{"id":9951,"date":"2023-12-11T07:28:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T11:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=9951"},"modified":"2023-12-11T07:28:50","modified_gmt":"2023-12-11T11:28:50","slug":"un-retiring-yahoo-finances-readers-speak-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=9951","title":{"rendered":"Un-retiring: Yahoo Finance’s readers speak out"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My recent <\/span>column<\/a>\u00a0on “un-retiring” struck a major chord with readers \u2014 some 1,500 of you weighed in on the pros and cons of going back to work after having decided to pack it in after a lifetime of labor.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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As I wrote, many retirees have stepped off the sidelines and headed back to work, especially after many were forced to retire earlier than expected during the pandemic. According to a new\u00a0report\u00a0<\/a>from T. Rowe Price, around 7% of retirees are looking for work in retirement, while 20% say they\u2019re already working part time or full time.<\/p>\n

But if our reader reactions are any indication, those numbers might just be higher.<\/p>\n

Read on Yahoo Finance<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The following is an edited sampler of some of those 1,500 comments, along with their web monikers \u2014 and my take on them. Feel free to weigh in, of course, in the comments section at the end of this sequel.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started.<\/p>\n

S:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cYou need to be able to weather an early financial storm in your first few years of retirement. Start building cash reserves a few years before.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0<\/strong>Yup. Having a comfortable 401(k), or other retirement plan coffer, matters \u2014 but so does having funds invested in easy-to-tap accounts if you\u2019ll be using those savings for living expenses in the near future. My abridged advice: Divvy up your retirement savings into money you need now and a nest egg that can stay invested for a decade from now or longer. That means setting a certain sum in cash accounts so you can stay cool through market gyrations.<\/p>\n

Jbsilver:\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cWhen I retired after 40 years on the job, I realized my life revolved around my job. My friends were my co-workers. And most of the activities I did outside work were with some of them. I was lost because I had no structure to form my days around. I went back to work even though it’s seasonal and part-time. I travel in the off season. I love what I do. It keeps me MOVING and social and gives me something to look forward to. Not to mention a few extra bucks.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes! Yes! Yes! It\u2019s not all about the money when you\u2019re working at this time of life. Sure it\u2019s nice to have some cabbage \u2014 yup, that\u2019s what we used to call money \u2014 coming in as a safety net and to stave off dipping into retirement accounts, or pushing back taking your Social Security benefit. But at the heart of it is the positive social and emotional benefits of working on a flexible schedule. I hear it all the time from retirees who slip into a kind of depression or hollowness when they lose their work identity. Plus: You can\u2019t ignore the “use it or lose it” aspect of staying mentally sharp, which continuing to work can help with.<\/p>\n

Marco Polo:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cI retired early at 59, got a union pension, 401k savings-which I drew a monthly stipend from until started drawing Social Security at 62. I\u2019m currently 66, have no debts [haven’t had any for 20 yrs], got everything I want…..The secret of retiring is: NO DEBT\u2026<\/em><\/strong>\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks, Marco Polo. You get it. Debt is a dream killer when it comes to retirement. Ideally, you should start focusing on getting lean and mean a few years before you retire. You start by taking a hard look at your budget. I know, eye-roll, but do it. Pay down credit card debts and other large financial obligations. Consider\u00a0moving to a location<\/a>\u00a0where the cost of living is lower. One caveat here: One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to\u00a0Social Security is claiming too early<\/a>\u00a0at a much lower benefit. Pushing back tapping your benefits from your full retirement age, or FRA \u2014 which ranges in age from 66 to 67 \u2014 until age 70, you earn delayed retirement credits. Those come to roughly an 8%-per-year annual increase in your benefit for each year until you hit 70 when the credits stop accruing.<\/p>\n