Seniors Laid Off or Furloughed: Do You Retire?
Older Americans who have been laid off or furloughed recently are facing a new reality. They are experiencing the fear of not being employed again and facing early retirement including applying for social security because they need funds to survive.
That fear of no more employment brings up other issues that are important to consider:
- What will I do with my time?
- Do I need to downsize to save money?
- Will my body hold up so I can enjoy retirement?
- Can I start my own side gig to supplement financial needs?
- Will my expenses actually go up or down?
- Will my kids continue to need financial support?
- How do I get rid of all the stuff that I don’t need anymore?
- Will medical expenses bankrupt me?
- Can I afford all the travel I want?
A market downturn, crash, pull back, whatever you want to call it, highlights the fears of many pre-retirees, not just those laid off. It gets a lot of publicity in the media. That’s how they sell ads. As a financial planner, we do our best to educate and direct our clients towards a strategy that allows them to sleep at night and not have to worry about the stock and bond markets even if they face a forced into an early retirement because of job loss or health condition.
How about all those other fears and issues we just listed? That takes a little more introspection and study on behalf of our clients and others whom we interact with as they seek the most reliable path(s) to sustainable retirement.
There are many good books we recommend to inform and energize you with additional insight and views on becoming a successful retiree, however they want to define it.
Keys to a Successful Retirement by Fritz Gilbert
The New Retirementality by Mitch Anthony
The 5 Years Before You Retire by Emily Guy Birken
The Bogleheads Guide to Retirement Planning by Larimore & Lindauer
How to Make Your Money Last by Jane Bryant Quinn
There are a lot more books and articles that your friends and peers might recommend to you.
So how can you prepare for retirement or financial independence and blast away those fears?
- Develop a vision of your perfect retirement
- Discuss your dreams with your spouse or significant others
- Get some professional advice (conflict of interest notice!)
- Prepare a budget and outline a plan
- Have coffee or a Zoom meeting with those just ahead of you in life. See what they have to say about your plan. What have you left out?
Don’t delay making a decision about that early retirement. Develop a plan and move forward. It won’t be easy, but there’s lots of help if you just ask for it and look around too. Those books we recommend contain great advice and stories how others have overcome so many issues. You can too.
