Retirement Planning: The Great Flattening and the Hard Truth About Aging in the Workplace

When you’re in your 20s or 30s, the corporate world feels like a place of possibility. You work hard, climb the ladder, and imagine stability at the top. But the hard truth is that as we get older, the workplace doesn’t get kinder. It gets riskier.

Why Older Workers Become Targets

Cost cutting is a reality every organization faces. And when companies need to trim, who do they look at first? Often, it’s the older staff. Not because we lack capability. Many of us are at the peak of our expertise and leadership skills. But in the cold logic of a balance sheet, we are “expensive.”

A younger hire can do the job at half the salary. Generative AI can take over reporting and analysis in seconds. AI and automation aren’t just headlines anymore they’re quietly taking over tasks we once owned. That makes us, the experienced professionals, the easiest targets when disruption arrives.

The Shrinking Window of Recovery

When retrenchment hits a 30-year-old, they can pick themselves up, pivot, and rebuild. Time is on their side. But for those of us in our 40s, 50s, or beyond, the window to recover is much smaller. Mortgage payments, children’s education, and aging…