The new British TV series The Jackal on Peacock, starring Eddie Redmayne, offers a compelling and unsettling journey into the life of a paid assassin. It’s a strange ride: you spend so much time with The Jackal, you find yourself rooting for him, even as he, you know, kills people, many who are innocent of any wrong doing. You are also rooting for a smooth retirement and some good retirement planning. The end of Episode 7 is a cliffhanger, leaving me anxious. I’m counting down the days until Episode 8, which will air on Thursday, Dec. 5.
You might think The Jackal’s principal problem is the one staring him in the face: he didn’t kill his target. Worse, he doesn’t know who shot the billionaire, and he’s almost certainly not getting the $80 million remainder of his $100 million payout. But you’d be wrong. The real issue—one that’s dogged him for all seven episodes—is his retirement planning.
The Real Drama: Retirement Planning Is Hard
The Jackal confided to his wife, Nuria, that he wants to stay home more and be with her and their baby son. “Just this one last job,” he says, “and I’m done.” It’s a cliché, sure, but relatable.
Many of us dream of retiring early to enjoy life with our loved ones. The problem? Few of us—The Jackal included—have the financial resources to maintain our current lifestyles post-retirement. Take his $20 million down payment, for example. Sounds like a lot, right? But it’s not enough for someone like The Jackal, who probably spends $200,000 a month. He lives in luxury, and while it’s unclear if he owns that Spanish villa near Cádiz, his expenses seem to be pretty steep. The opulent rooms, the swimming pool, and the many adults he seems to support. His wife doesn’t work, and it’s doubtful she’s planning to return to her gig as a waitress. Plus, he seems to be supporting his mother and brother-in-law. The good news is he will be able to dump his expensive work-related expenses: fancy guns and fake passports.
Let’s break it down: $20 million, spread over 40 years, would yield a monthly annuity of about $96,000 in retirement (assuming a 5% annual return). That’s half of what he currently spends. Unless Nuria goes back to work, or they downsize to a two-bedroom flat in Iowa, The Jackal’s dream of early retirement might just stay a dream.
Midlife Career Changes Are Hard: Many Skills Don’t Transfer
This retirement problem isn’t just a problem for fictional assassins. My new book, Work Retire, Repeat, reveals most Americans would struggle to maintain their standard of living if they were forced to retire in their early 60s. The Jackal, who appears to be in his late 40s, is even more vulnerable.
One option for mid-career workers is retraining for a new job, but that’s easier said than done. Retraining is particularly difficult for older workers, especially in the United States. And The Jackal’s previous “retraining”—from British Army sharpshooter to paid assassin—doesn’t exactly scream “transferable skills.”
For example, if he knew how to blow things up or use poison, he could pivot into munitions or chemistry. Those skills might even land him a government job—assuming no one checks references.
He’s also great at working alone and navigating the dark web, which screams “independent contractor:” maybe cybersecurity or just plain security guard. He might have to tone down the whole “lethal violence” thing, or not. However, certain industries are clearly off the table. He shot one host and broke the neck of another in the last couple of episodes, which doesn’t scream leisure and hospitality.
And, while Home Healthcare is projected to add the most jobs in the next few years, the Jackal isn’t the nurturing type (see above).
Restaurant work? Doubtful. He doesn’t cook, and we hardly ever see him eat—unless you count the stack of chocolate bars he devoured in Episode 7 while hiding in the floor. His best shot might be project management. He’s organized, can handle tight deadlines, but may not know how to “motivate” a team (without deadly threats.) But even that may be hard for him; project managers have to collaborate with other people, and if there’s one thing we know about The Jackal, it’s that he doesn’t play well with others.
The Jackal’s job prospects are grim; home health care, cooks, registered nurses are in the most demand in the next ten years. I am hopeful Season 2 might show The Jackal polishing his LinkedIn profile or joining a munitions startup. But society might be better off if some workers, like assassins, simply retire.
Season 2: The Jackal’s Retirement Planning Drama?
I expect Episode 8 (and Season 2) to focus on The Jackal’s quest for revenge and surviving British MI6 agents; but the showrunners could stick in a consultation with a retirement planner. That episode could be popular since retirement anxiety is a top concern for most people.
A good financial planner would ask probing soul-searching questions beyond: “What’s your annual spending now?” and the dreaded, “What are you willing to sacrifice to downsize?” A comprehensive planner and life-coach would probe for a transition plan since he isn’t yet 65. Obviously, The Jackal’s work is high risk and he may be at the end of his rope. The planner can help him with visioning a new career. The reality is that older workers rarely pivot careers dramatically. Age discrimination, the shock of job displacement, and the ordinary wear tear that comes from work (The Jackal got knocked off a horse; was strung up by his arms; and stayed still under a floor grate for about 24 hours. An off-the-grid assassin faces even more challenges for career changes.
So I expect the planner may suggest his best bet it to downsize his lifestyle, get Nuria back to work, and stop supporting his in-laws. That conflict could provide some drama.
In the end, The Jackal isn’t just a TV series about an assassin—it’s a meditation on the universal quest for financial security and good retirement planning. I am a labor economist, expert in retirement security and I don’t typically advise assassins but would happily make an exception for Eddie Redmayne.
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