#retirement #EarlyRetirement #ForcedRetirement #WorkingLonger
Illness, injury, layoffs and care-giving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they would like.
So say experts as quoted in an article by Andrew Soergel for the Associated Press. It was published July 8, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
But the thrust of the article says nearly one in four don’t plan to retire, despite the fact they are aging.
The article gets that data from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. It says two in 10 people older than 50 don’t expect to stop working, according to the article.
Government data shows one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June 2019, the article says.
“People have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement,” the article quotes Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
Ronni Bennett, 78, was pushed out of her job as a Web site editor at age 63, according to the article. One thing she did when that happened: she moved from Manhattan, where her job was, to Portland, Maine, the article says.
Although she searched for work after her layoff, it was like “banging my head against the wall,” the article quotes her.
Bennett’s example is fairly typical in this day and age. First, she was fortunate to survive at her job until age 63. Others were not quite as lucky.
It boils down to this: it probably won’t matter how long you WANT to work, the workplace will more or less dictate when you “retire.”
Decades ago, workers looked forward to retirement. In fact, an early-retirement package was a real gift. Workers were much more secure then. They had ultimate confidence that their employers would keep them until at least age 65, the common retirement age back then.
Remember, though Social Security and some pension plans – if you are fortunate enough to have a pension plan—have age rules about when you can access them. But your “retirement” may be foisted upon you much sooner.
What should you do? How should you plan for that unknown time when you “retire?” First, have a Plan B started. Have some of your paycheck go into automatic savings as early in your career as possible. Second, take a look at one of the many programs out there that allow you to devote a few, part-time hours a week toward picking up extra income – potentially a lot of extra income – while you still have your job. These programs require work, but it’s not really like having a second W-2 job. They also require you to have a mind open enough – education, skill and background are not factors – to check them out. To look at one of the best such programs, message me.
We are all getting older. Regardless of how healthy you feel today, as time passes your health will start to deteriorate. If you are lucky, that deterioration will come more gradually, and you can feel healthy well into your elder years. Of course, much also depends on how well you take care of yourself.
The job market today is fluid. Companies reorganize rapidly and frequently. You will never know from day to day when your last day at your job will come.
So, prepare now for that eventually. If you are lucky, when the day comes when you have to leave your job, you can do so with a smile, because you properly prepared.
Peter