关注社会:被经济"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)梦想著有一天能够空闲下来，伺弄伺弄花草，享享天伦之乐，但在可以预见的未来，这种日子对他来说仍旧遥不可及。

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.

沙利文今年已经62岁，还在经营着自己一手创办的一家小型餐饮公司，他每天要么帮着酒吧补充啤酒和冰块，要么花时间招徕潜在客户，要么就是忙着公司每天承接的20-30种不同类型的酒席订单。

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

他说，“我累死了，都不知道这种日子哪天才能到头。”

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.

经济低迷让全美各地的小企业主们大伤脑筋。根据财务软件供应商Intuit Inc.的统计，美国小企业自2007年以来总收入仅小幅增长3%，某些行业更是出现了下滑，如建筑业下滑12%、房地产服务业下滑3%、零售业下滑2%。有数以百万计的小企业主已经到了六七十岁的年纪，使得问题显得更加严峻。

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，无法退休，只能忍受煎熬，苦苦等待据经济学家预计还有很长一段时间才可能到来的经济复苏。

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.

沙利文位于加州红木城(Redwood City)的餐饮公司Arguello Catering Inc.已经创办了21年，现在他想把公司转手，并且希望能够卖到差不多85万美元的价钱，因为他认为只有这样才能够保证自己的退休开销。Arguello Catering现有25名员工，沙利文估计自己的退休金中有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的年收入已经从经济衰退前的300万美元下降至200万美元左右。虽然他试过开拓新市场、延长营业时间、增加健康菜谱等不同手段，希望提高公司的价值，但似乎都没有成功。沙利文称今年有三个潜在买家跟他接触过，但他们的出价都太低了。

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.

《华尔街日报》和高管培训机构Vistage International在8月份联合调查了799位小企业主，其中近半数预计自己会在65岁以后退休，38%的人表示自己现在的退休计划较五年前有所推后，56%的人表示自己的退休金大部分都被生意占用着。

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.

加州州立大学弗雷斯诺分校(California State University in Fresno)家族企业学院的院长乔治・沃兹克斯(George Vozikis)表示，很多婴儿潮一代都被这次的经济衰退打了个措手不及，退休计划也受到了影响。

'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.'

位于北卡罗来纳州德罕市(Durham)的杜克大学福库商学院(Fuqua School of Business)的副教授亚伦・查特吉(Aaron Chatterji)补充表示，“婴儿潮一代的企业家都是被美国梦熏陶着长大的，他们对创办企业并最终卖个好价钱或传给子孙的理想深信不疑，但现在，因为金融危机及随之而来的经济衰退，要实现这个理想有点难了。”

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岁的朱迪・劳顿(Judy Lawton)表示，想把自己经营了27年的小型人力资源公司转让掉。她估摸着需要卖到接近200万美元的样子，才能让自己的退休生活比较舒适。但劳动力市场的低迷对她的公司造成了不小的影响，现在的收入比经济衰退前下降了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.

劳顿表示，现在她仍然每天工作12个小时，有时候很晚了还要跟潜在客户会面。她说自己没办法扩大业务，现在公司的员工已经从几年前的35人减少到13人。最近，她作价310万美元卖掉了办公楼，以偿还自己为了应对经济衰退困难期而借入的90万美元小企业管理局支持贷款(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.

去年劳顿通过中介挂牌出售自己的公司，但收到的意向报价都低得“让人生气”。她说，有的报价只有25万美元，还要求根据公司经营情况分期付款。

'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.

劳顿说，“我辛苦经营了将近28年的公司，可不是为了就这么拱手送人的。”她表示，她的公司已经在业内建立了良好的声誉，积累了很好的客户基础，因此，她是不会接受低价转让的。

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

劳顿已经多年没有休假了，因为不敢走开，她说，“经济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.'

位于圣迭戈(San Diego)的企业转让中介机构Acquisition Services Group的合伙人巴里・埃文斯(Barry Evans)表示，“平均来看，现在挂牌转让的企业的盈利水平比2007-2008年要低，所以转让价也降低了。如果一家企业在过去几年盈利能力下降了20%，那么它如今的售价至少要少掉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.'

匹兹堡的中小企业顾问安迪・比罗尔(Andy Birol)表示，他有很多年长的客户现在都在犹豫：“是将企业低价或折价转让，还是打起精神继续经营下去？他们现在非常矛盾。”

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岁的丹・考利(Dan Cawley)14年前在伊利诺斯州唐纳斯格罗夫市(Downers Grove)创办了房地产中介公司Cawley Chicago Commercial Real Estate Co.，他本来计划将自己的股份慢慢转让给员工，这样到70岁时他就可以退休了。但经济衰退来袭，打乱了他的计划。

'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.'

考利说，“员工们开始担心公司的财务存续能力，连我自己现在都不确定公司能否存续下去，这个宏伟计划只能泡汤了。”

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

考利的公司从去年开始提供物业管理及咨询服务，生意有所好转。

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.

现在，考利每个工作日要工作10个小时，培训销售团队，会见开发商和业主，主持公司内部会议。有时，他还要在美国各地出差，到其他州开发和维护客户关系。

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

考利已经将自己的退休计划推后了五年。现在他希望明年能卖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.'

他说，“我的每分钱都投在公司里了，除了社保，再也没有别的储蓄。光靠社保的钱，显然是不够的。”