Our View: Chuck Schwab and Carrie Schwab Pomerantz
Chuck Schwab is founder, chairman and chief executive officer of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
His daughter, Carrie Schwab Pomerantz, is president of Charles Schwab Foundation* and chief strategist for Consumer Education.
These two representatives of different generations share their views of this landmark survey and what it means to rethink retirement.
- Take the survey and see how your answers compare with your peers.
- E-mail us and share how you're rethinking retirement.
CHUCK: Like many firms, Schwab sees the trends in front of us. People are living longer. Retirement is lasting longer. There’s the huge Baby Boomer generation on the verge of retirement. And individuals are aware that much of the responsibility for building financial security rests on their own shoulders. They’re trying to figure out the best way to provide for their families. At the same time, employers are trying to figure out the best way to serve their employees today and into the future. There’s going to be tremendous strain on government and other institutions that provide for those in retirement.
CARRIE: Then there are the concerns of the younger generations. They wonder what it will take for them to have a secure retirement. Just look at one of the results from this survey: Gen Y is two and a half times more likely to believe the polar ice caps will melt than they will receive the same level of Social Security benefits as retirees do today.
CHUCK: There are a lot of alarms being sounded about the problems ahead of us, but we felt it was important to talk to people of all ages and walks of life. Frankly, we thought we’d hear more back-and-forth between the generations. But there’s really a lot of agreement. People are sharing their hopes and dreams – and their concerns – about this new time of their lives, the “third act” that we call retirement.
CARRIE: That’s something you and I can both identify with. After all, we’ve seen many people “retire,” only to come back into the workforce later.
CHUCK: Yes, like many people in our survey, I know I don’t want to stop working for the rest of my life. I want to remain involved and active, and I’ve been fortunate to keep doing the things I am passionate about and where I can have a positive impact. But those who plan to work after retirement also want greater flexibility – and that’s a challenge to employers to find more creative work solutions that will accommodate part-time and flex time.
CARRIE: Managing the demands of work and home – that’s a tall order. But people of all ages are seeking more balance in their lives. Families also want more education when it comes to finances – and you know that’s a subject near and dear to my heart, as it is to yours. People want to be informed and empowered to take financial responsibility for themselves, but they’re not sure where to turn.
CHUCK: That’s right. There isn’t a lot of trust out there. You see that in the survey. As chairman of the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, I’m leading a group of 16 leaders from the public and private sectors to help reach teens, employees and the millions of people in this country who just aren’t served by traditional financial services firms and who may have missed out on financial education at school or at home. Greater knowledge on this topic is an empowering thing.
CARRIE: So we agree that financial education is a key. An incredible 95 percent of the thousands of people surveyed said they would like to see basic personal finance as part of the school curriculum. But from your standpoint, what else can and should be done to help this country better plan for this wave of growth in retirement?
CHUCK: It’s time to bring the retirement issue front and center. The survey respondents were clear: They think there isn’t enough attention being paid to this topic. And financial services have to change. We also need to make some adjustments to our education system so people start learning about money at a younger age. It all starts by talking about our needs and concerns – and this inter-generational survey is a great place to start.
* The Charles Schwab Foundation is a nonprofit public benefit corporation, classified by the IRS as a charity under section 501(c),(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Foundation is neither a part of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC) nor its parent company The Charles Schwab Corporation.