The world is full of retired folks who have worked and saved all of their lives, only to find that they have to, or want to, go back to work. 

Today's Americans, as a whole, don't save very much or plan well enough for the future, but some of them do.  Some of them made a choice early in life to start retirement accounts, and some made a choice early in life to give up high-paying opportunities so that they might one day, with persistence, reap the benefits of a pension.  Those who stick it out should be applauded for taking on the task of providing for their own future.  Those who don't are sometimes jealous of those who have.

I submit that one of the problems with so many Americans today is that when they find that they have not planned well enough they are, well, jealous of those who have.  There are those of a socialist leaning who want to take from the haves and give to the have-nots.  One example is when someone has managed to stick with their plan to earn a pension, and they then find that others want them to give up their right to keep working.

What next?  Perhaps the Social Security Administration will start asking people how well they saved for retirement.  Perhaps they will say "never mind how much sacrifice you made, you now have more saved up than the average American, so you don't really need the social security benefits that you paid into all of your life."  As scary as that sounds, that's what many want.  It's enough to make someone think "Well heck, why should I plan for my future.  The have-nots will simply say I have enough and try to get it for themselves."

To please the have-nots, perhaps we should start polling the old folks who retired and then went to work for Wal-Mart or Home Depot.  Sure, some of those old folks have to work to make ends meet, but what about the ones who are doing it simply because they want to work around people or to have a little extra spending money.  "Heaven forbid, we can't have that", some will say.  They will demand to know just how much savings those old folks have, and if they have enough, well then let's tell  them they have to go home and open up those jobs for the have-nots.  Heaven forbid that they worked all of their lives for a pension, and now they want to get paid to keep working.

No, not in America.  We're not totally socialist.  Yet.

Some people actually get up, go to work, do a good job, and make contributions to society even though they don't have to.  Wow, that's such a noble idea that they should be paid double.  Well, what do you know, they are paid double.