Why Gen Xers like me won't have retirement parties

Last night, I went to a retirement party for my favourite client. I'm very dissapointed to be losing this man as my client (I don't know if his replacement will keep working with me or not), but I am also sad to lose regular contact with him as he enters the retiree world.

So I stayed for hte whole party, including all the speeches. He has had a 39 career in the federal public service, so there were a lot of stories about old collegues (none of whom I know) and previous positions (I've only known him for three years). It was all a bit dull for me, but it made me think about what a retirement party for me or someone like me would be like.

And I realized that it wouldn't. I couldn't have a party with people there that had worked with me my whole career. I haven't stayed put anywhere long enough for that to happen, and I don't forsee that happening at any point in the rest of my career either.

A job for life is something the baby boomers had, but it's not something most Gen Xers have, nor is it at all something the generations following us will have. Does this mean retirement parties like my client's are soon to be a thing of the past? What will a retirement look like in twenty years? No gold watch, but will there be people to celebrate the end of work with, or will it just be a winding down and closing of doors.

Hmmmm....

Entrepreneurship instead of retirement

I found this interesting article in BC Business this weekend talking about a couple baby boomers who chose entrepreneurship over actual retirement. I thought it was an interesting take on what the last decade -- or maybe the 60s are not the last -- of work can become. I don't know if it really applies to me, since I've been an entrepreneur most of my career to date, and haven't had a secure job like they have, but it's an interesting read nonetheless, if only for the intro, which says in part about baby boomers:

For many, what used to be called “retirement” is an opportunity to start their own businesses.

As I've said before, I find myself without a lot of role models of what my last two decades of work would look like, so I'm seeking ideas like this to at least understand, if not actually emulate. My parents, my inlaws, and most of their generation, worked at one company their whole lives until they were old enough to retire, something I can't even fathom. At least this article presents a credible alternative to consider.