. the width of two horses’ hindquarters, is no longer relevant today.
Speaking of interesting stories and irrelevant reasons brings me to the July edition’s theme of Collective Insight – Rethinking Retirement. The articles published in this edition question the thinking behind what we have come to accept as the norm in the retirement industry. For example, why should we invest our hard-earned salary into a benefit we will only receive after we really need it? Why should we retire at 65 when we may in the future be retired for longer than we have ever worked? Why did we decide that when we retire, we should sit on the stoep and watch the world go by?
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