CNBC article- Pandemic has disrupted retirement plans for many

[Luvtoride]

Interesting article and statistics. According to the survey, Us older folks plan to delay retirement while younger ones plan To retire sooner.
It’s just another survey but I suppose it has some statistical validity.

This Baby Boomer is sticking with my plan of retirement within 2 years (my 64th b’day is next week) if not sooner. If going back to the office on a 5 day basis happens it will probably be sooner.

Any changes in your plans or your family’s in light of the Pandemic?

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/12/pan...ns-for-35percent-of-americans-study-says.html

 

[triangle]

Interesting, when watching some of their on-air segments with business operators (hotels, restaurants, government personal, medical staff, etc) the theme seemed to be that at the margins those who could retire early or leave the workforce earlier was predominant as compared to employees wanting to work even longer. Citing factors like fear of covid exposure or not wanting to deal with vaccine mandates.

But it makes sense that more people will need to work longer if they have been in a holding pattern for 18 months, where their savings have been stagnant or depleting.

 

[street]

Interesting.
I also heard today on radio news that a shortage of workers for every field of work. They said people are just retiring and leaving the work force after the pandemic. They said that is one of the problems in the shortage. The article you posted does reinforce what I heard also. People are retiring earlier and has made is difficult to replace those workers.

 

[USGrant1962]

Interesting, when watching some of their on-air segments with business operators (hotels, restaurants, government personal, medical staff, etc) the theme seemed to be that at the margins those who could retire early or leave the workforce earlier was predominant as compared to employees wanting to work even longer. Citing factors like fear of covid exposure or not wanting to deal with vaccine mandates.

But it makes sense that more people will need to work longer if they have been in a holding pattern for 18 months, where their savings have been stagnant or depleting.

Um, the personal savings rate went through the roof during Covid. Presumably from a combination of less spending and raining government money.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT

And even now it is the highest it has been since the 1990s.

 

[Markola]

Interesting, when watching some of their on-air segments with business operators (hotels, restaurants, government personal, medical staff, etc) the theme seemed to be that at the margins those who could retire early or leave the workforce earlier was predominant as compared to employees wanting to work even longer. Citing factors like fear of covid exposure or not wanting to deal with vaccine mandates.

And a lot of people realized in the pandemic and related recession that, when the chips were down, how uncaring their work places actually were about their well-being. So they are quitting, especially women, even if it means their careers take a hit.

 

[chris2008]

Lots of people realise that the end of life can be closer than they thought and that money cannot buy more time.

 

[Badger]

I enjoyed my last career as a college professor for 25+yrs before I retired 10 yrs ago. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. However, based on what i have seen the past 2 yrs there is no way I would have stayed. There is a large shortage of teachers in my state but no amount of money would have convinced me to stay under the present circumstances and the work conditions that prevail in the school systems today. It seems like working conditions are a good portion of the problem. The same appears to be the case with nurses across the country. For that matter it appears to be the issue for a great many servers in restaurants too. I wouldn't work for anyone that puts my health/life in potential jeopardy. Fortunately I don't have too. Seems like many other folks feel the same way.



Cheers!

 

[marko]

Lots of people realise that the end of life can be closer than they thought and that money cannot buy more time.

The pandemic may have delayed ER for some but may have accelerated it for others.

I suspect that whether laid-off, terminated or working from home, a lot of people got to see the other side of 60 hour weeks, 2 hour commutes, office politics and general business BS and found that those who espoused 'a better life/work balance' were on to something.

Lots of Type A's may have found that chasing the Joneses just wasn't worth it and, the pandemic gave them the 'excuse'; "I lost my job/income so we had to cut back".

Sixteen years ago I ER'd involuntarily and was unable to get back into the workforce. It turned out to be the best thing ever but it was a lot easier to say that I retired than to say that nobody wanted to hire a 53 year old with a stellar resume.

Maybe the pandemic has redefined what an ER really is? Are those still chasing a traditional ER now out of step? Has 'less is more' become more widely accepted?

When your commute now consists of running down the stairs to the dinning room instead of sitting in your car for an hour, it has to make you stop and think. How can you go back to that?

 

[marko]

Follow up:
But what I don't understand is this: What are these people living on? It's fine to discover that you hate your job and--as 4 million have done--quit. But now what?

The gov't paychecks have stopped. Unemployment only lasts so long. Most/many are financially unprepared for non-work/non-income. Sure they're charging everything on their CCs but you can only pay $69 a month on a $15K balance for so long and savings start to dwindle.

Will there be a huge CC default coming?

 

[Dtail]

Follow up:
But what I don't understand is this: What are these people living on? It's fine to discover that you hate your job and--as 4 million have done--quit. But now what?

The gov't paychecks have stopped. Unemployment only lasts so long. Most/many are financially unprepared for non-work/non-income. Sure they're charging everything on their CCs but you can only pay $69 a month on a $15K balance for so long and savings start to dwindle.

Will there be a huge CC default coming?

Beat me to my post asking the same question.

 

[Chuckanut]

Interesting.
I also heard today on radio news that a shortage of workers for every field of work. They said people are just retiring and leaving the work force after the pandemic. They said that is one of the problems in the shortage. The article you posted does reinforce what I heard also. People are retiring earlier and has made is difficult to replace those workers.

This is just a guess based upon my own personal experience and that of people I know.

During the lock-down phase and the early months of the 'opening up' phases a lot of us learned how little money we needed if we reduced a lot of nice but not really necessary expenditures. IOW, people learned that it was not that hard to LBYM. I wonder if many people now realize they can work less, or the spouse/partner can stay home, or they don't need two cars, or whatever. The result is less desire to slave away at a job that does not provide the level of rewards that extra free time does. Just a thought. YMMV.

