by Peter Wechsler
President & Co-Founder, Franklin Retirement Solutions
[email protected]
With Thanksgiving so late this year, it feels like Christmas is really coming quickly. The calendar is also playing games with Hanukah, coming as late as possible with the first night of the holiday starting on Christmas. For the kids and grandkids, again it doesn’t look like it will be a white Christmas in the Philly area.
Before we know it, New Year’s will be here along with all our New Year’s resolutions. We all know how the resolutions work out…or don’t work out. Usually by the 8th or 9th of January, I’ve completely forgotten my resolutions. Oh well.
The start of the new year will mark the 23rd year since we started Franklin Retirement Solutions. When meeting with clients who are still working, we always discuss anticipated retirement dates. Often folks think about when to retire around the new year and I’m sure this year will be no different. How close do they come when projecting ahead? Often, clients end up being way off the mark.
I had a client in last week for her Forward Focus Meeting. She’s been a client for 9 years and is now 63. We’ll call her Jane. From our first meeting in 2015, Jane told me she was going to work until she was at least 67 and maybe go to 70. Guess what? Jane told me last week that she decided to retire February 15th, after she got her 2024 bonus. Good thinking.
What happened? What changed? With three siblings, Jane never gave much thought to caring for her aging parents. What Jane failed to calculate is that she’s the only sibling still living in the Philly area. Jane’s retiring to take care of her parents.
I continue to see so many folks retire years before they planned. Sometimes the job goes away, or the boss becomes impossible to work with. Sometimes it due to a merger, and we all know one of the great lies right up there with the check is in the mail is that there will be no changes after the merger. Right. Sometimes it’s for health reasons. Many times over the years I’ve seen clients retire early to babysit the grandkids.
According to a study from the Employee Benefit Retirement Institute (ERBI), 58% of workers retire earlier than planned. The median age that folks call it quits is 62. Of those, 38% say they retired due to health problems or disabilities. 23% said they retired due to employment issues such as business closures, reorganizations or downsizing the staff.
As you ponder life during the holidays, if still working, give some thought to when you’re going to pull the plug and retire. Be realistic because it may be sooner than you think.
From me and our wonderful staff, wishing you a happy holiday season as we get close to ushering in 2025.
Peter