Numbers

“September Years”

"September Years" can be used to indicate that someone is in their early retirement years.

The expression was used in as the title of the song "The September of My Years" (1965) by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen and originally sung by Frank Sinatra.

This use of "September" is similar to the use of the names of the months "May" and "December" to indicate the ages of a romantic couple with a large difference in ages in the expression "May-December Romance."

How It's Used

"Every time I pick up the papers I read that a network is bragging about one of its shows attracting the 18-to- 39-year-old audience. And why shouldn't they brag?

"The 18-to-39s are the only ones in America who have any buying power. The network producer of a reality show called 'Death Rattle' told me 'Death' was watched by 40 million people, all under the age of 40. The person who doesn't die from a heart attack after climbing Mount Everest wins a million dollars.

"Ron Kendall, the producer, was merciless. 'We are reaching the audience we want and we are making the sponsor very happy. The 18-to-39-year-old audience buys beer, Nike running shoes and BMWs. They are making the economy soar, unlike the tightwad 40-to-90-year-old losers who hang on to their money because they are afraid their pensions won't get them through their September years.'"

"Will the initiative at a stroke mean that we collectively start to save about £30bn or so a year more, which is more or less what we need to do to be fairly certain of a dignified retirement? Hmmm. I am a cheerleader for the free market. But while there is any kind of government safety net—however full of holes it may be—some will choose not to save enough, in the expectation that the state will bail them out.

"So [Ron] Sandler and the Treasury gang will put the case for making it obligatory that we all set aside a good deal more for our September years. The report will contain many uses of that dread word 'compulsion', though will shy away from an unambiguous recommendation on this. And I suspect that a Government that has just got round to putting up taxes through the National Insurance system will not repudiate the idea that people should be forced to save more."

"Fast-money professionals who run hedge funds might change their trading strategies dramatically in search of quick gains, but those approaching or in their September years shouldn't overreact.

"'A properly allocated portfolio doesn't need to be rejiggered every time the weather changes,' said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst with Bankrate.com in North Palm Beach, Fla."

"Johan Saravanamuttu Abdullah, visiting research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore, noted that Umno's capability to see off challenges by splinters has been weakened by blows to its hitherto rock-solid institutional strength.

"'At this particular political moment, factionalism has become endemic and it seems to be a party in its 'September' years ever since the reformasi movement took a chunk out of Umno. Over the years, Pas has also slowly chipped away and eroded its structural strength.'"

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