 

[USGrant1962]

This is just a guess based upon my own personal experience and that of people I know.

During the lock-down phase and the early months of the 'opening up' phases a lot of us learned how little money we needed if we reduced a lot of nice but not really necessary expenditures. IOW, people learned that it was not that hard to LBYM. I wonder if many people now realize they can work less, or the spouse/partner can stay home, or they don't need two cars, or whatever. The result is less desire to slave away at a job that does not provide the level of rewards that extra free time does. Just a thought. YMMV.

I think this. Plus, a lot of 50-somethings are nominally FI and don't really know it. They planned to work to 65 because that is "normal" and it is all they know.

 

[Cassius King]

The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for me. Life had gotten into a routine of 50-60 hour weeks and trying in my "free time" to make up for it. I was on the hamster wheel, spinning along.
Covid and the lock down caused a major reset and mindset change. No longer did I have a 45 minute commute to work each way. Much less office politics and BS. I got back several hours of my day and everything slowed down. I was much more relaxed, reading more, eating healthier. The only thing that mattered was peace of mind and contentment. I had and still do have FIRE goals. There's a lot less noise in my life and the unnecessary things in my life have disappeared.
Many things came into perspective. A lot less "things" mattered. Material possessions were not wanted. Time to myself and enjoying life matters more.
It's amazing to sit back and think that life would have gone on in the same manner for who knows how long into the future if it wasn't for this pandemic. I think this has been a life altering experience for many.

 

[ivinsfan]

Newflash, I don't think so. How many people do you think waffle about their retirement plans in a normal year? More then a few I'd wager.


The fact that a bunch said sooner and bunch said later means it's very likely not Covid related.



Here's something no one has mentioned, maybe some that said earlier had a parent taken out by Covid and got an inheritance to put them over the top for ER. Morbid I know but certainly possible.



Perhaps a few FI types living in very big metro areas during Covid looked around and said I want out of here, which would like necessitate ER.

 

[cathy63]

Follow up:
But what I don't understand is this: What are these people living on?

WaPo has an article on this today: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/14/getting-by-financially-quitting-job/

Here are a few of the answers:

She then lived off her savings and state unemployment benefits through 18 months of unsuccessful job-searching before realizing that her earlier goal of working full-time until age 70 no longer appealed to her. Marasco now gets by on Social Security and a 401(k) retirement plan.
...
“Once I sat down and looked at the numbers, I realized [retiring] was doable..." She now teaches part-time, a job she finds “rewarding in a way that goes beyond a paycheck.”
...
A former office manager in Laurel, Md., who withheld her name because of tension with her former boss, has no regrets about retiring early, even though it meant getting less in Social Security
...
being out of work is taking a big bite out of their finances, “so this is not sustainable even in the medium term,”...“Taking a lesser-paying job with health insurance over a no-benefits [contract job] would be a no-brainer for me now.”

 

[ivinsfan]

This is just a guess based upon my own personal experience and that of people I know.

During the lock-down phase and the early months of the 'opening up' phases a lot of us learned how little money we needed if we reduced a lot of nice but not really necessary expenditures. IOW, people learned that it was not that hard to LBYM. I wonder if many people now realize they can work less, or the spouse/partner can stay home, or they don't need two cars, or whatever. The result is less desire to slave away at a job that does not provide the level of rewards that extra free time does. Just a thought. YMMV.

I don't think the general public is wired that way. Case in point all the people who wanted to go somewhere during Covid and cleaned out the RV/camper market. All because they didn't want to sleep in a motel room. I'm seeing all kind of newer models pop up on Marketplace now, saying barely used/for sale.

 

[marko]

The next question then is, if Covid just accelerated a lot of folks into ER, many of whom were sitting on the fence, will there then be a big lull in ERs for several years?

That is, folks who were going to RE in '22, '23 and '24 doing it now so future ERs (or retirements in general) will be a lower number. Sort of a 'boomer' result in reverse; cleaning out the brush so to speak.

 

[ImaCheesehead]

64 yo DH retired in August, which was actually a bit later than we would have liked. There didn’t seem to be any reason to stop working in the prev 12-18 months because covid had stopped so many activities. If we couldn’t do anything he may as well work. Some of the current burst of retirees may have been in the same boat.

 

[cyber888]

I teach at a university too, and I'm planning to hang my hat next year.

I enjoyed my last career as a college professor for 25+yrs before I retired 10 yrs ago. I guess I was one of the lucky ones. However, based on what i have seen the past 2 yrs there is no way I would have stayed. There is a large shortage of teachers in my state but no amount of money would have convinced me to stay under the present circumstances and the work conditions that prevail in the school systems today. It seems like working conditions are a good portion of the problem. The same appears to be the case with nurses across the country. For that matter it appears to be the issue for a great many servers in restaurants too. I wouldn't work for anyone that puts my health/life in potential jeopardy. Fortunately I don't have too. Seems like many other folks feel the same way.



Cheers!

 

[triangle]

Um, the personal savings rate went through the roof during Covid. Presumably from a combination of less spending and raining government money.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/PSAVERT

And even now it is the highest it has been since the 1990s.

Perhaps but I suspect there is enough variability across individuals that many who were hoping to retire in within the decade are worrying about their plans. Thankfully most of my family/friends were not impacted in their paychecks by covid, but a few did work less, especially in 2020. Whether the population in a holding pattern financially during the pandemic was 10% or 20% of this approaching retirement population group, I have no idea. But I would not be surprised that a segment of this soon-want-to-be retirees are worried financially, especially when considering recent inflation in housing, food, etc.