Here's Your Retirement Plan - Unretire!
By Anonymous
Yes. You read that right. Unretire! OK, so what would an "unretirement" retirement plan look like? Lets set the stage and go over a few ideas and online resources.
Face it. A work free retirement is a notion rapidly becoming outmoded. Boomers have radically rearranged the North American social and economic landscape, and there's every reason to believe they're heavily into the process of reinventing conventional models of retirement planning. A recent Rutgers University study found that fully 70% of prospective retirees intend to continue working even if they could spend the remainder of their lives on the beach or golf course.
But, not so fast. Fewer working adults today can look forward to living comfortably in their later years without working to bring in retirement income. We live in an era in which new corporate down sizing seems to break out hourly and company pension plans are drying up. Many workers are forced to accept retirement packages long before they had planned for it. Social Security is no longer the certainty it once was, and definitely won't satisfy all of life's financial demands.
In keeping with the Rutgers study, an earlier AARP survey also showed that over three quarters of baby boomers plan to work either part time or intermittently in retirement. A third of them responded that they would need the money because of inadequate retirement savings, evaporated pensions and the like.
Aside from purely economic considerations, boomers also recognize that there is dignity, identity and enhanced self esteem in working, along with social interaction and the sense of purpose it brings.
Unretirement Options for A Work Filled Retirement Plan
Option No. 1: Negotiate Your Retirement - Your preferred initial strategy will be to negotiate a staged process of retirement with your current employer. Many corporations are opening up to structuring phased retirement for older workers. In this scenario, the retiring employee takes on a flexible and reduced workload allowing time for travel or other leisure activities, while still providing value to the employer based on their experience and availability to take on special tasks or projects.
Option No. 2: Find a New Employer - Here, the best strategy is to look for companies that are short on experts in your field. Certain industries are more receptive to hiring older, experienced people. Health-care companies dominated the 2005 rankings in this regard, followed by financial-services and educational institutions, according to AARP.
Age discrimination, while technically illegal, remains alive and well in spite of the fact that the supply of younger workers is shrinking. Many companies are hesitant about hiring older workers. They're viewed as too expensive or too old to learn new skills. These attitudes play into unsupportable stereotypes, but, still are a reality in the workplace. Employers will often look offshore to fill positions before considering someone older or retired.
Option #3: Become an Entrepreneur - Perhaps you've always thought about going into business for yourself. Today, far more opportunities exist to work as a consultant in your field, develop a new career or set up revenue producing activities online. The internet has exploded a new range of possibilities. You might even find that you'll be working harder in retirement than you ever did in your early and middle years and loving it.
Option #4. Become a Volunteer - Maybe you'll feel it's time simply to give back. Volunteer organizations and non-profits often are begging for help. Take the experience and skills you've accumulated over a lifetime and apply them to making the world a better place. That'll keep you really busy. Promise! Did you know, for instance, that the Peace Corp loves to take on older people?
If you'd like to explore the prospect of an unretired, retirement plan a little further, here are a few sites and resources well worth visiting:
Unretirement Resources Online
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Work-Filled Retirement: Workers' Changing Views on Employment and Leisure
The new retirement: Scale back, work on
WorkForce50.Com - No Pastures Here
7 steps to a successful 'unretirement'
Senior Job Search
The Peace Corp and Older Americans
More on Retirement for Baby Boomers
Active Retirement Means More Living