The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: A Phased Retirement…Is It Right For You? 

Today, I’m talking about the benefits of a phased retirement. 

I don’t know about you, but when I read a really good article, especially an editorial piece, I find that the comments are often more interesting and insightful than the article itself.

That was the case with this WSJ article that is the basis for this week’s podcast which talks about how more companies are now giving phased retirements a try to deal with the labor shortage and knowledge transfer issues. And inevitably, there was a comment from a reader who articulated so well the benefits of a phased retirement in her own experience. 

Jean says: 

“I worked part time for 5 years after decades of full-time work for a company.  I worked special projects that we all agreed on ahead of time.  I was able to keep my health insurance benefit (most important).  I was an hourly worker subject to state rules that gave me overtime rates for longer days and weekends.  As a result, I sometimes made more than I would have as a salaried employee.  I worked on interesting tasks that required my specific expertise, no administrative tasks to fill in my day when I wasn't busy.  I sometimes worked from home, sometimes from an office, sometimes on travel.

I had plenty of free time.  I retired at 65 and was ready for it.

It was a great way to evolve into retirement.”

A great way to evolve into retirement…Jean hit the nail on the head. She kept her great income and health insurance benefits, which most likely also kept her from tapping into her social security and her investment portfolio. This is the main financial benefit of the phased retirement, and it’s huge. To allow your portfolio and your social security income to continue growing for even just an extra year or 2 can make all the difference. 

She also had the flexibility that a part-time work schedule allowed, so she could work from home occasionally, travel, and have plenty of free time without being shackled to her desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. With so many companies used to providing more flexible hours and work schedules in the post-Covid world, it’s not a big ask anymore for many people to downshift their schedules like Jean did.

This flexibility made working longer more sustainable and much more enjoyable as well. 

There are also important psychological benefits to working longer, especially if you like the work you do. There’s dignity in work. Work helps to provide meaning, purpose, and structure to our lives, and keeps our minds and bodies physically and mentally active. Lots of research points to a direct connection between working longer and living longer, as well as staving off cognitive problems like dementia. 

So if you want to transition into retirement, the tremendous multi-faceted benefits of working longer, especially on a reduced schedule, are worth serious consideration. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

----------

>>> Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DI2LSP

>>> Subscribe on Amazon Alexa: https://amzn.to/2xRKrCs

>>> Visit the podcast page: https://truenorthra.com/podcast/ 

----------

Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance