關注社會:被經濟"偷走"的退休生活

Danny Sullivan dreams of gardening and spending time with his grandchildren, but that's just a fantasy. Retirement is out of his reach, at least for the foreseeable future.

丹尼・沙利文(Danny Sullivan)夢想著有一天能夠空閒下來，伺弄伺弄花草，享享天倫之樂，但在可以預見的未來，這種日子對他來說仍舊遙不可及。

The 62-year-old founder of a small catering company spends his days helping stock bars with beer and ice, wooing potential new clients and juggling the 20 to 30 different events his firm handles daily.

沙利文今年已經62歲，還在經營着自己一手創辦的一家小型餐飲公司，他每天要麼幫着酒吧補充啤酒和冰塊，要麼花時間招徠潛在客戶，要麼就是忙着公司每天承接的20-30種不同類型的酒席訂單。

'I am so tired,' he says. 'I don't know that I'll ever be able to retire.'

他說，“我累死了，都不知道這種日子哪天才能到頭。”

The weak economy has been tough for small-business owners across the board, with their total revenue inching up by just 3% since 2007 and declining in fields such as construction (-12%), real-estate services (-3%) and retailing (-2%), according to financial-software maker Intuit Inc. But for millions of entrepreneurs in their 60s and 70s, the consequences have been particularly vexing.

經濟低迷讓全美各地的小企業主們大傷腦筋。根據財務軟件供應商Intuit Inc.的統計，美國小企業自2007年以來總收入僅小幅增長3%，某些行業更是出現了下滑，如建築業下滑12%、房地產服務業下滑3%、零售業下滑2%。有數以百萬計的小企業主已經到了六七十歲的年紀，使得問題顯得更加嚴峻。

Many of them are stuck in 'business purgatory,' unable to retire and forced to hang on for a recovery that economists say could still be a long way off.

很多人被自己的生意困住，無法退休，只能忍受煎熬，苦苦等待據經濟學家預計還有很長一段時間纔可能到來的經濟復甦。

Mr. Sullivan has struggled to sell Arguello Catering Inc., the Redwood City, Calif., business he started 21 years ago, at a price anywhere near the $850,000 or so he figures he needs to stop working. He reckons that about 70% of his nest egg is tied up in the 25-employee company.

沙利文位於加州紅木城(Redwood City)的餐飲公司Arguello Catering Inc.已經創辦了21年，現在他想把公司轉手，並且希望能夠賣到差不多85萬美元的價錢，因爲他認爲只有這樣才能夠保證自己的退休開銷。Arguello Catering現有25名員工，沙利文估計自己的退休金中有70%左右都被困在了公司。

Its annual revenue has fallen to roughly $2 million from $3 million before the recession, Mr. Sullivan says. He has tried, without success, to boost the business's value by branching into new markets, expanding hours of operation and adding healthier menu options. He says he got three offers for Arguello this year, but they were far too low.

沙利文表示，Arguello Catering的年收入已經從經濟衰退前的300萬美元下降至200萬美元左右。雖然他試過開拓新市場、延長營業時間、增加健康菜譜等不同手段，希望提高公司的價值，但似乎都沒有成功。沙利文稱今年有三個潛在買家跟他接觸過，但他們的出價都太低了。

Nearly half of the 799 small-business owners surveyed in August by The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International, an executive-mentoring organization, expect to retire after age 65, with 38% saying that their planned retirement date is later than they had predicted five years ago. In addition, 56% said most of their retirement nest egg is tied to their business.

《華爾街日報》和高管培訓機構Vistage International在8月份聯合調查了799位小企業主，其中近半數預計自己會在65歲以後退休，38%的人表示自己現在的退休計劃較五年前有所推後，56%的人表示自己的退休金大部分都被生意佔用着。

Baby boomers, in many cases, were blindsided by the recession and its effect on their retirement plans, says George Vozikis, director of the Institute for Family Business at California State University in Fresno.

加州州立大學弗雷斯諾分校(California State University in Fresno)家族企業學院的院長喬治・沃茲克斯(George Vozikis)表示，很多嬰兒潮一代都被這次的經濟衰退打了個措手不及，退休計劃也受到了影響。

'Boomer entrepreneurs grew up believing in the American dream that you could start a business and eventually sell it for a good return or pass it onto your kids,' adds Aaron Chatterji, associate professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business in Durham, N.C. 'Because of the financial crisis and subsequent recession, that is more difficult today.'

位於北卡羅來納州德罕市(Durham)的杜克大學福庫商學院(Fuqua School of Business)的副教授亞倫・查特吉(Aaron Chatterji)補充表示，“嬰兒潮一代的企業家都是被美國夢薰陶着長大的，他們對創辦企業並最終賣個好價錢或傳給子孫的理想深信不疑，但現在，因爲金融危機及隨之而來的經濟衰退，要實現這個理想有點難了。”

Judy Lawton, 69, says she would like to sell the small staffing company she started 27 years ago. She figures she needs to sell it for close to $2 million to live comfortably. But her company was hit hard by the job-market slump, and its revenue is down by about 60% from before the recession.

