The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) reports that 79% of workers expect to keep working to supplement their retirement incomes. That’s a plan for those who haven’t saved enough to enjoy their golden years. But what happens if you can’t work in retirement? At the Washington Post, Michelle Singletary explains what happens when retirees who expected to work more, simply can’t.
Yes, more seniors are staying in the workforce past 65 and happily so. But many others are finding themselves in a retirement quandary. They thought they had more time, but the reality is they are forced to retire.
And why can’t they keep working? Among the reasons, experts say, are health problems, layoffs, age discrimination and caregiving needs.
“When surveyed, 61 percent of Americans say they retired sooner than they’d planned,” according to a report by Ben Steverman in Bloomberg News. “That’s more than anywhere else in the world, according to the 2017 Aegon Retirement Readiness Survey, of 16,000 people in 15 countries. Globally, 39 percent of retirees say they quit working early. Even part-time work may be unrealistic. EBRI finds that just 29 percent of retirees say they worked for pay at some point in their retirement. …
“The irony is, those seniors who find it easiest to keep working — healthy, well-educated and highly skilled people who enjoy their jobs — tend to be the least likely to need the money,” according to Steverman. “Other older Americans, faced with few good job choices, often just decide to retire and live frugally off Social Security and savings.”
Your retirement plan simply can’t be conservative enough. You must save as much as you can, as early as you can. The power of compound interest is all your can really rely on in your retirement to generate income. If you aren’t saving already, now is the time. Don’t wait for a future that might not turn out like your plan.
Originally posted on Yoursurvivalguy.com.
