Will I Be Forced Into Early Retirement?
More and more boomers are being forced into an early retirement and 90% of the time it is not wanted. It would be great if most of these people were retiring early because they had plenty of money and no longer needed to work, but this simply isn’t the case. Thousands of employees retired in 2009, of which 47% state was sooner than they expected.
New statistics show that 47% of 2009 retirees
42% were forced into retirement because of health problems
34% were forced into retirement due to company downsizing and company closures
18% were forced into retirement to care for a sick spouse
13% were forced into retirement due to an outdated skill set
22% were forced into retirement for other reasons
These statistics are causes for concern.
Did you know that only 10% of current retirees were still employed after age 65, even though 31% of current workers expect to stay employed past age 65?
So if your plan is to work to make up your retirement shortfalls, you may be in worse trouble than you think. In general, people who plan on working longer are the people who lack confidence in their retirement plan.
One of the best reasons to plan ahead is the possibility of a forced EARLY RETIREMENT. Early Retirement can be caused by many things, but one of the worst is a recession or a bear market. You may also be tempted (encouraged) to take investment risks that can cause even more problems for your finances if (when) another downturn occurs.
Many of the recommended steps to take during the final years before retirement are designed to help protect you from the volatility of the markets and economy. Thus to protect your nest egg from being depleted before you get a chance to spend it! These steps include a moving away from riskier investments and moving toward more conservative, income-producing investments.
Obviously, there may be no way to see a forced retirement coming. But by recognizing the risk now, you may be able to take steps to help ensure that your retirement is everything you dreamed it would be. It all starts with a plan.
So what is your plan?
If you don’t have one or would like to review your current plan, now is the time to do so.