69歲的朱迪・勞頓(Judy Lawton)表示，想把自己經營了27年的小型人力資源公司轉讓掉。她估摸着需要賣到接近200萬美元的樣子，才能讓自己的退休生活比較舒適。但勞動力市場的低迷對她的公司造成了不小的影響，現在的收入比經濟衰退前下降了60%左右。

Ms. Lawton says she continues to work 12-hour days, meeting with prospective clients sometimes until late at night. She says she can't afford to inexpand her business, which is down to 13 employees from 35 a few years ago. She recently sold her office building for $3.1 million to help pay off a $900,000 Small Business Administration-backed loan that she secured to survive the recession.

勞頓表示，現在她仍然每天工作12個小時，有時候很晚了還要跟潛在客戶會面。她說自己沒辦法擴大業務，現在公司的員工已經從幾年前的35人減少到13人。最近，她作價310萬美元賣掉了辦公樓，以償還自己爲了應對經濟衰退困難期而借入的90萬美元小企業管理局支持貸款(Small Business Administration-backed loan)。

Ms. Lawton listed her business for sale last year through a broker, but all of the offers she received were 'insulting,' she says: as little as $250,000, plus installments that would vary depending on performance.

去年勞頓通過中介掛牌出售自己的公司，但收到的意向報價都低得“讓人生氣”。她說，有的報價只有25萬美元，還要求根據公司經營情況分期付款。

'You don't work for almost 28 years at [building] a company and give it away,' says Ms. Lawton, adding she won't settle for what she considers a low offer, given the strong reputation and client base she has cultivated.

勞頓說，“我辛苦經營了將近28年的公司，可不是爲了就這麼拱手送人的。”她表示，她的公司已經在業內建立了良好的聲譽，積累了很好的客戶基礎，因此，她是不會接受低價轉讓的。

She hasn't taken a vacation in years because she can't afford to travel. 'The economy has stolen my retirement,' she says.

勞頓已經多年沒有休假了，因爲不敢走開，她說，“經濟偷走了我的退休生活。”

'The average business coming to market has lower earnings [than] it did in 2007-2008, therefore the prices are lower,' says Barry Evans, partner at Acquisition Services Group, a business brokerage in San Diego. 'If a business has lost 20% of its earning power in the past few years, it will sell for at least 30% less today.'

位於聖迭戈(San Diego)的企業轉讓中介機構Acquisition Services Group的合夥人巴里・埃文斯(Barry Evans)表示，“平均來看，現在掛牌轉讓的企業的盈利水平比2007-2008年要低，所以轉讓價也降低了。如果一家企業在過去幾年盈利能力下降了20%，那麼它如今的售價至少要少掉30%。”

Andy Birol, a small-business consultant in Pittsburgh, says many of his older clients are at a crossroads: 'They either have to sell for far less than they need or deserve to get out, or they have to muster up the energy to recommit themselves to the business,' he says. 'They're conflicted.'

匹茲堡的中小企業顧問安迪・比羅爾(Andy Birol)表示，他有很多年長的客戶現在都在猶豫：“是將企業低價或折價轉讓，還是打起精神繼續經營下去？他們現在非常矛盾。”

Fourteen years ago, when Dan Cawley, 60, started real-estate brokerage Cawley Chicago Commercial Real Estate Co. in Downers Grove, Ill., he planned to gradually sell shares to his employees so he could retire by 70. But the recession hit just at the wrong time.

今年60歲的丹・考利(Dan Cawley)14年前在伊利諾斯州唐納斯格羅夫市(Downers Grove)創辦了房地產中介公司Cawley Chicago Commercial Real Estate Co.，他本來計劃將自己的股份慢慢轉讓給員工，這樣到70歲時他就可以退休了。但經濟衰退來襲，打亂了他的計劃。

'The employees, they were concerned about the financial viability of the company,' he says. 'I wasn't even sure if we'd survive. This grandiose plan was blowing up.'

考利說，“員工們開始擔心公司的財務存續能力，連我自己現在都不確定公司能否存續下去，這個宏偉計劃只能泡湯了。”

Last year, the company started offering property-management and consulting services and business has improved.

考利的公司從去年開始提供物業管理及諮詢服務，生意有所好轉。

Today, Mr. Cawley spends his 10-hour workdays training his sales team, meeting with landlords and property owners and running staff meetings. He also travels the country to build relationships in other states.

現在，考利每個工作日要工作10個小時，培訓銷售團隊，會見開發商和業主，主持公司內部會議。有時，他還要在美國各地出差，到其他州開發和維護客戶關係。

He has delayed his retirement plan for five years. He hopes to sell his first installment of shares next year.

考利已經將自己的退休計劃推後了五年。現在他希望明年能賣掉自己的第一批股份。

'Every dime is in the company,' he says. 'I have no alternative savings, except Social Security. And I certainly can't live on that.'

他說，“我的每分錢都投在公司裏了，除了社保，再也沒有別的儲蓄。光靠社保的錢，顯然是不夠的。”