How long should people work?
the debate over the retiring age
pp. 495-516
in: Geoffrey Scarre (ed), The Palgrave handbook of the philosophy of aging, Berlin, Springer, 2016Abstract
Anton suggests that we are obligated to work as long as it takes to secure financial solvency in the reasonably foreseeable future (provided that we are able, which depends on both our ability to work and our ability to save). She acknowledges that our ability to save might be compromised by economic hardship as well as our obligation to contribute to a collective fund from which we may benefit, should we experience unpredictable hardship in the future. We arepermitted to work beyond that point on the condition that we fulfill our obligations according to the fair and measured standards of those to whom we are beholden (employers, consumers, etc.). However, given certain markets for human capital, it might be supererogatory to opt not to exercise this right for the greater good of a community and future generations.